But for Welshman Mr Cook, that won’t be the end of his career in education, because the 61-year-old has recently set up his own education consultancy business.
Mr Cook, who has been a head teacher for 23 years, said he wasn’t one for sitting around and will now dedicate his free time to helping educational authorities both here and in the UK.
‘I am not retiring, I’m just taking on a different challenge,’ he said. ‘I have also recently renewed my love for fishing, so hopefully I will get to do that, too.’
Mr Cook, who hails originally from Barry, Wales, began his career in Cardiff teaching music and drama before moving to Cheshire, where he helped to set up a new school. He then spent 13 years as a head teacher in Bath before landing the job at Victoria College.
When asked what had kept him at the school for ten years, he said: ‘It is a very special place. There is the passion of the old boys and the history of the place. I won’t miss working from 8 am until 7 pm every day, but I will miss the people for whom I have a lot of respect.
‘It was just a lovely place to be and it has been a pleasure to work there,’ he said.
Mr Cook was honoured at a special drinks reception at which he was presented with a number of gifts, including garden furniture and an original Ian Rolls painting of Victoria College, a gift from the school governors.
His replacement from September will be another Welshman, Alun Watkins, who is currently deputy head at Abingdon School in Oxfordshire.
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