Two retiring primary school teachers are looking forward to ‘taking it easy’ after a combined service of 38 years at one school.

Joanne Willian, assistant headteacher, has worked at Johnson Fold Community Primary School for 28 years, while Anne Duckworth has been there for a decade.

Mrs Willian, 57, who will return as a school governor, said: “We’ve got mixed feelings because it’s good to move on but it’s still sad to be leaving because there’s lots of good memories here.”

She’s taught many of the parents and now some grandparents of current children and believes it’s allowed her to create a strong link with families to deal with issues outside of education.

Mrs Duckworth, 61, ends her career teaching in year six, but she’s spent time right across the school.

She added: “I’m particularly proud of helping a child with Epidermolysis Bullosa for eight years from reception to year six.”

The condition means his skin his very fragile and comes out in a rash upon contact.

Both teachers celebrated their retirement with colleagues past and present at a pub on Thursday night and received separate assembles to thank them for their service.

In a joint message, they said: “We want to say thank you for all the support we’ve received from our colleagues, because we’ve always worked as a team and we know we’ll always be welcome.

“We leave a bit of our heart here as we go.”

They’re now looking forward to spending more time with their grandchildren and have holidays booked to 'take it easy' after their final term.

The head teacher at Johnson Fold, Ruth Dean, said: “On behalf of the staff, children and governors, I would like to thank them both for their dedication to Johnson Fold Community School and remind them that “Once a Johnson Folder, always a Johnson Folder!””