Mo Laycock is retiring after 36 years, 15 at Firth Park, Steve Longley, Head of Modern Foreign Languages has spent 35 years as a teacher at Firth Park, Dr Chris Tyldesley, Head of History, 34 years, and Bill Lynn, Head of Year 9 and English teacher, 30 years at Firth Park and seven years at the former Colley School.
"We call ourselves 'the old buggers'," says the departing head in typically colourful fashion.
Mr Blunkett praised their contribution in "liberating the talent and future prospects of young people who are now moving on to post-16 education at Longley Park Sixth Form College in numbers unthinkable just a few years ago.
"Standards have been raised, aspirations encouraged and families engaged with motivating and lifting the horizons of young people."
The former Education Secretary added: "The development of specialist arts status has used drama and the performing arts as a spur to excellence across the whole curriculum and to self-belief by youngsters who, in the past, would have been both written off and, sadly, would have written themselves out of the picture.
"This is dedicated teaching at its best, combined with vigorous, demanding and sometimes, tempestuous leadership! That, of course, is what has so often made the difference."
A celebratory evening saw students and staff uphold the reputation of the school for arts and music and speeches from Mr Blunkett, cabinet member for children and young people's services Coun Colin Ross, who taught at Firth Park from 1975 to 1990, head of children and young people's services Sonia Sharp and Sheffield's former education director Jonathan Crossley-Holland.
Meanwhile, the senior leadership team sang a song for Mo Laycock called "Mo's Way", loosely based on the Frank Sinatra classic.


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