Heaton school launches year of centenary learning
Devonshire Road Primary School in Heaton, Bolton, marked 100 years since it opened by sending pupils and staff back to the 1920s for a day of period dress and traditional activities on Friday, 16 October.
The event kicked off a year-long programme of events and lessons focused on the school's history, with activities designed to help children explore how childhood and education have changed since the building was first opened on 16 October 1926.
Headteacher Emma Hodge said the centenary day was intended as a launchpad for further learning.
"Today is a complete fun day, children are off curriculum, they've been given the opportunity to dress up, all the staff are dressed up as well," Mrs Hodge said, adding that the school had arranged dance workshops and other hands-on activities.
Every year group, from Reception through to Year 6, took part in the celebrations. Pupils were involved in a range of specially organised experiences, including workshops and creative projects that brought the 1920s to life.
- 1920s dance workshops
- Creation of silent films by pupils
- Traditional games and activity sessions
- Class poems and artwork marking the centenary
As part of the anniversary work, a small research team of eight pupils — who were in Year Five during the project — visited Bolton Museum and the town archives with staff to examine original school records and documents. Those historical items have helped staff and children piece together the story of the school and its place in the local community.
The records revealed that the school was constructed to serve one of Bolton's rapidly expanding districts of the 1920s and was built with capacity for 450 pupils. Contemporary documents show the building cost around £14,000 to construct — sums that placed the school among the significant public investments in the town at the time.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Official opening | 16 October 1926 |
| Original capacity | 450 pupils |
| Construction cost (historic) | £14,000 |
Deputy headteacher Tom Abraham described the pupils' archival work as a way of connecting them personally with the school's past. The research project formed part of the centenary year's educational programme, which the leadership team intends to continue over the next 12 months.
Staff and pupils took the opportunity not only to learn about the physical building and its past pupils, but also to reflect on how teaching and childhood experiences have altered across a century. Teachers replaced usual lessons for the day so children could fully engage in the themed activities and creative outputs, such as the poems written by each class.
The celebration included contributions from the local community and referenced the school's official opening by Councillor Russell a century earlier. Photographs and memorabilia supplied by the school and local archives were used in displays to help pupils see the continuity between past and present.
Headteacher Emma Hodge said the day had been designed to be enjoyable as well as educational, and to act as the beginning of a wider programme of events and learning that will take place across the centenary year. The school expects pupils to continue researching and producing work that will be added to the school's own archive and shared with families and the wider Bolton community.
For Heaton residents, the centenary is a reminder of the long-standing role local schools play in community life — as places of learning, memory and civic connection — and Devonshire Road Primary's plans aim to preserve those links for the next generation.
