CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND INVITATION.pdf

WHETHER school days are the best of your life is debatable, but the fact no one forgets their time in the classroom lies at the heart of a project to capture 60 years of education at a school moving towards a bright new future.

Belfairs High School, in Highlands Boulevard, Leigh, is entering the final stages of a £30million building project to replace its buildings with modern, purpose-built blocks.

The school is calling on former pupils and staff to share their memories, stories and old school memorabilia to commemorate the old buildings as they close for the final time in July.

Sharon Williams, assistant headteacher, who is leading the memories’ project, said: “The first stage is about contacting old pupils and staff, and saying goodbye to the old buildings.

“We are nearly 60 years old and there are thousands of children who have come through the school in that time and we want to reach as many as possible.”

Known as the Big Event, the project will conclude in July with an afternoon of tours and cream teas, where past pupils can visit their old classrooms for one last time and have their pictures taken for posterity.

In the same month, the school is planning to hold a memorabilia exhibition which will go on show at a performance evening where the official handing-over ceremony for the new keys will also take place.

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND INVITATION.pdf

Mrs Williams said: “With the cream tea and tours event, we will have former prefects showing people round with a photographer, and we want people to share their memories and meet up with old friends.

“We want to create a museum feel with the exhibits, which will be presented in boxes and will eventually be put into a small museum in the new school as a link to the old.”

As part of the project, the school wants to create a timeline, including everything from sporting victories to the tenures of former teachers.

Mrs Williams said: “The timeline will develop as people get in touch and share their memories, so it will be really organic.”

The working group set up to co-ordinate the project includes everyone from staff, the current and former head boys and girls, ex-pupils, a representative from the governing body and the heads of some feeder primary schools.

Although only in its early stages, the project has already led to the submission of letters and old photographs from as far afield as Canada and the USA. These will eventually become part of the school museum, which will also include a snapshot of the town of Leigh at the time the school was founded.

Mrs Williams said: “People really do want to remember and take part. Some of the letters we have had so far have been quite moving.

“It’s all the little stories that make it so compelling.

“Sometimes people think their tales wouldn’t be interesting, but we want to know about all the little things, because that’s the human side and is from trips to school reports and items of uniform, like ties or badges.”

Through the school tours, it is hoped the web of remembrance can be spun even wider as former pupils reunite and rediscover old friendships.

Mrs Williams said: “We want to give people the chance to come back and share their memories and relive their school days.

“We also want to show the opposites of education, such as the courses today compared with the lessons then, the differences in current facilities to the original classrooms, and how technology has a role today.

“We are also hoping to show comparative school timetables and what a typical school day was like then and now, covering everything from the food the children eat to the punishments, the PE kits and uniforms, everything from school life.”

The emotional side of the farewell process will play a big part in the project, and the school is asking people to pass on any contacts they have for fellow ex-pupils who have moved away, so as many people as possible can be invited to the events.

Mrs Williams added: “It’s going to let people say goodbye to it all because school can be a hugely influential time.

“People do make friends for life and forge really lasting friendships. All the anecdotes are interesting, however small, because they will mean something to other former pupils.

“Even the names of old teachers will trigger memories or stories of snowballs on the school field or what happened when someone misbehaved. Even if people don’t think they have a story to tell, we want them to be involved.

“If they get in touch, we can tell them about what we are doing so they can come along.”

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS AND INVITATION.pdf

THE PROJECT IS LOOKING FOR:

  • Written memories
  • Old photographs
  • Old school yearbooks
  • Items of old uniform, particularly anything which can show the school’s grey uniform was then changed to maroon
  • Old school exercise books and classroom paraphenalia
  • Contributors to record video or audio pieces about their memories
  • Contact details of former pupils and staff, including those who may have moved away from the area or emigrated

TO CONTACT THE PROJECT:

Write to: Sharon Williams, Belfairs High School, Highlands Boulevard, Leigh, SS9 3TG

  • Visit the website at the link below