LESSONS full of laughter is what retiring headteacher Fen Marshall will be best remembered for.

The head of Hawkesbury Upton Primary School loves to laugh and his fun-filled character will be missed by all.

"He is going to leave a huge void in the school," said chairman of governors Pam Bendry.

"Fen has been absolutely superb and will be a hard act to follow."

Mr Marshall, 58, will take the register for the last time at the end of this term following a career in teaching which spans 35 years.

He is leaving at the same time as his wife Di, a teaching assistant at the close-knit village school.

Mr Marshall, who lives in Tortworth and is chairman of the parish council there, started out as a secondary school biology teacher at The Ridings High School in Winterbourne, where he stayed for six years.

He then took to the plunge into primary education at Manorbrook Primary School in Thornbury before taking over as deputy head at Wellesley Primary School in Yate. He also acted as a science advisor to the former Avon County Council for four years before taking over at Hawkesbury in 1983.

Since then, the father-of-two has been a driving force for change at the school.

He successfully won council funding for a huge extension and three new classrooms to be built, developed a school garden and actively encourages community use of all the school facilities.

"He is very friendly and approachable," said deputy headteacher Sue Hammond, who takes over as acting head in September. "Everyone feels they can talk to him about anything."

Mr Marshall still teaches the four classes in the school once a week and likes nothing more than to see all 95 pupils smiling and happy.

"So much importance is put on schooling and education," he said. "But there are a lot more important things to do.

"We do have quite a lot of laughs."

Organiser of the school chess club and cross country leader, Mr Marshall has always taken an active role in school life.

"What I am going to miss most is saying hello to 100 people every day," he said.

As testament to his gaiety, Mr Marshall added: "At least I can say I was headteacher at the top school in South Gloucestershire - we are the highest in the region at 600ft above sea level!"