Three-year-olds are not the usual guests at a 90th birthday party but this was no ordinary celebration - as it was their school marking the milestone anniversary.
St Helen’s College in Parkway, Hillingdon, is in its 90th school year and children as young as three helped to mark the occasion during an action packed day of events.
Youngsters learnt the story of the school’s namesake, took part in a quiz, created artwork and visited an exhibition on the history of the school to mark the anniversary.
Children in the lower school even paraded in the green and white colours of St Helen’s wearing hats they had designed specially for the celebration.
Headteacher Jill Crehan said: “The hats were amazing, portraying in very inventive ways the history of the school.
“It has been wonderful for children throughout the school to understand that they are part of the long heritage of St Helen’s College and to have been inspired by the story of St Helen herself.”
The lower and upper school joined forces to create a giant 90 in the school playground but a last minute cancellation from a photographer the school had hired for the day saw Mrs Crehan, who leads the school with her husband Dominic, climb onto the school roof in her heels to get a snap of the memorable moment.
Mr Crehan said: “We are very proud of our history and of the school St Helen’s is today, especially that the school has retained its family feel through the generations.
“My wife and I have been heads at the school for 27 years now and my wife’s mother Joan Evans was headmistress for 17 years before that.
“We were delighted that she was able to be our guest of honour at the celebration,” he said.
Former pupils and staff who were at the school with Mrs Evans returned to share their memories of days gone past, telling pupils about their uniforms and school dinners.
A new dining hall named The Evans Hall was unveiled on the day by the former headteacher.
