A WALLINGFORD headteacher who has spent her whole career teaching in Oxfordshire says she will be swapping schoolchildren for grandchildren as she prepares to retire.

Jenny Forder, 58, has run St John’s Primary School, in St John’s Road, for a decade, having previously taught at Caldecott Primary School, in Abingdon, and St Nicholas’ Primary School, in Old Marston, Oxford.

She says she plans to spend her time looking after her grandchildren Phoebe, two, and five-month-old Reuben, and working at her spinning wheel.

Mrs Forder,who lives in Oxford, said: “I shall catch up on reading, and I also spin wool, so I will be getting the spinning wheel oiled again.

“I haven’t had time to do much for a few years, and I have got a fleece ready for spinning.

“It will certainly be a change. I have really enjoyed being at St John’s. It’s a wonderful place to work, and the parents and staff are very supportive.

“It has been our centenary year this year, so it has been an exciting one to finish on.

“One of my most enjoyable memories is the celebration earlier this year in the church, followed by a special lunch at Centre 70.”

Another familiar face at the school is also saying farewell this week, long-serving cook June Redpath, who has been feeding the children of Wallingford for 29 years.

Mrs Redpath, 60, of Norreys Drive, Wallingford, started work in the kitchens of St Nicholas’ School in 1981, before moving to St John’s as cook 13 years ago.

She said she had cooked 100 meals every school day for 29 years.

She said: “I still recognise many of the children I’ve cooked for around town. A lot of them still say ‘Hello’.

“School dinners are very different now, because we’re trying to serve more healthy foods – fruit, salad options and so on, rather than burgers and pizzas.

“They’re getting more popular, and you can tell the difference with the younger ones coming up, so the message is getting through.”

She said she would be spending more time with her husband Brian, 60, and children Peter and Ann-Marie.

She added: “I’m looking forward to relaxing and getting out in the garden to try to keep it up to scratch.”