Linda Mitchell is retiring as head of Long Buckby Infant School after nine years in charge, while Barbara Parfitt is standing down from the top job at Braunston Primary School.

Mrs Mitchell said: “It has been the best nine years of my life. It has been wonderful working with all of the staff and I have had a fantastic set of children who are always happy.

“The air in the school is filled with laughter.”

She admits there are drains associated with being a headteacher.

Mrs Mitchell added: “I have given 110 per cent each day that I have been here as a headteacher and I feel as though my body needed a rest.”

She already has plans for her time off when she leaves.

Mrs Mitchell said: “I am hoping to go back to something I did a long time ago which is doing soft sculptures, and I am hoping to become a grandmother for the first time.”

Her successor is Sarah Dugdale, currently the deputy head at Crick Primary School, who will be taking her first role as a headteacher in September

Mrs Dugdale said: “It is a very friendly place and I like the school a lot.

“I won’t be overhauling the whole thing as it is a good school but I will be looking to have a more thematic approach to the curriculum and teach things by topic rather than by subject.

“It is a natural career progression for me and I am just looking forward to working with the parents, the children and the staff.”

Barbara Parfitt will be leaving after 15-and-a-half years at the top of Braunston Primary School.

Mrs Parfitt said: “I will miss all of the staff, the children, the parents and the governors and it is going to be very hard for me to say goodbye.

“However, I know I am doing the right thing.

“One of the reasons I became a teacher was because I didn’t enjoy my time at school and I wanted to make learning fun for the children and I think I have managed to achieve that which I am very proud of.”

She joined the school in January 1994 and believes she is leaving it in good hands but she lamented the changing role of the headteacher.

Mrs Parfitt added: “I had done all my work in London before coming here and it was a very welcoming and friendly village and school.

“The role of the headteacher has changed over the years and has become less about working with the children and more about analysing the results. I enjoyed working with the children the most.”

She will now be having a sabbatical from teaching to spend time with her family and to have the chance to pursue her hobbies.

Mrs Parfitt said: “I have a great love for music, I love playing the piano and my garden desperately needs some work, so I will be looking to spend some time on those.

“If I do go back, I will look to do something for part time possibly working with children with special needs or teaching music.”

She will be succeeded in September by Sue Rigby, who is currently the headteacher of Lumbertubs Primary School in Northampton.