'Get a haircut.” Former Tauranga Girls' College principal Joy Drayton was a formidable woman and the first thing she told beginning teacher Murray Armstrong in 1974 was that it wasn't appropriate for a young man teaching at a girls' school to have long hair.

The Head of Social Sciences retires from the school today after 44 years.

He came to the school after a chance meeting with Joy at a PPTA conference in Christchurch in 1973 where he was speaking as president of the teacher's college students' association.

'We were sitting beside each other and she asked me about my intentions for the following year. She said there could well be a job waiting for me at Tauranga Girls' College if I wanted it.”

When a vacancy appeared in the Education Gazette, Murray sent off an application and received a confirmation telegram – as was the norm in those days – shortly afterwards.

He travelled to Tauranga for an introductory visit.

'I recall being asked by Mrs Drayton to pop into her office and she said 'I have one request Mr Armstrong. Get a haircut. Having long hair is not a good look for a young man at a girls' school'.”

Murray had done his teacher training at two boys' schools in the South Island but wasn't fazed about teaching at a girls' school.

'I think when you start at any school you wonder what it will be like. After a day or two you're just into it.”

One of Murray's first assigned tasks was to be secretary of the school's Parent Teacher Association. At the time there was a huge community push for the boys' and girls' colleges to merge and become co-educational across a junior and senior campus.

'The majority of parents polled were in favour of it, but it never came to anything because in those days boys' colleges had things like engineering workshops that would've had to be duplicated here. I think the sheer cost of doing it frightened someone in the Department of Education so it didn't go anywhere.”

'I think there is a place for girls' and boys' schools. The thing I have observed here is that the senior girls do all of the leadership roles which, in a co-ed school at least half and maybe more are dominated by boys.”

Murray says his long tenure at the school can partly be attributed to the great career opportunities he has had, including numerous teacher study tours overseas.

A highlight for him during his time at the school has been the overseas history trips he organised for students to destinations such as Russia, Germany and Poland, Greece and Italy, France and Belgium and, just this year, the USA as part of a study of the civil rights movement.

'We started in New York and stayed near Times Square, which was a magnet for the girls. We then went to Washington DC which was a little bit nostalgic for me because I hadn't been back since 1981 when I was working there on a Fulbright scholarship.”

Murray says the biggest changes in education over his 44 years have been the introduction of Tomorrow's Schools in the 1980s, the introduction of the NCEA qualification system in the 2000s and the recent advances in technology.

'I don't get into arguments about whether the education system is good or bad because no matter what you've got there are really good things about it and there are some limitations. There is no perfect system.”

On the current review of NCEA, Murray says he's in favour of dropping NCEA at Year 11.

'In the 70s and 80s a heck of a lot of students left school at the end of fifth form so School Certificate was a major thing before you graduated.

'I don' know that we really need NCEA Level 1 anymore because most students go on until at least Year 12. I'm personally inclined to extend the core curriculum into Year 11, which I think produces a better all-round student.”

Murray says the advent of technology for a subject like history has been 'wonderful.”

'History lessons now are very media-orientated with You Tube clips and DVDs to illustrate aspects of your topic. And obviously, when the students come to do their research it's easy to get out their device and use it.”

It has been a week of farewells for Murray, with a staff dinner last week, and a shared lunch in the staffroom and a farewell assembly by the students yesterday afternoon. A whole wall of the staffroom has been dedicated to Murray, including a staff photo from 1976. He is the last of that group to leave.

One of the things that Murray will be remembered for is his crazy costumes on special occasions, particularly his St Patrick's Day outfit and his ‘Moodi Gras' onesie, a photo of which has graced the top of his farewell cake.

'It's a chance to dress up and be silly. It's fun to get into.”

Murray says he will miss both the students and staff but won't be resting on his laurels. His farewell gift from colleagues was a bicycle.

'I'm going to go bike riding. I've got a mate who's already retired and his bike riding partner has left town so I'm going to join him.

'I had my very first bike ride yesterday. I biked to school. I took it easy,” he grins.

Murray and wife Alison, who also taught at the school for a time, are heading off to Europe on a well-deserved holiday but will be back for the school's 60^th reunion at Labour Weekend in October for any former students who want to wish him a final farewell.