After 39 years of dedicated service, Fiona Beveridge has retired from her role as headteacher of Macmerry Primary School.

Fiona, who first came to the school as a newly-qualified young teacher in 1971, has been the school's head since 1984 but she left the role when term ended yesterday (Thursday) to enjoy a well-earned rest.

Generations of children in the area have been taught by Fiona and in several cases she has taught the children of kids she educated earlier in her tenure.

Fiona, 60, is happy to have stayed so long in the job, telling the Courier: "It had its ups and downs like any job but I think the fact that I stayed there for so long showed that it was a good place to be.

"The highlights of my time at Macmerry Primary School were HRH Princess Anne coming to visit (in 2000) and our centenary celebrations in 1989, when we had a whole week of children and staff dressing up like they would have looked 100 years ago and we had lots of exhibitions up." The primary school's charity work was the reason for Princess Anne's visit and Fiona is very proud of Macmerry's fundraising efforts, which have seen the school raise nearly as much money for charity each year as it has for itself.

To celebrate her decades of devotion, the school threw a secret garden party for Fiona on Tuesday, the details of which the staff tried to hide from her for as long as possible.

"People have been going silent when I appear and shuffling off down the corridor," she said last Wednesday.

"The garden party will be really nice, then we'll have prizegiving on the Wednesday and hopefully on the Thursday we'll have some kind of games tournament." Then it is freedom for Fiona, though she officially remains the school's head until the day the children return to school in August after the summer break, when for the first time in 26 years Macmerry kids will have a new headteacher in charge.

The new headteacher taking over at the helm of Macmerry will be Margaret-Anne McBean.

Ms McBean is currently depute headteacher of Pencaitland Primary School.

"I'm happy to come back if the new headteacher wants me to show her where I've hidden everything," Fiona joked.

"But I'm ready to go now and I told everybody last August that I was retiring so we all had the opportunity to get used to it.

"There's going to be a new chapter for the school.

"Some find retirement very traumatic but I'm actually quite looking forward to it. I'm going to read and sleep!" Fiona, who lives in Edinburgh, would like to thank the parents of Macmerry pupils for their support and help over the years, for which she is extremely grateful.

Maureen Jobson, East Lothian Council's acting head of education, said: "Fiona has made a tremendous contribution to education in East Lothian during her 39 years service, all of which were spent at Macmerry Primary.

"As headteacher at Macmerry she has worked closely with her staff to create an environment that offers the children an active learning experience and builds links within the community.

"She will be missed by her pupils, their parents and the wider Macmerry community.

"She leaves with our best wishes for a very happy retirement."