CHILDREN at St Nicholas Primary School in Bromham will shortly bid au revoir to the teacher who has been introducing pupils to the French language through after-school fun and games for the last 21 years.

Linda Bolter, from Greenfield Road, Devizes, was a high-powered secretary with an American firm based in Paris but had given up work to bring up her family.

She was recruited by the local franchisee of the private educational firm that ran Le Club Francais, an after-school club which gives primary school children a grounding in the French language.

Mrs Bolter said: “Bridget Luke, who was the franchisee at the time, asked me to take over from her in 1993. I worked for her for two years and then took over the franchise from her. I cover schools in a six-mile radius of Devizes town centre.

“It has been the most wonderful fun. The children learn French by playing games, some of them quite physical, so they are tired out by the end as well as better French speakers.

“I hope I have taught them well and empowered them. A couple of my former pupils have gone on to study at Oxford because, they say, they started with Le Club Francais.

“I will miss the children but I just felt after all these years there were other things I wanted to do with my life.”

She runs five after-school clubs and, at the peak of her career, taught 1,000 children a week.

Mrs Bolter has two grown-up children, Helen, a vet, and David.

Mrs Bolter is giving her last Le Club Francais class at the end of the month before embarking on a round-the-world odyssey.