Barrhead High's head teacher has delayed his retirement.

Andy Sinclair was originally to have his last day in school on March 27 and formally retire days after his 64th birthday later in April.

But he has now announced that he will stay on until the summer while all schools are shut down because of the ongoing pandemic.

He told the Barrhead News: "Almost a year ago, when I set my retirement date of April 2020 to coincide with my 64th birthday, nobody could have envisaged the situation that would impact so significantly on our school, community, country or world.

"Unfortunately the recruitment process to source a new head teacher has not yet successfully identified someone to take over, and with the current situation, that is no longer a practical possibility at this point."

Read more: Barrhead High's headteacher retires from his post

The head teacher said he offered to postpone his retirement until the summer, in consultation with East Renfrewshire Council's education department.

Mr Sinclair continued: "This will provide some continuity and stability for the pupils, staff and parents of Barrhead High School. I could not have walked away from the school at this time.

"I have worked over the last 10 years with a community who are second to none.

"The pupils of Barrhead High have a special place in my heart. The staff have been outstanding and their response to the current challenging situation is evidence of that. And the parent body have been incredibly supportive over my time here.

"Although this is not how I envisaged moving towards summer, that is the case for us all now, and I am looking forward over the next few months to continuing to lead Barrhead High School safely forward towards better times for us all."