STOWFORD School saw tears as well as laughter as it said goodbye to a longserving and much loved member of staff.

Gail Langridge worked at the Ivybridge primary school for nearly 20 years as a teaching assistant, and touched the lives of many pupils, both past and present.

Renowned for her patience and compassion, she also brought a real flair for art to her role according to colleagues. Her final act was to judge the entries for a book competition, in which children had to draw their favourite character from a story in order to win a book token.

In a special assembly to mark her leaving, Gail took centre stage as the children read messages they had written for her, and shared their special memories of things she had done for them. She was presented with gifts, flowers and cards, and told the children that she had always considered her job a pleasure rather than work, and would miss them all.

Headteacher Helen Tipping said: ‘When I asked the question ‘who has Mrs Langridge helped?’ in our special assembly, nearly every hand in the hall went up, including those of the staff. That is a true reflection of just how special Gail is, and it was echoed in the tributes children had written, which talked about her caring nature, how she always has time for everyone and how kind she is.

‘Gail will be really missed by all of us and we wish her all the best in her retirement, but we hope she will come back and visit us frequently.’