The long-serving leader, who has been in the role for the past 14 years, is set to retire on April 7.

Ms Hunt said she had been “pretty blessed” to enjoy a career that spanned more than three decades.

“I’ve really enjoyed it,” she said.

“I have been in the system for 37 years, so I’m pretty dedicated and loyal to it.

“I think it’s the best system in our country because it welcomes people from all walks of life.”

While there had been many changes during her tenure, Ms Hunt was proud of Scone High School’s ability to keep moving forward.

“The school has been able to embrace those changes and still focus on what matters most which is student learning,” she said.

“Scone High offers as many opportunities as it can so our students are exposed to a similar number of things to what their city counterparts are.

“That means that teachers have to give up have to give up a lot of their own time to prepare those experiences for our kids and I can’t thank them enough for that.

“The P & C here as well are a small but amazing group of people.

“I’d like to thank them for their unbelievable support of me, as principal, but also of the school in terms of what they provide.”

With only two weeks left at the school, Ms Hunt said she was excited about the chance to take a well-deserved break.

“I’ll be having a rest first,” she said.

“I always put everything into teaching and I will still remain involved in the school community because I believe in it.

“I’m a member of Rotary so I’ll have a lot to do with the youth programs that it offers across the Upper Hunter as well.”