ASK Marion Henderson about the changes in education in the past 30 years and she will sigh in exasperation, and tell you about a revolution that has seen the focus switched from the children to the administration.

Miss Henderson, as she is known to her pupils at Irvinestown Primary School, has just retired after a career which began back in 1969. Much has happened over the intervening years.

“There have been a lot of changes,” she says. “To me, the important people are the children, and there are times – with the paperwork, administration and management – that you forget that.”

When Miss Henderson first walked into a classroom she carried with her one or two pages of a teaching plan. “Now it’s a big folder,” she laughs.

During her 32 years in front of the blackboard she has taught many pupils.

“I prefer the younger children. They’re maybe still at the stage where it’s a new world; you can still see the benefit of your work.”

Former pupils who appreciated what she did for them were among a large number of wellwishers who attended her retirement party at the Bawnacre Centre.

She is also looking forward to being able to spend more time on her craft work, gardening and also walking, which she enjoys.