'Meaningful' church service marks 160 years of Maidenhead primary school

A Maidenhead school has marked its 160th anniversary in the town on the feast day of its patron saint.

Pupils, staff and invited guests from St Luke’s Primary School celebrated the major milestone with a special church service on Wednesday morning.

The Cookham Road school is also marking 75 years since it joined the Oxford Diocesan Schools Trust and Rhidian Jones, chair of governors, and Anne Dellar, CEO of the Trust, closed the service with messages of admiration and thanks to all involved.

Acting headteacher Claire Spankie said: “Reverend Sally and pupils led a wonderful service, teaching the congregation about the history of the school, and celebrating the diverse, successful school we are today.

“It’s been 160 years since the foundation stone was first laid for the original St Luke’s School which was [originally] called the National School on East Street.

“It’s been really special, joining forces with pupils and staff from the past along with representatives from the Trust and the church.

“The fact that the school has been educating children for such a long period of time – it’s really important and special for us to spend time just reflecting on that and celebrating it.

“The school was there through the world wars, through the industrial revolution and key points in history. The children learn about that in school and [understanding] that there were children in this primary school at those times, shows the school has always been a really key part of the community.”

The poignant church service was held on the morning of St Luke's Feast Day on October 18.

Claire said: “For the anniversary, the children have been doing a lot of research, interviewing ex-pupils and headteachers to find out what’s changed and what the school was like in the 70s and 80s.

“It’s been really meaningful to the pupils.”

Along with sourcing maps and images in archives, pupils interviewed Geoff Edwards who was headteacher in 1982, and found his logbook where he recorded the events that took place in school everyday. They also interviewed Claire about her tenure as headteacher to compare how the job has changed over the past 40 years.

Talking about what she hoped students took away from the anniversary service, Claire said: “I think seeing that they’re part of a very large community of pupils past and present, and community is very important to us at St Luke’s.

“For children to see that they’ve always got this space, and it doesn’t matter how old they are or where they’ve moved to in the world, they’re always a part of the St Luke’s family.”

The church will be open to visitors to read about the school's history and admire the pupils work in one hour slots on Thursday October 19 at 2pm, Friday, October 20 at 10am, Saturday, October 21 at 4pm and on Sunday, October 22 at 10am and 5pm.