Teaching has been her life and she has the awards to prove it.
Now Sine MacVicar, who worked at the same school for 44 years, has been made an MBE for services to education and the community of Dunbeg.
Miss MacVicar retired this year after an illustrious career which included 25 years as head teacher at Dunbeg Primary School.
The 65 year old comes from Oban originally and later moved to the village just outside the town where the school had around 90 pupils.
This year she was given the Education Scotland Lifetime Achievement Award and also the national Tes Lifetime Achievement Award.
She said: “I just absolutely loved my job. I really felt very much part of the community. I was on to my third generation, teaching children of children of children. It was more than a job, it was my life. I loved it. It was just the respect, the community feeling and the warmth. The school was just like a huge big family.”
Throughout her career Miss MacVicar has always taught the Primary One and Two children. She said: “It was so rewarding being able to set the scene and just create a love of learning from day one.”
Back in the late 1990s the school won a national award for being the school at the heart of the community. Miss MacVicar said: “The school always was the heart of the community. You knew all of the families and you would go through the good times with them and also the bad.
“You followed the pupils in their futures and just felt so proud about how well they are all doing and what good citizens they are now.”
Still a big part of school life, she was invited back to see the nativity last week. Since she retired earlier this year she has been teaching piano lessons. She is also a member of the Oban Hospice board.
