He spent seven and a half years as headmaster of the old The Scots School, before he became the inaugural SASC headmaster following the merge of Scots and All Saints' College.

As he leaves SASC, Mr Gates believes this has brought an end to his career in education in a full time capacity.

"For me this marks the end of my time as headmaster but also, most likely, my career in education at least in a full time capacity," he said.

"In all probability, I will retire to travel and then settle down on the mid North Coast.

"I'm certainly not looking for work but if a school is looking for a temporary principal I may help out for a term or two."

He said he's faced many challenges over the years as a headmaster, particularly in the past year with the SASC merge.

"The role of headmaster was once described by a retiring head as, 'The best job possible with some of the worst days imaginable'," he said.

"This has certainly proved to be true for me. Thankfully the good days have far outweighed the bad.

"The last year has been very challenging for me as I have had to come to accept the reality that the new college must have a new headmaster but I am excited for the future of the new college.

"Although the merger has had its challenging moments, I truly believe it is going exceptionally well.

"If you just pause and reflect on how much we have achieved since 29 August 2017, 22 months ago, it's remarkable."

He said he's enjoyed watching students grow and thrive, as well as watch them play sport.

During his time at The Scots School and SASC, he's also taught English, History, Studies of Religion and Christian Studies, the latter being something he regards as the greatest privilege of all in his 32 years of teaching.

"[In Christian Studies] you're engaging with kids that come from a whole range of world views and my position is that this subject is an excellent opportunity to challenge them in what they believe," he said.

"We can look at it from a Christian perspective or we can look at it from other world views."

And across his time, Mr Gates highlighted several achievements that stands out for him, including raising funds to build the Tim Richards Pavilion, planting of 130 deciduous trees at the Scots Campus, lowering the fees, developing and expanding the Learning Support and Enrichment Team, developing a strong school culture and navigating the challenging task of being the foundation head of Scots All Saints College.

Mr Gates and his wife Gillian will now look forward to traveling for one year, once their daughter Genevieve finishes year 12 in November.

He's also looking forward to working on his golf handicap, kayaking, hiking, reading history and autobiographies, becoming involved in community charity initiatives, watching sport and spending time with his family.

Throughout his years in education, Mr Gates said he's been "truly blessed by God".

"His provision in our lives has been amazing," he said.

"I started teaching the day after my last exam in November, 1981, and I have been very fortunate to enjoy a wonderful teaching career over 38 years."