The centenary celebrations of Squirrel’s Heath Schools have been hailed a success with more than 1,000 people attending the event.

Squirrel’s Heath Juniors and Infants held the event to mark 100 years at the site in Salisbury Road, Gidea Park.

The public event had May pole dancing, fancy dress, an exhibition of photos from the past 100 years, and performances from pupils at both schools.

Ken Burgess, headteacher of the junior school, said: “The event was fantastic. It was one of the best things we have done.

“Some of the oldest visitors we had were in their 90s. They brought their children, grand-children, and their great-grandchildren along.”

More than 500 souvenir programmes were sold on the day and they had former pupils from all over the country coming to visit.

Mr Burgess added: “The event showed the school as the centre of the community. Everybody in the school worked hard to put this together, and it was a success for the Friends of Squirrel’s Heath (the parent teacher association), as it was their first major event.”

Children had been learning about the history of their school and making posters to show what it used to be like.

They dressed up and took lessons as they would have done 100 years ago.

The history of the school was researched and compiled by Jan Rolls, an ex-governor at the school for 37 years.

The information was put together for an exhibition which was shown at the public celebration.