Prime Minister’s trip down school memory lane

The pupils and staff at Morrinsville Intermediate School were in for a welcome surprise last week when a former pupil came to call – the Prime Minister.

Jacinda Ardern paid a visit to her former school, which nears its 50th jubilee, and was reunited with her former hard tech teacher, Mr (Stuart) King, on the eve of his retirement. She even took in an old wooden car she made in one of his classes to show him and share some memories prior to his departure from the school.

On her Instagram page, the Pime Minister announced:

“My old intermediate school is about to celebrate its 50th Jubilee – a happy excuse to visit! I suspect by the end I bored everyone with my nostalgia.

“A particular treat was seeing Mr King – my old wood work teacher who is retiring after 46 years at the school. I posted a couple of stories about Mr King yesterday and it was so lovely to see how many people remembered him and his sayings (to this day I can hear him saying “pretty crunchy eh” when he was really excited.)

“Thanks for everything Mr King, and for being so kind about the old car I made in your class and brought back to show you!”

King will retire at the end of term one, with a farewell ceremony planned for 15th April to mark his contribtuion to the school.

The PM was treated to a musical performance as well as embarking on a tour of the decile five intermediate, which currently has a roll of 320 pupils. She also used Instagram to share this old photo of herself during her time at the school…