A York school is marking a huge milestone this year.
St Paul’s C of E Primary School in Holgate, which was built in 1874, is celebrating its 150th birthday this week – and to commemorate the special year, the staff are granting 150 wishes to the children.
Headteacher Christie Clarke was on the Breakfast show on YorkMix Radio to share more about the wishes and how the school are celebrating the milestone birthday.
“We wanted to do something big, special, and incredibly memorable for the children,” Christie told breakfast presenters Laura and Leigh.
“Also something inspiring for them so that hopefully when they leave and they’re adults they can look back and see how it’s shaped their futures or inspired them, and it’s something they can remember and enjoy.
“The children all had the opportunity to make a wish over the Christmas holidays, and we’ve had a range of wishes, some very tricky and some based in school.”
The wishes that have been granted so far include
- a sleepover at school
- a spa night at school
- zookeeper experiences at Flamingo Land
- a trip to see Man City play at Wembley
- driving a train
- a dance workshop with Strictly Come Dancing stars Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin
- meeting an engineer who helped build the Shard
- and spending a day with dogs at a shelter.
“We’ve got lots and lots of wishes coming up that we’re working hard on.
“The children are all really excited, and we’ve got a display in the hall where as soon as a wish is granted it goes up on the display and the children are just non-stop talking about it. It’s been really lovely.”
The festivities kicked off at the weekend with the Holgate Scarecrow Festival, which had a ‘Celebrating 150 Years of St Paul’s Primary School’ theme where each scarecrow represented a decade since the school was founded.
The school also held a ‘Victorian Day’, where pupils learnt about the school’s history and the week will culminate in a huge party.
Happy 150th birthday St Paul’s!
Gallery of wishes
