A long-serving school governor has retired after 27 years and his dinner lady wife after 20 years.

Geoff Bunce is a former pupil of New Earswick Primary School himself and quarter of a century ago decided to join the board of governors and help the school in any way he could. Seven years later his wife joined him as a midday supervisor and between them they have seen thousands of children pass through the school doors.

But the couple have now decided to call it a day and were presented with a selection of gifts at the school’s end-of-term assembly.

School head teacher Carole Farrar said Mr Bunce would be greatly missed.

She said: “He has excellent local knowledge and is an ex-pupil of the school himself. He knows how the community has grown and he has really good contacts with people and has always ensured that if there are grants available that we apply for them.”

She said: “He has just been a real friend of the school.”

Mr and Mrs Bunce were presented with retirement cards made by the children and Mr Bunce also received a clock and an engraved ornament commemorating his time at the school. The actual presentation was made the couple’s own grandchildren, Tyler and Jake, who have followed in their grandfather’s footsteps and become pupils at the school.

Mrs Farrar said that as well as children and teachers there were also two special gusts in the form of former head teacher John Sill and former deputy head teacher Di Leadley who spoke of the great support that Mr Bunce had given.

Mrs Farrar said all the children hoped Mr Bunce would keep on making visits to the school, particularly because in the past he is a DJ in his spare time and has hosted lunchtime discos.