A SURPRISE party was held at the Avenue Tennis Club to celebrate Helen Pardey’s 34 years’ continuous service as a PE teacher, and then head of year, at The King Alfred School in Highbridge.

On Monday July 18, pupils representing her netball and volleyball school teams past and present gathered to thank and celebrate Miss Pardey’s retirement at the end of this school year.

Over the time that she taught PE at King Alfred, thousands of pupils have taken part in extracurricular activities, many going on to represent regional and national teams.

Upon her arrival at the party, she said: “I’m absolutely gobsmacked I cannot believe that so many of you have taken the time to come here tonight, this is a very special moment.”

Miss Pardey started teaching at The King Alfred School in Highbridge in 1982, and in 2005 she won the prestigious award of South West Teacher of the Year, and was also a finalist at the National Teacher of the Year awards, held in London.

Over the years, she has given her time freely over many weekends, coaching and driving the school minibus around the UK.

She thanked everyone for coming and gave special thanks to Sarah Johnson, Sam Reddish and her partner Colin Wright for their hard work arranging the surprise.