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Village secondary school celebrates 100th birthday

John Devine,at Marshland High Schooland
Aimee Dexter
News imageJohn Devine/BBC Craig Jansen has short brown hair and is wearing black framed glasses, a white shirt, black suit jacket and green tie. He is holding a silver metal time capsule to the right.John Devine/BBC
Headteacher Craig Jansen said a time capsule had been buried as part of the celebrations

A village secondary school has been celebrating its 100th year educating students.

Marshland High School in West Walton, on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border, was founded in 1926.

Its pupils and staff buried a time capsule and enjoyed a sweet treat as part of its celebrations on Wednesday.

Headteacher Craig Jansen said the school also welcomed "people from the community to come and share their memories and recollections of their time at Marshland High School".

News imageJohn Devine/BBC A gate leads into a school car park where several vehicles are parked. In the background is a school which has two storeys and large windows.John Devine/BBC
Marshland High School is situated on the Norfolk-Cambridgeshire border

Jansen said a display featuring photographs of the school dating back to 1926 had been created to mark its centenary.

"It is about celebrating the 100 years and showing the school through the ages," he said.

The time capsule contained the current school uniform, house ties, photographs from the year and memories shared by students and staff.

Jansen said it would be buried on the edge of the school's field and would have a glass panel above it so future students and staff could look at it before it was opened in 2076.

He added that the glass would ensure the capsule could be found again after a previous time capsule, buried in the 1980s, was never recovered.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC Ellis has short blonde hair and is wearing a white shirt, grey blazer and a yellow tie. He is standing in front of a display which has old school year pictures on it.John Devine/BBC
Ellis is head boy at the school

Ellis, who is in Year 10 and head boy at the school, said it was an "honourable moment to spend with everyone".

The school received messages from celebrities as they marked the anniversary.

"The one that I loved most is the Manchester United one, each of the players signed and wrote a letter to the school which was cool," Ellis added.

News imageJohn Devine/BBC Maria has long brown hair and is wearing black framed glasses, a white shirt, a grey blazer and blue tie. She has several badges on her blazer.John Devine/BBC
Maria said it was "cool" to see how students had learnt over the 100 years

Maria, a Year 9 student, said: "I feel really lucky to be at the school in such a historic event. It is really cool we are here when this is happening.

"Now we have interactive whiteboards and do our homework on phones and they had chalk boards... so it is cool to see how they learnt differently."

News imageJohn Devine/BBC Hermione has long brown hair which is in a plait. She is wearing a white shirt, grey blazer and blue tie and is standing in front of a display which is showing several photographs.John Devine/BBC
Hermione said the capsule would allow people in years to come to see the different uniforms

Hermione, who is in Year 8, said: "I feel honoured to be here to celebrate such a historical moment... it feels amazing.

"I think it is going to be really good for people to look back at and all of the uniform we have now and what it is like for them."

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