AN EMOTIONAL memorial for a much-loved teacher was hailed as a "wonderful celebration" of his life.

An evening dedicated to the former deputy head of All Hallows Catholic College, Bernard Price, was hosted at the Brooklands Avenue school.

Friends, colleagues, students and family joined in the celebration, which was marked by the opening of a new cafe – Bernard’s Bar – in honour of the father of five.

Rita Price, Bernard’s wife, said: "It was a lovely evening and the school was really generous in putting it together. Bernard would have loved what the school prepared.  There was a wonderful book of memories about him. To have the different generations, including the headteacher when he first went there, was a great joy to see it.  He would have loved being in the new cafe because he enjoyed being around the youngsters there. We were so glad to have been invited and people travelled from all over."

Bernard, of Legh Road, Prestbury, died of a heart attack at his home on January 14, aged 63.

More than 1,300 people joined a Facebook group set up by pupils in his honour, with heartfelt tributes pouring in from students past and present from all over the world. The school set up a similar tribute webpage. Comments from the site were bound into a book and presented to Rita at the memorial evening on March 31.

Headteacher Tony Billings was taught by Bernard when he was a pupil at the school he now runs.

"It was a wonderful celebration of his life," he said.

"There were lots of former colleagues and students who came to join in the celebration and everybody was telling stories of funny moments they had shared. The whole evening was very well received."

His funeral, held on Friday, January 23, at Alban’s Church, Macclesfield, saw almost 400 people fill the chapel to pay their last respects, as well as two bishops and 17 priests.  Bernard was so well-known in the borough mourners overflowed onto the streets.

After a brief stint at a school in Stockport, the grandfather of three moved to All Hallows in 1973, where he was the deputy head from 1979 to 2002, before retiring in 2007.