More than 1200 children have passed through Esther Gilmore’s primary classroom doors during her record-breaking teaching career — but for the veteran educator, every single one of them has been equally special.

After 48 years at Rosalie Primary School in Shenton Park, Ms Gilmore has earned the honour of being the longest-serving teacher at a single school in WA’s history, having started at the local school in 1978.

The exciting achievement comes as the school itself acknowledges its own milestone, celebrating 120 years “of learning, friendship and community”.

One might think that five decades in the classroom might be an extraordinary feat, but for Ms Gilmore the years have simply flown by.

“It’s unbelievable that I can have that title, but it’s been wonderful,” she said.

She started her teaching career in 1975 and has watched generations of children walk through the school gates, helping shape their early years.

Ms Gilmore said the sense of community had made the school so special and why she has stayed for as long as she has.

“Rosalie’s always been different to other schools. We’ve always done our own thing, and it’s been like a big family,” she said.

“And the high school children come back, they come back to see you and say hi. It’s a very special place.”

Across her 51 years in education, Ms Gilmore has also witnessed changes in the classroom, from the introduction of technology to the changing ways in which children learn and play. But she believes that despite the changes, the most important lessons for children have remained the same.

While English and humanities and social sciences are her favourite subjects to teach, she said equipping children with the ability to find and access information had become increasingly important.

“If they can research, if they can find information and be able to discern from the internet what is correct and what is not, that is the skill in itself,” she said.

“Because there’s so much on there that’s not correct.”

Although she has helped more than a thousand children develop academically, Ms Gilmore said her students had also taught her just as much over the years.

“They’ve taught me to value everything and appreciate everybody,” she said.

“No matter whether they’re academic or socially inclined or sports inclined, to appreciate everybody and everybody’s skills.”

Ms Gilmore currently has no plans to retire, but said when the time comes to leave it will be emotional.

“I’ll get upset at the time,” she said.

Ms Gilmore said the most rewarding part of her job was watching the children change and progress.

Among those students is former student Lauren Palmer, who was taught by Ms Gilmore in Year 1 in 1989.

Now 42 years old, Ms Palmer still remembers her former teacher, especially the moment she realised just how much she had grown attached to her.

“I remember, I barely cried ever, but I remember a couple of times crying in primary school, but the most distinct memory of that is that when it was our last day of Year 1 and I cried because I was sad to leave Ms Gilmore,” she said.

“I was like, why am I so upset? But obviously I had some attachment to her and didn’t realise how much I really loved her.”

She remembered Ms Gilmore as a firm teacher with a “no-nonsense” approach. She said that consistency was something she had come to appreciate as an adult.

“You know where you stand,” she said.

“I think the most important thing is consistency. She was a very even-keel teacher, like you know exactly what the rules were and I think that’s what you need, actually.”

Bindi McMechan, who was taught by Ms Gilmore in both year 1 and 3, returned to Rosalie 13 years ago — but this time as a teacher and work colleague to her former teacher.

She said it initially took some getting used to seeing her former teacher in the staffroom as a colleague.

“It took me a really long time to address her by her first name,” Ms McMechan said.

“Walking into the staffroom, I’d be like ‘Oh, Ms Gilmore’. And she’d be like ‘You have to refer to me as Esther. Like, we’re colleagues now’, and I was like, this is so bizarre.”

Now teaching Year 3 and with her own child attending the school, Ms McMechan said she had seen first-hand the affection students developed for Ms Gilmore.

“She’s a very humble teacher. She is firm, but fair,” she said.

“She has so much kindness, and all the kids at the end of the year are sobbing as they’re leaving. ‘We don’t want to leave Mrs Gilmore’.”

Ms Gilmore said watching children grow in confidence and develop skills they once struggled with was one of the greatest rewards of the profession.

“You see the children change. Gain confidence in themselves and be able to do things that they couldn’t do before,” she said.

For Ms Gilmore her greatest success is not the record she now holds, but the generations of children who have left her classroom and gone on to tackle on the world.

“I’ve been able to see many children progress, and go on to do marvellous things in the world,” she said.

“I’m very lucky. Not everyone gets to do that.”