Rolls were reversed when pupils at a Tiptree school gave one dinner lady a meal to say thanks for 27 years of service.

Dinner lady Daphne Warren, from Tiptree, celebrated her retirement from Tiptree Heath Primary School in Maldon Road by sitting down to a dinner served by pupils.

Celebrations for the retiring Mrs Warren lasted two days and included a special assembly where she was presented with a clock, a bird table and a bench.

The school also arranged a reunion for all 15 of the dinner ladies who have worked with Mrs Warren during her time at the school and her husband and son were also there to give her an extra surprise.

Head teacher, Jeff Graham, said: "It was all a great success. It is like Mrs Warren has come full circle because she has worked with some of the pupils' mums and dads."

He added: "Mrs Warren has nearly always come to school on a bike so we also decorated her bike as a surprise. We made her parade around it. She also got seven cards, one from each of the classes."

Mrs Warren will still be a familiar face among the 200 pupils at the school when she returns as a volunteer to help with the gardening.

Published Friday, April 25, 2003

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