IN JANUARY 1998 a new interim head teacher stepped into Salfords Primary School to start a two-term tenure.
Now Di Trainor is making the most of her last few months at the school before she retires in July... after 15 years at the helm.
"I was asked to come and be an interim head here because they were having trouble recruiting," she told the Mirror.
"I thought it would be good experience but I fell in love with the school."
For the last decade and a half, Mrs Trainor has worked 12-hour days commuting from her home in Hove to the Copsleigh Avenue school.
"Roadworks make life difficult," she laughed.
Under her guidance the school has consistently achieved good marks from Ofsted and become, in her words, "a school people in Salfords want to send their children to".
With the students achieving record results last year and work under way on increasing the annual student intake from 45 pupils to 60, Mrs Trainor is pleased with the school she will leave behind.
But she admits walking away will not be easy.
"People say it will be strange in September when everyone goes back to school," she said.
"I'll still stay in touch with some staff and I might not be able to resist checking the website every now and then."
But having trained as a PE teacher, the mother of two will not be putting her feet up.
Free from the constraints of the school holidays, and with her daughter getting married in February, the 59-year-old will have her plate full.
"My husband has been semi-retired for a while and we have got two grandchildren too," she said.
"I would like to do a lot more travelling and more skiing."
Having introduced French lessons at the school and encouraged stage shows which have become a popular feature among staff and students, Mrs Trainor struggles to pick one highlight from her time.
"The trips to Paris are one thing I will always remember," she said.
"I've gone on every single one with the students and I will miss that."
But Mrs Trainor refuses to take all the credit for the school's success over the past 15 years.
"I have got a great team around me," she said.
"The support and standard of the staff has been absolutely crucial.
"What has also been really important is the school community; the parents and governors who support us."
Georgina Steinthal, who has been head teacher of Marden Lodge Primary School in Croydon Road, Caterham, for the last six years, will take the reins at Salfords in September.
