TV stars, royalty and politicians help pupils celebrate their school's centenary
Tuesday, 1.30pm - A HOST of celebrities and authors have joined Prime Minister Gordon Brown in sending their best wishes to a 100-year-old school.
Tuesday, 1.30pm - A HOST of celebrities and authors have joined Prime Minister Gordon Brown in sending their best wishes to a 100-year-old school.Children at Robert Miles Infant School, in Bingham, were gobsmacked when letters from their idols were read out during assembly on Monday morning.
It was a special assembly to start day-long birthday celebrations.
Among them were notes from Olympic swimming gold medallist Rebecca Adlington, TV's Robin Hood stars Jonas Armstrong and Richard Armitage, ice dancing legends Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Nottingham Forest manager Billy Davies and MP Kenneth Clarke.
Prince Charles and Prince William were also keen to send their congratulations, along with children's authors Allan Ahlberg and Shirley Hughes.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown wrote: "Congratulations to you all on this special 100th birthday.
"It's a fantastic achievement for a school to reach 100 years old and these celebrations are a testimony to the hard work, dedication and love of learning shown by all the teachers, parents and everyone involved in Bingham Robert Miles Infant School.
"I particularly want to thank Mrs Baker (headteacher) for her many years of service. I hope you enjoy your special day today."
The letters were a surprise arranged by birthday celebrations organiser Dianne Lowings.
After the special assembly the children got a glimpse into how school days would have been in 1910.
Dressed in period costume, they wrote on blackboards, used pen and ink, marched in drill lessons, tried sewing and sat at tables set in rows facing the front.
For lunch, they ate meat and potato pie, potatoes and vegetables, ffoloowed by jam roly-poly.
At the end of the day, the children had a party, dancing the waltz, the twist and modern dance for comparison.
Mrs Lowings said: "We hope the children remember the day forever. It's very important - we want the children to realise memories are important.
"What we do today will be history tomorrow."
A week of celebratory events will take place in the summer. If you have any old photos, call the school on 01949 837422.
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