CHILDREN saying an emotional goodbye to their primary school were given a memorable send off when 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment arrived to lead them out in style.

Pupils walked out of Le Cateau County Primary School at Catterick Garrison for the last time with their heads held high behind drummers from the Yorkshire Regiment. Many of the schools families are attached to the unit which has recently returned to the town.

Capt Lofty Simpson-Worboys, Unit Welfare Officer with 1st Battalion organised the special event for pupils leaving to go to secondary school to mark their last day.

Also leaving alongside the drummers was Gill Jackson, who was retiring after 32 years as a nursery nurse at the school. She had been due to retire when lockdown hit, but was persuaded by the school to stay on to help children and families through the pandemic.

Headteacher Ian Mottram said: "It was a very fitting tribute given the large number of service pupils at Le Cateau and the work we do to support them. We have 344 service pupils with more than 100 new admissions this year alone. The strong links with the Garrison community is what we pride ourselves on and this has been even more the case during lockdown."

Capt Lofty Simpson-Worboys added:"We wanted to do something special and memorable for the children. It’s a big change for them and they will no doubt miss their friends and all the wonderful staff at Le Cateau Primary School. "