Seer Green School celebrates 150th anniversary

A new flag bearing the school logo and the date it first opened, 1859, was raised on a new flagpole, to great excitement in front of the whole school.
A commemorative service was held in the school hall led by Reverend Gaenor Hockey of Holy Trinity Church in Seer Green and the Bishop of Buckingham, Dr Alan Wilson.
During the service, which looked at education through the years, key stage two pupils sang the Westlife hit You Raise Me Up, which is based on The Londonderry Air, written in the 1850s, which may have been a popular modern tune for children at the school when it first opened.
A celebration concert for a packed audience of parents was held in the Jubilee Hall with pupils performing songs popular in each decade since the 1850s. These included Pop Goes the Weasel, from the 1850s, How Can I Keep on Singing from the 1860s, My Grandfather's Clock from the 1870s, and Gilbert and Sullivan's The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze - by the staff - from the Mikado. A second performance was attended by two former head teachers, Lesley-Jane Spector and Agnes Cameron.
Songs were linked by year six children with excerpts from the school log, which dates back 150 years, and historical references.
The hall was decorated with a large, brightly coloured banner made by staff featuring a rainbow in hand prints.
Celebrations end tomorrow when the school will open to former pupils, many of whom live in the village but one of whom had come from has far away as Australia.
They were able hear the concert, tour the school and view an exhibition of photographs, newspaper cuttings and memorabilia collected over the years, including text books from over a hundred years ago.
Head teacher Olwyn Davison-Oakley said: "It has been a wonderful week. The children really impressed me with their fantastic behaviour and their lovely singing. It has been an emotional and very happy week. They are the most wonderful children. The year six children especially did a fantastic job during the concert."

For photographs of the celebrations, see this week's Advertiser (out Thursday)