A milkman who went on to become a celebrated Bolton headteacher has retired from the profession.
Andrew Feeley, 62, has retired from education after almost two decades.
He had been executive headteacher of The Orchards Federation since 2014.
For this, he was highly commended for a Lifetime Achievement Award from Bolton Council and The Bolton News in 2023.
Mr Feeley started his career in an unusual way.
He said: “Before I trained to be a teacher, I was a milkman.
“I was interested in working with children and I found a place to train for it.”
He went to study at Charlotte Mason College in Ambleside. From there, he worked as a primary school adviser in Oldham Borough Council and head teacher in schools across Greater Manchester.
He said: “You see the children develop as a headteacher, you do spend time with them.”
When he joined The Orchards Federation, he began running The Orchards Nursery, Cherry Tree Primary School and Green Fold Special School.
And he helped the schools work together, as part of their “unique” mission.
He said: “Quite often, special schools and mainstream schools are not mixed. We’ve been part of an experiment in some ways.
“We look at opportunities for the children in the primary school and Green Fold Special School to learn from each other.
“A couple of years ago, we had a singing and signing choir.
“The children from Green Fold would help the children from the primary school with signing and the children from the primary school would help them with singing.”
He will leave with great memories about the schools.
Mr Feeley said: “I’m going to miss the day-to-day interactions with the children.
“There were times when I would work with a nonverbal child.
“I would walk past them every day and say hello. All of the sudden they’d say hello back and it would be the first time that they’ve spoken.”
Mr Feeley will also miss the teachers and staff who received the Leadership Team of the Year in 2023.
He said: “The [Orchards Federation] staff are fantastic. They put 110 per cent into make sure every child gets the best they can get.
But, after 37 years in education, Andrew is ready to move on.
He said: “The school has been a huge part of my life, but it’s time to go on another journey, I think.”
He is planning to spend his retirement cycling and sailing the North Wales coast.
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