A RETIRING head teacher says the Government is placing too many demands on schools.
Ron Gandolfo will leave the post he has loved for 11 years at Lingfield Primary School next Thursday.
He said he is leaving to spend more time with his family – but also because he does not agree with the today's educational policies.
The 57-year-old said: "I strongly believe that demands on schools and teachers by the Government are too high.
"The demands they place on us means that the curriculum is so tight, and the children are being taught just to pass exams.
"Children need to be children and they should be able to enjoy education."
Mr Gandolfo has been a teacher since 1977, when he graduated from St Luke's College in Exeter.
"When I first started teaching, mainly maths and IT, teachers were still allowed to smack a child across the back of the legs," he said.
"I did not agree with it then and I certainly do not agree with it now. But I do wish there was more scope for discipline.
"I wish there was something between not allowing a child their playtime, and suspending them."
His first job was at Davidson Junior School, in Croydon.
"I learnt so much from my time there," he said.
"But back then, there was no curriculum. Teachers were just allowed to teach what they wanted and what they thought was needed."
After two years he moved on to Courtwood Primary School and continued to work in Croydon for 18 years, getting his first deputy head teacher job at Courtwood.
Mr Gandolfo said that he has loved every bit of his time at Lingfield Primary School.
He said: "Being here is like having an extended family. We all spend so much of our life here.
"I think when I leave, it will be a hugely emotional time for me. Saying goodbye to everyone will be very difficult. But I feel it is the right decision for me."
Now Mr Gandolfo, and his partner of 20 years Shirley Lawrence, plan to use his pension to invest in properties.
"We feel we have to do something," he said.
"I am also leaving because I have a granddaughter, called Nina.
"She is only three years old and lives in Southampton. But she is growing up so fast and I feel like I am missing it.
"I plan to spend much more time with my family.
"I can't sit still, I need to keep busy. That's why I have taken on these projects with my partner."
He certainly won't be putting his feet up any time soon, with plans to run in the New York Marathon in 2014 – his sixth marathon.
Mr Gandolfo will also continue in his role as a trustee of a school in Zambia, called The Tongabezi Trust School, near Livingstone.
