The retired headteacher of Delapre Primary School received dozens of heartfelt messages from past pupils expressing their gratitude for how he influenced their lives and created happy memories of their time at school.
The response was so overwhelming, the Chron decided to reach out to Bob to chat about the 13 years since he left and just minutes into the conversation it was clear to see why there was such positivity. Bob’s passion for teaching, his love of the job and the people he met, and his great sense of humour were evident throughout our interview.
Leaving teaching, and Delapre, when he retired in 2012 was a massive change to his life.
"I grieved terribly, I probably shouldn’t use that word, but I did. All the symptoms were there. I lost something in my life and I just loved my job so much,” Bob said. "I loved the kids, their enthusiasm was infectious.”
Health reasons were behind Bob retiring. He was suffering with terrible pains in his neck before doctors diagnosed an issue with his spine that required surgery, which thankfully was successful.
Bob, now 73, still lives in Northampton. Sadly, as Bob explained in his own words ‘after 48 years of loving and being loved’, he lost his wife, Catherine, to breast cancer five years ago. He now shares his home with pet dog, Charlie, who he met at Animals in Need in Irchester.
“The year we discovered that Catherine had breast cancer, we were planning to do a cruise and go to Australia and I had lots of messages from former pupils living abroad who said they would meet us off the ship and show us the real places to visit, it was so lovely,” Bob added.
After retirement, as well as playing bridge, Bob also enjoyed golf.
"I played golf with my friends, the banter was lovely...it was horrendous but I loved it!”
Rugby was the other sporting passion of Bob’s, playing for more than 35 years, starting in St Ives when he grew up.
Bob looks back at his time in teaching, and in Northampton in particular with great fondness and has many happy memories. He was not, however, a fan of the school inspectors.
"Northamptonshire was full of idealistic inspectors. But I am a realist. I always thought, what do the parents want, what do the children want – forget the inspectors!
"When Delapre became a primary school instead of a middle school, I was a bit nervous but thought, I’ve had two four-year-olds of my own, I can do it!
"Then an inspector came in and said you’re not going to have any chairs, any desks and teachers will be nowhere to be seen, the children will be empty vessels who will fill themselves and I thought, what the heck!
"I sat them down and said tell me where there’s a school doing the exact opposite and that’s successful...they did, and I went there to find out what they were doing!”
This realistic approach clearly had an impact of his former pupils and his colleagues.
"The staff were great. Some people were amazed I let the teachers talk back to me. If I made a mistake they would say, what have you done, you’re an idiot Bob – some people look at that as a weakness but I think it’s a strength.
"I always tried not to talk down to the children and talk to them as an equal. And I always made sure that if I had to tell someone off, I did it early in the day. That way I could come back later in the afternoon, make peace with them and move on. If they did something wrong in the afternoon, I’d say let’s talk tomorrow.
"And when I was telling people off, I was always thinking in my head that I did far worse than this when I was at school! I think it’s important to keep sight of that,” he said.
When Bob left teaching he created his own website, www.bobbuntine.com, to capture all his memories and advice from years in teaching. It is a fascinating read.
Despite his passion for teaching, it was clear talking to Bob that his family is his number one love. He has two daughters and four grandchildren.
"I am so very proud of Joanne and Sarah, they are what I am most proud of in my life,” Bob added.
2. Bob Buntine
Bob gave a wave to the crowds being flown off in the helicopter Photo: Kelly Cooper
