HAYWARD'S Primary School, Crediton have celebrated their 150th Anniversary.

The celebrations were opened by Geoff Fox, who cut the tape with the help of Haywards's pupils Rachel and Matthew.

An exhibition organised by Hayward's staff, Nick Hasted, Ann Smith, Ben Geale and Yvonne Crone was set in the old school building, now used as a youth centre.

Display boards were set up with photographs and information taken from the minutes of meetings and old school reports.

There were questions for people to answer and jokes suitable for both adults and children.

Each decade from 1860 to the present day was represented by its own display board.

Also on display were the original school's weather vane and bell together with a beautiful, ornate silver candelabra that was presented to Elias Tremlett Ward in 1850 as a thank you for raising money for the school as well as for other things he did for the town.

A short Playlet, written by Geoff Fox, gave a glimpse into the life of a Victorian classroom and used authentic material taken from the head teacher's log book.

The performance, at Crediton Arts Centre, featured Hayward's pupils, Chelsi, Victoria, Alex, Louis, Rachel, Leah, Charlie and Matthew.

Geoff, a storyteller and actor from the Crediton Arts Centre often works with the children at Hayward's.

The Victorian classroom set was provided by Devon County Council and contained a backdrop, blackboard, desks, bell and globe, as well as other items from the time.

The children, dressed in Victorian costume entered the classroom chanting We March To Our Places, a musical song of the period.

Children read extracts from the head teacher's log, took part in a history lesson and used a 1905 reading primer, splitting the parts between the girls and the boys for the story of Red Riding Hood.

Teacher John Cope, in the modern school building gave a modern day lesson, using an interactive whiteboard.

His pupils were "old boys" aged from 60 to 90 years and were amazed at the technology now being used in schools.

"Old boy" Chris Gillard said: "It was an excellent lesson, very informative and very different from when I was at school"

A large number of people enjoyed their visit to Hayward's during their celebrations.

Teacher, Nick Hasted commented: "It went really well. There was a good atmosphere and it was nice to see such a mix of ages."

He went on to thank the Trustees of Hayward's for providing the money to set up the exhibition.