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A long-serving catering assistant is set to hang up her apron today then take the plunge into retirement.

After 18 years working in the kitchens of Denny High School, Margaret White (65) will prep her last meal for the pupils on Friday, March 1st before using her free time to learn how to swim. She also aims to swap the dinner line for line dancing and will spend more time with her six grandchildren.

Having started her career as a support worker in a local care home, Margaret, from Denny, decided to join the Council’s Catering & Cleaning service in 2001, as the hours suited her family life.

During her years at the secondary school a lot has changed, not least a move to a new building, the introduction of a cashless dinner hall and stricter food guidelines.

She said: “When the school moved it replaced two kitchens with one. That made a huge difference to how we all worked. Technology has also made it easier and quicker for pupils to pay for their meals. Their tastes have also changed and we now make a much wider range of food for them to enjoy, which all has to be nutritionally balanced.”

Helping to prep food for over 500 secondary pupils and 120 pupils at Antonine Primary School five days a week means the 12-strong kitchen team need to work closely together to ensure hungry children get fed on time – especially when it rains.

“We can tell how busy we’re going to be by the weather,” Margaret said. “If it rains more pupils will stay indoors so we have to produce more; if it’s sunny we make less.

“The team has to be organised and we have so much knowledge between us. We have a lot of banter with each other and the pupils and that’s what I am going to miss the most. I’ll really miss the company.”