Lessons down memory lane

An open day is being held tomorrow at Michael Ayres Junior School as the countdown towards its final day gets well under way.

Three sessions are being held '“ 9am-11am, 1pm-3pm and 5pm-6pm '“ to enable people with links to the South Way school to go along to share their reminiscences.

The walk down memory lane will be an informal affair. It will feature displays of historic photographs, old logbook extracts and a chance for some of the generations of families who have sat in its classrooms to add their thoughts to a wall of memories.

Among those who are set to go along is the school's longest-serving headteacher, Wilf Archer.

He was in charge of its pupils and staff between 1973 and 1992.

He knew Dr Ayres, an inspirational figure in Bognor's post-second world war years, and whose children's fund was set up to serve a wide range of youngsters' needs.

Mr Archer, who still lives in the town, said: "It was a proud moment for me when I moved to Michael Ayres Junior School, which then served a large area of Bognor, including West Meads and all of North Bersted.

"There were 600 children on roll and 23 teachers. All had their special interests and individual skills providing both a traditional and innovating approach to learning and ensuring a happy, secure environment for children. In the footsteps of Dr Ayres, the school fulfilled a social and moral purpose as well as its teaching and learning role."

The school opened in 1955 and was named after Dr Ayres five years later. Much of it has stayed unchanged, but its days of educating thousands of seven to 11-year-olds will finish as 2009 ends.

The end of an era has been caused by West Sussex local education authority's decision to spend around 10m on creating a new primary school to complement the 40m or so expenditure on a new Bognor Regis Community College.

This will see Michael Ayres and The Glade schools move into modern premises alongside each other in January to provide teaching for those aged between five and 11 in one building as part of the college's 21st-century campus.

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