'Life was much simpler then' - Teacher retires after 42 years in the same Eccles school

A popular and respected teacher is calling the register for the final time after spending her entire 42-year career at the same school.

Jane Walker will retire from her post teaching children at Branwood Preparatory School in Eccles when the summer term ends later this month. She has been overwhelmed by goodwill messages from Branwood pupils and their parents, many of whom were also taught by Mrs Walker when they were young.

Mrs Walker was aged in her early 20s when she started her teaching career at the school in 1981, after leaving her home in a small village in Wales. Branwood was then based in a large old house on Clarendon Crescent, Eccles. Her classroom had a fireplace in the corner and the cloakrooms were in the cellars.

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Back in those days ‘Zoom’ was a chart-topping hit by Fat Larry’s Band rather than an online video lesson. There were no overhead projectors, iPads or interactive white boards, and she had to teach her class of 7 year olds using the traditional ‘Chalk and Talk’ methods.

But while futuristic technology has transformed teaching since then, Mrs Walker says the real game-changer for her profession was the arrival of the Post-it note. Branwood, which is an independent school for children aged 3-11, moved to a new site and eventually to the modern school buildings on Stafford Road, Eccles, where 160 pupils are now taught.

Over the years she has seen over a thousand children pass through her classroom - every one of them inspired by her love of knowledge and her sense of fun.

As well as her commitment to their education, she gave up her spare time for the children to organise the Branwood cross