‘A pleasure to come to work’

Tony Hilton . . . dedication earns nomination

TONY Hilton enjoys his job at Stanley Road Primary School so much that he decided to delay his retirement.

The 65-year-old has been the site manager at the Chadderton school for 23 years and should have retired last year.

But years of late-night call outs have not dented Tony’s enthusiasm and he decided to continue until next month to see the completion of a new extension.

And that is just the kind of dedication that had earned him a Pride in Oldham nomination from colleagues.

“I thought I would stay on and see the project through. Plus I enjoy it so much, that’s why I have been here so long,” said Tony, who is married with two grown-up sons.

“I like the variety and the people who make the job what it is. I have worked with very nice people over the years, it’s been a pleasure to come to work.”

When Tony, of Middleton Road, Chadderton, started the job the school was an annexe to Freehold Primary.

The former milkman has seen its transformation and added: “It has changed enormously. It used to be the old South Chadderton School and, when they built the new one on Butterworth Lane, they closed it completely and put it in mothballs.

“Freehold was getting too big so they put a few classrooms here and it became an annexe. Over the years it has just got bigger and bigger.”

Tony was nominated by school business manager Andrea Flint, who said: “He has been with us for 23 years and we just feel he has been exceptional. He is just great. All the kids love him, we love him and he does such a lot.”