Wishing a long and happy retirement to ASCL staff

In June, ASCL Council members said farewell, and paid tribute to, five members of staff who are retiring this summer. They have all contributed greatly to the association and their expertise and wisdom will not be easy to replace.

Bob Carstairs, ASCL's assistant general secretary, is retiring in August. He joined the staff as professional officer in 1994, with responsibility for curriculum development and assessment policy. Gradually he took on managing the field officer and hotline services, as well as the legal and pension portfolios.

His contribution to ASCL came after a distinguished 28-year career in the Royal Army Educational Corps, which he joined having completed a two-year stint teaching music in a newly-fledged comprehensive school in Bristol.

He ended his army career as lieutenant colonel, heading the Higher Education Centre in Germany, an organisation responsible primarily for higher level German language training.

Bob's contribution to the association during the last 14 years cannot be underestimated and will be missed.

Bob Hargreaves is retiring as field officer for the north east, a position he has held since 1994.

He spent his career in independent and state schools, finishing as head of an 11-16 comprehensive in Hampshire. Fortunately for the association, he took early retirement and became a field officer.

Bob joined SHA in 1980 on taking up headship and was elected to Council in 1988. He was chair of SHA Area 3 in 1994 when the annual conference came to Bournemouth, and has 'volunteered' to keep things running behind the scenes at every annual conference since.

Ann Williamson has been field officer for the south east since 1999. Throughout her career she was the head of two independent girls schools, but before that taught in almost every type of maintained school.

Ann was a founder member of SHA and one of the longest serving members of Council, having been elected in 1983, where she remained until she retired to become a field officer.

During her time on Council she chaired the Public and Parliamentary and International Committee. She also has the dubious honour of having attended 99 Council meetings - possibly an association record.

Rob Young took on the field officer role in the East of England in 2002 upon his retirement from headship.

He began his career as a geography teacher in East Africa; first in Tanzania and then in Kenya. After almost five years, he returned to England to teach in Northumberland. In 1984 he was appointed to a headship in Norfolk, where he spent a very happy and successful 18 years.

Field officers are the unsung heroes in ASCL, working determinedly on behalf of individual members in difficulty. We are grateful to Bob, Ann and Rob for their years of service to ASCL.

Finally, Bill McGregor is retiring for a second time, having served a four-year term as general secretary of the Headteachers' Association of Scotland, ASCL's sister association north of the border. In that time Bill has increased the public and media profile enormously and HAS has seen a huge increase in membership.

Under Bill's leadership, its influence has grown to the extent that no major working group or educational development in Scotland takes place without HAS representation.

Before coming to HAS, Bill was a secondary headteacher in Ayrshire for 15 years. He is also very active in Rotary and is a keen omnibologist - both activities he is keen to pursue in his second retirement.