Two days of celebrations marked the 125th birthday of a school which has been in the hands of the same family for over 65 years.

St Hilda’s School was founded in 1891 and has been in Douglas Road, Harpenden, for most of that time.

Present and past pupils, parents and staff came together last Friday and Saturday to celebrate the anniversary - including one lady who was at the school in 1937.

On Friday the current girls at the school were joined by proprietor Mary Piachaud to bury a time capsule containing items such as a blazer, various documents, examples of writing and photographs.

The school anthem was sung and a birthday cake was cut. The girls also brought in cupcakes they had made based on the theme of the school crest, a seagull.

Alumni, former staff and pupils and St Albans Mayor, Cllr Frances Leonard, joined the celebrations on Saturday afternoon during which the school orchestra and choir performed. A big attraction was the archive in the school hall put together by current head Dan Sayers.

He said this week: “There was a complete cross-section of ages there, some recent past pupils and some from many years ago.”

Describing it as ‘an incredibly happy day’ he added: “Everyone who came back said how the spirit of the school was the same.”