CHILDREN at Lees Primary School have been given a taste of classroom life from yesteryear.

Youngsters donned period costume and took part in lessons and activities that would have been an everyday experience for their forebears.

All 211 pupils took part in the Local History Week, the first held by the school.

And it received a resounding ten out of ten!

“The children loved it,” says the school administrator, Sharon Treece.

“We looked at the whole history of the school, from its beginnings to the present day.

“The current building was constructed as a board school in 1899, but there was a school on the Methodist site across the road before that.

“Every afternoon during the week, each of our classes looked at a different period of time.

“Using information from old log books, they were able to examine what pupils were doing then and re-enact some of those activities and lessons.

“In the 1930s, for example, the girls had sewing machine lessons. We did recreate that, albeit using an electric machine rather than the old treadle!

“And in the 1950s, skipping was very popular.

“It was fascinating for the children to see how different the activities would have been in times gone by.

“Especially revealing for them was the fact that boys and girls learned different things. Whilst the girls had lessons in such as sewing and baking, the boys did the likes of woodwork.”

The pupils were also able to try writing on chalkboards, and staff – who dressed the part too – gave the youngsters an insight into the stricter classroom regime of past decades.

“The children got a real feel for how the lessons would have been run and the extent to which we have moved on,” added Mrs Treece.

Reception and year-one youngsters took part in a Victorian Day.

And late one afternoon the school was opened-up to past pupils and staff, who could view log and attendance books, photos and some old text books recently unearthed in the school cellars. There was also a slide show.

“Anyone who had a previous connection with the school was invited along,” said Mrs Treece.

“There was a lot of reminiscing!

“We’re looking at the possibility of having a similar open event in the summer, when it’s lighter and the weather’s better.”

The project also focused on the school’s connection with Guernsey.

During the Second World War, evacuees from the island arrived in Yorkshire and several of the children attended the school.

“They came over with their class teacher,” said Mrs Treece.

“They lived with people in the village.

“There were around 15 to 20 attended the school, and others went to Bradford and into Lancashire.

“After the war, some of the older children ended up getting jobs and settled here.”

Mrs Treece said the whole project had created considerable interest.

“It’s something that was a lot of fun to do but also it gave the pupils a look at what it would have been like to be a child at the school in the last century,” she said.

“It was a great way of learning about history.”