I HOLD fond memories of my time at Dee Road Infants School.
There was minibeast hunting at Wepre Park, where we unearthed a grass snake and ran for our lives, and the time we staged a class wedding and I played the mother-of-the-bride.
In class I would pretend I was a covert spy and would whisper into my digital watch like I was Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible.
But most of all I remember the Edwardian building and its old-fashioned features: the red brick tiling, which lined the corridor, and its high ceilings and tall windows.
So it was a real honour to have been invited back to take part in its 104th birthday celebrations – an occasion made extra poignant because the school will close in September and its pupils sent to a £7.5 million new super-school nearby.
Headteacher Sharon Humphreys recalled her four decades spent at Dee Road. “For me, the staff and pupils are like my extended family,” she said.
“We are so close-knit and we look out for one another like a real family.
“It’s lovely to see former pupils bring their children to school and to have taught two generations of one family.”
More than 160 pupils took part in Edwardian-themed activities such as porridge-making to mark the occasion and gathered in the hall to sing Happy Birthday before a gigantic birthday cake.
Pupils are also preparing to put together a time capsule to ensure their memories of the school will be preserved.
“It will be sad to say goodbye to this building but we want to remember it as best we can,” said Mrs Humphreys.
“In the time capsule we will have a souvenir book we had printed for the centenary and a piece of old red tile from the fabric of the building.”
The school has seen its share of high-profile former pupils, like Connah’s Quay councillor Bernie Attridge and RAF senior aircraftsman Peter McFerran, 24, from Connah’s Quay, who was killed during a mortar attack in Iraq in 2007 and whom the school commemorates in its foyer.
Mrs Humphreys says it is the kindness of pupils which she will also hold dear.
“If ever we are raising money for something, the children go all out to help,” she said.
“When the Royal Welsh were deployed to Afghanistan, the kids donated goodies like sweets and deodorant.
“Even today when they were asked to wear Edwardian fancy dress, they put in so much effort. Their generosity if overwhelming.”
Construction work on the new school – Ysgol Cae’r Nant or Brookfield School – is expected to be completed in time for the new academic year in September.
Pupils from Dee Road will be joined by those from nearby Custom House Lane Junior School, whose headteacher, Kate Fox-Parry, will head the new school.
But the future of the old school buildings remains uncertain.
Tom Davies, head of development and resources at Flintshire Council, said: “The state-of-the-art £7.5 million school will provide superb facilities and learning environment for pupils.
“The new school will be a ‘through primary’, replacing the existing Dee Road Infants School and Custom House Junior School.
“A feasibility study is being carried out on the possibility of retaining part of the existing school buildings.”
PUPILS past and present are invited to an open day at Dee Road Infants School on Saturday, May 26 from 10am-4pm and on Monday, May 28 from 4pm-7pm.