He bought himself a set of drain rods.

"I never had to tackle drains before," he said. "So I got a plumber in and I watched what to do and treated myself.

"In a school this size you have to be able to do the little jobs yourself."

Mr Cumpsty's association with the small independent school began in 1963 when, with the help of an inheritance from his grandfather and financial advice from his father-in-law, he bought it outright and became owner and headmaster.

"When I came there were 37 children," he said. "And 12 of those were leaving at the end of the term and we had one new child coming in.

"I was young - but looking back the sweat trickles down the back of my neck." Yorston Lodge was not in a good way when he arrived. The legacy of the three Briedden sisters had been lost to a rapid series of ownership changes. The legendary spinsters had launched the school in 1904 and only relinquished control in 1955.

"It was very Victorian," said Mr Cumpsty. "There was no playground as such. There were lawns and there were paths - and in playtime the children walked along the paths."

Over the years Mr Cumpsty, now 68, has built up the school roll to 110 pupils. But it was never easy.

"We lived on the premises for 14 years and we had two young children when we came," he said.

"We had been living in a new private house and we came to live in this very old house that needed a lot of work doing to it."

Wife Ann, who he married in 1955, was even called on to run the kindergarten.

Mr Cumpsty's own path to the classroom was accidental. The County Durham-born son and grandson of engineers studied history at Lampeter University in Wales from 1944 - with the purpose of becoming an ordained priest in the Church of Wales.

He still has a strong Chrisitian faith - which has informed his work at Yorston Lodge - but he changed his mind about making it a career.

"I felt I was on a conveyor belt," he said. "When you have not got control over events and everything is planned out for you - school, college, theological college and the church.

"I needed to go out and see what life was about."

So he joined the regular army for some financial independence. And by joining the Educational Corps he became an instant.

Basic training led him to Aldershot where he taught young - and sometimes quite uninterested - army pupils.

It was frustrating job. A visit by the top brass or an operation could take the boys away from the classroom for days.

"After that I thought if I could teach in the army boys' school I could teach anywhere," he said. "I defaulted into it and found that I enjoyed it."

His first assignment into civilian school life couldn't have provided a greater contrast. The select Leicestershire preparatory school he joined in 1955 supplied the local public schools.

"It was another world," he said. "They were so polite for a start. Everything was 'yes sir' and 'no sir'. It was a real pleasure."

After eight years he felt he would like to be his own boss - and bought Yorston Lodge.

"You have different worries," he said. "But at least you don't have to go through school committees. It's nice to be able to decide for yourself."

But in Knutsford there were other concerns. The school was not big enough to warrant a secretary or caretaker - and the new owner ended up doing all sorts of tasks - from salaries and tax returns to persuading parents to carry a piano up three flights of stairs.

"If you're doing a reasonable job it takes 75 per cent of your time," he said. "There were very few weekends when I was not in here for some reason. Often to tidy up and do repairs."

Today it's thriving. But it's still a family school which inspires loyalty from staff - one teacher has been at Yorston Lodge for 20 years - and support from parents.

"I always tell parents the most important thing is that children should be happy," he said. "If their child is unhappy we're fighting a losing battle. If they want to come to school we can teach them and they will learn." Teaching youngsters is a career Mr Cumpsty has never regretted - especially in a small school. "We have had many children who were struggling in a large school," he said.

"And the teacher has not had the opportunity to help them."

One young lad had come from a school where he was unhappy. And on his first day he made it clear he didn't want to be at Yorston Lodge either.

"I suddenly heard this wailing noise behind me," he said. "He wanted to go home. I had never had it before."

Years later Mr Cumpsty got a call from the boy's grammar school, passing on the message that he had got top marks in his university science degree.

"There are a number of children who can virtually go anywhere and you know they're going to succeed," he said. "But there are others that if they had not come here they would have sunk without a trace.

"They're the ones that I feel grateful that we've done something for."

He admits that his job has allowed him few hobbies.

"I've never been able to take up golf," he said. "You can't play a quick hole.

"It's a three hour business and I just couldn't manage it."

But he was president of the Knutsford Rotary Club and is a passionate Manchester City supporter.

Mr Cumpsty retires at Easter. But the man who has passionately supported generations of Knutsford schoolchildren won't let go right away. He will still be there to teach part-time with new headmaster Bob Edgar.

"I would've hated to come in on the Friday and not come in on the Monday," he said. "This is a winding down - which is rather nice."

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.