PARRENTHORN High School headteacher, Mr Arthur Francis, announced his retirement at the annual prizegiving ceremony.

Mr Francis, who will be 60 next March, has been at the Heywood Road school for 16 years and has watched it go from strength to strength.

He intends to leave Parrenthorn at Easter but hopes to keep active by doing some supply teaching and travelling.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Francis said: "During my time as headteacher I have seen Parrenthorn change from a struggling school of 340 pupils with an intake of barely 50 pupils and badly designed accommodation, being threatened with amalgamation or closure in 1988/9, to one of the most successful and popular community high schools in Bury."

He said the school had three DfES achievement awards, Beacon status, a growing reputation for good GCSE results, pastoral support, sporting achievements and two good Ofsted reports as indications of creditable performance.

Recently the school started fund-raising for a specialist status bid to become a technology college but Mr Francis said they had raised only £17,000 towards the £50,000 needed.

He urged businesses, commerce and industry to help make the bid successful and said whoever replaced him as headteacher would manage any proposed expansion of the school.

Mr Francis welcomed special guest Commonwealth Games swimmer Adrian Turner to the proceedings and held him up as an inspiration to pupils.

Mr Turner is a former pupil of Parrenthorn, went on to university and became an international sportsman, making the headlines when he won bronze and silver medals in the Manchester Commonwealth Games.

Mr Francis said: "The lad who came to the school with wet hair each morning suddenly came of age and even Australia held its breath! He is an inspiration to our pupils."

Commenting on his time at Parrenthorn, Mr Francis said: "It has been a great honour and my pleasure to be headteacher of such a good school with a most supporting governing body and able, conscientious staff in all areas of the school."