TWO Wantage teachers retiring after a combined 60 years have spoken about the most important aspects of future education in the town.

King Alfred’s Academy maths teacher and head of timetabling Mike Warne is stepping down from his role after 37 years, while Charlton Primary School headteacher Jenny de le Coze will leave her school after 13 years at the helm.

Between them, they have taught thousands of Wantage school children and seen changes in the industry over three decades.

Mr Warne, 59, who started teaching at King Alfred’s as an Oxford engineering graduate in 1978, said the one thing he would change about the school is to reduce it to two sites.

The 1,800-pupil academy is based on three sites across the town and staff have long wanted to reduce that to two to cut down on teachers travelling throughout the day.

Mr Warne said: “It is long overdue: when I was head of maths for 18 years I was teaching on all three sites and it is not satisfactory.

“The energy we expend to make it work is wasted energy that could be used elsewhere.”

The Vale Academy Trust, which runs the school, is now forging ahead with plans to improve and expand Portway’s Centre Site, with new science and sixth form blocks, and sell off Springfield Road’s East Site.

Mr Warne also pointed out that these would be the first new buildings on Centre Site since he arrived.

He said: “The facilities need updating so it is quite exciting that these changes are now being mooted.

“It will enable us to provide the kind of facilities we need to provide at King Alfred’s.”

But despite the difficulties of the three-site arrangement, Mr Warne said he was proud of King Alfred’s students’ achievements over the years, with 10 of his maths students in the past 20 years winning places at Oxford or Cambridge.

Mr Warne said he was planning to enjoy his retirement “reading the paper and listening to the cricket”.

Mrs de la Coze said she would like to see a new secondary school for Wantage and Grove run by the Vale Academy Trust.

The trust which runs King Alfred’s also runs Wantage CofE Primary, St Nicholas Primary in East Challow, Millbrook Primary School in Grove and Charlton Primary.

With 5,500 new homes due to be built in Wantage and Grove in the next 15 years and a new 1,200-pupil secondary school due to be built in Grove, there has been a debate over whether that school should be run by the Vale trust or a new academy trust.

Mrs de la Coze said Charlton had seen the benefits of being in a partnership with other local schools.

She said: “Working in partnership really moves schools forward.

“I have been particularly impressed with the continual professional development opportunities for staff .

“The transition between primary and secondary school in Wantage has also improved.

“I think it would be very forward thinking to have another secondary school to work in partnership with.”

Grove Parish Council previously said it would be interested in applying to run a new secondary school in the village itself, but has not yet made a formal application.