THE headteacher of one of Oxford’s Roman Catholic primary schools was presented with a papal blessing as he said farewell to staff, pupils and parents.

Chris Crouch has been headteacher of St Aloysius Primary School, in Woodstock Road, for 21 years, and received the written blessing from Pope Benedict XVI following a mass in his honour at the Oratory on Friday.

He said: “I have mixed feelings about leaving and it will be a sad occasion in many ways, but equally I am proud of the way the school has flourished and grown both physically and in what it provides for the children and the community.”

When Mr Crouch started in his first headship at St Aloysius First School in January 1988, there were only about 75 pupils and three classes.

Under his leadership, the school became a primary school and there are now 231 pupils in nine classes.

Mr Crouch said: “I will miss the children. I have seen them grow and flourish and there is a magic in watching them learn and achieve.

“I have also enjoyed watching the families of children go through the school – we have some employees at the school who I taught here when they were five or six, so it is very gratifying.”

He said he would most miss the school’s strong sense of community and ethos.

Mr Crouch, 58, will take up a new post as an Ofsted inspector covering the Home Counties in September – meaning he could return to St Aloysius as inspector.

He said: “It would be a big challenge for me to look at it without a sense of affection and lack of bias.”

Formerly a deputy headteacher at a London primary school, Mr Crouch, who lives in Witney and has four children, said he had never planned to stay so long, initially envisaging a three- or four-year stint at the school.

His wife Rachel is headteacher at St Nicholas’ Primary School in Old Marston.

Office manager Jo Clarke, who has worked with Mr Crouch for about four years said staff, pupils and teachers were very sad to see him go.

She said: “It’s the end of an era.

“When he broke the news in assembly, a lot of the children burst into tears – he will be missed.

“What makes him special is that he knows every child individually, he knows their parents, he knows all their foibles, he talks to them and has lunch with them every single day.”

Mrs Clarke said as well as leading the school, Mr Crouch did everything from mending the drains to mowing the lawn and added: “I don’t think we are going to get one person to do all those jobs.”

A new headteacher has yet to be appointed.

fbardsley@oxfordmail.co.uk