Waitaki Boys High School will next year have to continue without almost a century's worth of teaching experience, after it lost the services of several senior teaching staff in the second half of the 2012 school year.
Since the start of term three this year, four senior members of staff, including two year deans and a deputy rector, with a combined 61 years of teaching experience at the school, have either resigned to take up new positions away from WBHS or retired from teaching, and yesterday long-serving history teacher Graham Kitchin called time on his 38-year career at the school.
Board of trustees chairman Bill Wright paid tribute to Mr Kitchin's ''stalwart'' service.
''He has given tremendous service to Waitaki, through his whole teaching career.
''He has served through six rectors and been dedicated to classroom teaching to boys and Waitaki.''
Mr Wright had ''absolute confidence'' teaching standards would remain high at the school, despite the loss of a total of 99 years of classroom teaching experience over the past few months, Mr Wright said.
Staff had left either through retirement or promotion.
''They are moving on to something brighter in their careers so good on them,'' he said.
