PEACE, love and rock ‘n’ roll define the 1960s and pupils at Covingham Park Primary got into the full swing of things when they celebrated the school’s 50th birthday this week.

Both old and new faces returned to the school on Tuesday for a fun-filled day of singing, dancing and dressing up in the most groovy outfits from the era.

As well as that, pupils also learnt some of The Beatles’ greatest hits to honour the 50th anniversary of the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album before performing them to their families at the end of the day.

Among those who returned to the school was David Wainwright – the first-ever headteacher at Covingham Primary in 1967.

He remained at the helm for 21 years before retiring.

“Since the event was organised I have been looking forward to coming back and I have been gobsmacked by the alterations they have made,” he said.

“I thought they wouldn’t have been able to do much structural changes but I was thrilled when I saw what they have done with the place. It has been a lovely experience to come back and recognise that I not only taught some of these children’s grandparents but some of their great-grand parents.”

The birthday celebrations kicked off when David asked to return to the school for a visit, telling unknowing staff that it would have been 50 years exactly since he first walked through the gates.

Staff then set about putting the day together - something which headteacher Caroline Polley believes was a resounding success.

She said: “We have to start by saying a huge thank you to all the children and all the parents, families and carers for coming along to help us celebrate our 50th birthday. “It was such a lovely day because there was a great feeling and atmosphere and we hope everyone had a brilliant time as well as the pupils learning about the history of the 1960s.

“We didn’t realise it was the 50th anniversary until we heard from David and so then we put a plan into action to make sure we celebrated the history of the school.

“To have a day focussed on the 1960s was great and we invited the children to dress up in 1960s gear and they put in a lot of effort.

“We decided on The Beatles because they were something that was part of our culture in British history and so the pupils have done all sorts about the era from looking at facts to learning about what life was like for children at the time.

“What was also great was we gave David a tour of the school and some of the children had a chat with him and asked him questions about what the school was like back in 1967. One child asked him whether the school had discos and he laughed and said yes. It was nice for them to have the chance to be able to find out about the school all those years ago.”

A dedicated team of staff were also on hand to provide much-needed refreshments for the jam-packed hall with tea, coffee and cake sales raising over £200 for Macmillan Cancer Support.