TRIBUTES have been paid to the head teacher of a York village primary school who has died after a long battle with cancer.

Mark Halliday was head teacher at Skelton Primary School since 2005. He died earlier this month aged 46.

In 2007, the school and Mr Halliday were praised by inspectors from Ofsted.

The school was awarded an overall grade of “good” and inspectorss said it had “outstanding and exemplary features”.

Mr Halliday came in for particular praise. Inspectors said he “set exacting standards”.

Among his achievements, Mr Halliday arranged for a book of stories to be published, written by pupils at the school, called Look This Way And Listen.

The book contained a piece of original prose from every child at the school and was highly valued by the children and parents alike.

In a joint statement, Eileen Wilks, chairwoman of governors at Skelton Primary, and Pete Dwyer, director of adult, children and education services at City of York Council, both paid tribute to Mr Halliday’s achievements.

They said: “A charismatic leader and a true professional, Mr Halliday clearly loved his job and had a zest for life. “He will be missed by the whole school community at Skelton and he is also a great loss to the wider teaching profession.

“He had been suffering from cancer for some considerable time.

“ This was an illness he fought with great faith, tremendous courage and immense determination. “He was an inspiration to everyone who knew him.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife and family at this sad and difficult time.”