AN ENTIRE school will head to Lincoln Cathedral this week for a special service celebrating 150 years of success – featuring an Oscar winner!
De Aston School, in Market Rasen, was founded in 1863 by The Spital Charity and the De Aston School Foundation as a small grammar school, as part of a legal settlement following a court case involving funds from the medieval charity of Thomas De Aston, a 13th-century monk.
The school's headmaster originally had his own house on the school site.
The Victorian Gothic red brick house was built in 1863 and was designated as a Grade II listed building by English Heritage in 1984.
As a grammar school, De Aston was administered by the Lindsey Education Committee, based in Lincoln, and became co-educational in 1971.
It became comprehensive three years later, amalgamating with Market Rasen Secondary Modern School to take children of all abilities from the town and surrounding area.
At the same time, many new buildings were opened.
And now it is celebrating its anniversary. The main celebrations will take place on Friday, when the whole school will attend the service at Lincoln Cathedral, starting at 11am.
Baroness Gibson, of Market Rasen, Edward Leigh MP and Philip Mclauchlan, an ex-student who won an Oscar for visual effects, will be among the guests.
A team of De Aston staff will be ringing the cathedral bells from 10.15am to 10.45am, and the chair of governors, the Reverend Canon Alan Robson, will give an address.
Celebrations will continue within school after the ceremony. In the afternoon there will be a cricket match, a hockey match and a chance for students to have a go at a tug of war.
Students will be catered for outside on the school fields while guests will be looked after in the boarding house, where some archives will also be on display. Guests will also be given a tour of the school.
There will also be an exhibition at the cathedral, incorporating a range of artefacts and photographs from the 1880s onwards which have been found in school archives.
Head teacher Ellenor Beighton said: "Our 150th anniversary presents an opportunity for many people who have been involved in the past to reconnect with the school and also gives an opportunity for our students to get to know their heritage.
"We are delighted that so many former students and staff have made the time to join us for key events.
"There is something special about De Aston; it is a school that has touched the lives of so many and our 150th anniversary gives us an opportunity to celebrate this."
ON THE WEB: Are you a former De Aston student? Share your memories by visiting www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk
