Teacher has shaped hearts and minds for almost 40 years

Paul Murray, principal teacher of art at Inverclyde Academy, is retiring.

The teacher who is also an acclaimed artist in his own right, said he has had a brilliant career and Inverclyde Academy is the best school he has ever worked in.

Paul said: "I've had a brilliant and inspiring career and the kids enthusiasm keeps you going.

"It's not always exciting, there have been challenges along the way but local kids have such a talent for art.

"This is the best school I've ever worked in, it's a comprehensive school, similar to the comprehensive school I went to and I wanted to give pupils the same positive experience that I had in my school.

"Although the job is a different job, the enthusiam is just the same as it was 39 years ago."

Paul, 61, was born and brought up in Greenock, living in Hamiltion Street and then Antigua Street. He attended St Laurence's Primary and Notre Dame High School, studied at Glasgow School of Art and started teaching in 1985 at St Gerard's High School in Govan.

He knew what he wanted to do from a young age, saying: "I never had any other ambition but to go to art school."

This was helped along the way by an inspiring teacher, Bill Sinclair, who took Paul to the Royal Glasgow Institute Exhibition in the 1970s.

(Image: Duncan Bryceland)

Paul said: "I saw those paintings and I thought 'I want to be here' - and now I am an elect member of the RGI. It shows you what art teachers can do for kids."

He and his wife Christine, head teacher at Gourock Primary, who is also retiring, spent a decade abroad teaching in Marbella in Spain and Bahrain.

Paul said: "It was a brilliant experience, both in terms of lifestyle and life as an artist."

They returned home in 1999 and he started teaching at Wellington Academy and then Inverclyde Academy, when the school merged with Greenock High in 2007.

Paul exhibits his work, which is landscape and still-life based, all over the country from London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, the Cotswolds, Bath and Cornwall, as well as locally at Crow Cottage Arts in Gourock.

He is also an elected member of the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour (RSW) and the Paisley Art Institute.

Paul shares three grown-up children with Christine, Luke, 31, a PE teacher, Anna, 29, a health and safety officer and Joe, 26, who works for drinks company Diageo.

Paul plans spending his retirement painting and travelling.

He said: "I am looking forward to peace, rest and travel, we have spent a lot of time going out to Spain and we still have good friends there that we met all those years ago."

Paul heaped praise on local pupils, saying: "There is a huge amount of talent in all the schools locally and schools provide a fantastic quality of art education and all schools punch above their weight nationally.

"Inverclyde in general and Inverclyde Academy don't always get the recognition they deserve for what we do for the kids here."

Among his leaving gifts, Paul received a portrait of himself by colleague Rachel Cable.

Head teacher Denise Crawford said: "This is a huge loss to the school. Not only was Paul principal teacher of art but over the last two years he has been temporary deputy head and has been a leader in the school.

"He is an Inverclyde boy and believes in Inverclyde, the school and its pupils. We can replace a principal teacher in art but we will never replace Mr Murray."