WITH a little help from her friends, teacher Carole Williams has thoroughly enjoyed 22 years of teaching at a small primary school.

Reception class teacher Mrs Williams, 57, is retiring from North Road Primary School, on the outskirts of Yate, following a celebratory Beatles bash.

As drama co-ordinator and a fan of the iconic 1960s band, Mrs Williams decided to theme her last ever school production on the Yellow Submarine.

She has had a replica submarine made and handpainted it yellow for the whole school performance on Tuesday.

"We had done all the traditional productions and I was on a visit to Liverpool when I had the idea to do something on the Beatles," she said.

"I wrote a story about saving the world, like the Sgt Pepper cartoon, and put their songs to the script."

Mrs Williams’ imaginative tales do not end there as she will be best remembered for her on-the-spot stories of Boris the monster.

"I have acted out moral stories about Boris for years," she said.

"I think getting children to use their imaginations and be creative is one of the best things you can do."

But it’s been A Hard Day’s Night during her career as Mrs Williams, whose husband Chris is headteacher at Old Sodbury Primary School, worked tirelessly on the school’s travel plan to encourage pupils to walk and cycle to school.

She has also been instrumental in the Comenius project travelling to Italy, Poland and Austria to develop links with schools there.

"I have always wanted to be involved with concerts and end of year productions.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed working in a small school and will miss it very much."

Headteacher Mark Handley said Mrs Williams, who lives in Wotton-under-Edge, had been an asset to the school.

"She has been a very popular teacher and a respected colleague," he said.

"She loves the music of the Beatles so the farewell concert was a fitting tribute to her."

As the Beatles said, Mrs Williams has got her Ticket to Ride.