The children of Chard School enjoyed a fun-packed day of historically themed activities on May 20 to mark the 350th anniversary of the founding of the school.
In 1671 the Manor House which now houses the school was gifted by William Symes to trustees for the purpose of being a school and so Chard School was founded and there has been a school on the site ever since. 2021 sees the school celebrating its long heritage of 350 years.
On the day the children came to school dressed in Jacobean costumes and took part a day of Jacobean themed activities, to learn about life at the time of the origins of the school building.
The school was delighted to welcome the Mayor of Chard, the Town Crier and the Mace Bearer who toured the school and took part in activities before giving the children a talk in a celebratory Assembly. The anniversary cake was cut by the Mayor who also re-enacted the handing over of the keys of the school just as they were 350 years ago when the building was gifted by the Symes family to be used for educational purposes. The Town Crier, Stuart Cumming’ provided and element of pageantry to the event with an announcement about the school’s special Anniversary.
Lunch was a highlight and was enjoyed ‘party style’ complete with sandwiches, sausage rolls, jelly and cake. A carousel of activities were run throughout the day including maypole dancing, skittles, ‘village football’, cooking, historical writing and art activities. To mark this very special milestone, commemorative pebbles were painted by the children to be assembled to form a plaque on the chapel lawn.
Head Katie Hill said: “It’s incredible to think that children have been taught on our site continuously for 350 years.
“Our aim today is to mark this very important milestone in our school’s rich history. As our school song says, ‘300 years and more have passed and still our school remains…’
“We are very proud of what we offer here at Chard School and look forward to celebrating more milestones in the years to come.”