A SCHOOL has celebrated its 130th anniversary with a series of events.

North and South Cowton Community Primary School, near Northallerton, opened on January 25, 1878.

Anniversary celebrations began last Saturday with a ball at the Croft Spa Hotel, near Darlington, when guests included past and present staff, governors, parents, former pupils and community representatives.

At another event, the whole school visited Beamish Museum, in County Durham, and wore Victorian costume to make the event more authentic.

The celebrations culminated in a day of Victorian life at the school yesterday. The Reverend Andy Nicholson led the assembly, when the children had recited the Lord's Prayer and were taught the Three Rs, while sitting in rows at their desks, as if in a Victorian classroom.

In the afternoon, parents were invited to a Victorian tea party with an anniversary cake.