Staff at an Oxfordshire school are faced with a new learning experience - how to spend the £1.8m they have won on the National Lottery.

The 12 women all work at William Morris Primary School in Banbury and have been playing the lottery together for several years.

In the syndicate are the school's secretary, two cooks, two cleaners, a retired cleaner, a lollipop lady, a kitchen assistant, and four dinner ladies.

Penny Vautier, Sheila Loveridge, Maureen Williams, Jean Beecroft, Lesley Wright, Sheila Marsh, Jean Scurr, Carol Poyser, Carol English, Maggie Millar, Pam Banks, and Monica Bradshaw have six lines on the lottery every Wednesday and Saturday and spend £1 a week each. They realised on Wednesday that they had scooped the jackpot after seeing the midweek draw.

Mrs Vautier said: "It was a bit frantic and a bit happy - it is rather a lot of money. Nobody seems to know what they are going to do with their share."

But the school is unlikely to be left frantically searching for replacement staff. Mrs Vautier added: "Nobody is planning early retirement as far as I know."

Each member of the syndicate will make £149,707 as their share of Wednesday's £1,796,467 jackpot.

The cheque presentation and official press conference was due to be held at the Whately Hall Hotel in Horsefair, Banbury, at 2.30pm today.

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