A PRIMARY school is stepping back in time to celebrate a milestone anniversary with a full week of festivities for pupils and staff.

Richard de Clare Primary School has been at its Parsonage Street site in Halstead for 175 years and was the first in the area to cater for both boys and girls.

The school is hosting a week of festivities from next Monday to celebrate, including a fully Victorian-themed day to pay homage to the school’s beginnings in 1844, where pupils will be taught a full Victorian curriculum for a day.

On Tuesday, pupils from other schools are being invited to visit Richard de Clare to recreate Victorian school photos in the same location in modern dress.

Later in the week children and staff will be dressing up as pupils and teachers from throughout the history of the school, from Victorians to Second World War evacuees to a Seventies’ child out of uniform in flares.

Former members of staff, and other members of the community are set to visit the school for a tour and the opportunity to share memories with current pupils at a street party picnic lunch on the field.

Bakery Humes of Halstead will be making cakes to share with the guests.

Each class will also be taking part in a dance-a-thon, which the school hopes will last a total of 175 minutes, and a time capsule will be made and buried in the school grounds.

To commemorate the day the whole school had an aerial photograph taken of them arranged as “175”.