Last Friday was a historic day at Roding Primary School as headteacher Brian Fox left the school to enjoy his retirement after 40 years teaching in the borough.

When it comes to experience of schools in Barking and Dagenham, Mr. Fox can definitely be counted on as he did not only teach in the borough but also went to primary and secondary school here.

Brian attended Ripple Infants and Juniors from 1961 to 1968 before heading on to Eastbury Secondary until 1975.

After deciding that teaching was the profession that he wanted to pursue, Mr. Fox began his career at Thames View Junior in 1978 before leaving and becoming Headteacher of Roding Primary School in Easter 1989.

When discussing the challenges over the years, one key thing that stood out for Mr. Fox was the obstacle of ‘staying positive and trying to limit the disruption of the constantly changing educational initiative flow.’

Despite this continuous challenge, Roding Primary School was awarded Outstanding by Ofsted in 2005.

‘You taught my mother’ and most recently ‘You taught my grandmother.’

Another key highlight of his career as Headteacher was the opportunity to oversee the expansion of the school on a new site but most of all, Mr. Fox said the one thing that kept him going throughout the years was the fact he has been able to work with such enthusiastic children and staff.

On the topic of teaching, Mr. Fox said it hasn’t really changed over the last 30 years – “it is about enthusing children with a love of learning and discovery, together with the basic skills.”

“However, the job is more complicated and technological today but still a great job.”

Having been in the role as Headteacher for 30 years, Mr. Fox pointed out that several current teachers and non-teaching staff were themselves pupils at the school and he often gets told by students:

‘You taught my mother’ and most recently ‘You taught my grandmother.’

Councillor Evelyn Carpenter, Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment congratulated Mr. Fox on a fantastic career and thanked him for his service to the borough:

“Brian has made a long and important contribution to the education of children in Barking and Dagenham and has played a leading role amongst headteachers here – we have all learnt a great deal from him.

“I would like to thank him for his service and dedication to Barking and Dagenham and I wish him every success and happiness in the future.”