Governor at Yattendon Primary School retires after 46 years of ‘remarkable service’

A school governor has retired after 46 years at the village school which she and her family attended.

Ann Wheeler retired as governor at Yattendon Primary School last term, which her two sons and two granddaughters attended and where her daughter-in-law currently works.

A special afternoon dedicated to Mrs Wheeler was held where children sang and shared stories, which she said made her feel “very honoured”.

Mrs Wheeler received messages from all the children and was presented with a personalised handmade pottery jug and a ‘Golden Seed’ certificate, which each child receives at the end of the academic year.

Other retired governors also returned to bid her farewell.

“Every class performed for me, which was lovely, starting from the little ones,” Mrs Wheeler told newburytoday.

“Some of the children read stories they had written. Some interviewed me.

“It was made even more emotional really because both my young granddaughters have had this ‘Golden Seed’ trophy as they’ve left.

“So, it’s nice to become the third member of the family to have had it.”

But Mrs Wheeler’s “very close connection” with the village school began much earlier.

She first joined the school at age six, when there were only 15 pupils.

There are 90 today, something she called “remarkable”, when “many small schools have had to close”.

From her early days at the school, Mrs Wheeler remembered a bell ringing in the village to summon pupils to the school.

She also recalled how the schools at Yattendon and Hampstead Norreys were very competitive, both trying to ‘recruit’ any new families who came to the villages.

Mrs Wheeler has worked with nine headteachers and acted as the school’s link to the church, where she has been churchwarden for 40 years.

She also chaired the school standards committee, led on safeguarding and was a key driver for the bags2school initiative.

She briefly taught at Yattendon as illness cover, before going on to teach at Curridge for 11 years and become headteacher at Brimpton for a further 11 years.

“I’ve been teaching all my life.

“I’ve seen the [Yattendon] school change and the buildings change, and I’ve been very interested when all the new buildings have been suggested and getting the funding, which has always been difficult.

“But we’ve managed it and have seen the numbers rise.

“But while it has grown, it remains a school where every child is valued as an individual.”

“What an incredible legacy,” headteacher Rachel Manley said of her lengthy service.

“We thank Ann sincerely for her commitment and service to this volunteer role at our school.”

But her legacy lives on.

“I went to the shop recently and some children came out and said ‘Hello Mrs Wheeler’,” she added.

“I have been going in to read with the children since I retired, so they know me very well.

“I didn’t want to be a governor the children never saw, so I made sure they knew me.”