Hartlepool's West Park Primary School prepares to celebrate 50th birthday with a week of activities and events

West Park Primary School, in Coniscliffe Road, Hartlepool, was officially opened on October 12, 1973, by the then town clerk Eric Waggott.

Fifty years on, the school is set to celebrate the anniversary with a disco for pupils and a themed 70s week of learning within classrooms.

Sarah Greenan, interim executive headteacher at West Park Primary School, said: “Clearly, this is a significant milestone for the school and everyone is looking forward to marking the occasion.

“We’ve got two separate discos on the 50th anniversary, one for Key Stage 1 pupils and for Key Stage 2 and staff will be dressing up in 70s attire which should be fun.

“During the week, we’ll also be focusing in lessons on life in the 70s covering everything from art and history to music and sport.”

Top of the music charts on October 12, 1973, was Eye Level - the theme music from popular TV series Van Der Valk - by Simon Park Orchestra while the Prime Minister at the time was the Conservative Party’s Edward Heath.

Hartlepool United were struggling towards the bottom end of the old Division Four and promptly lost 2-0 on October 13 to Mansfield Town.

West Park is one of eight primary schools across Teesside under the umbrella of Ad Astra Academy Trust.

The others are Barnard Grove, Brougham and West View, in Hartlepool, Rosebrook and Crooksbarn, in Stockton, and Ayresome and Sunnyside, in Middlesbrough.

Andy Brown, the chief executive officer of Ad Astra Academy Trust, added: “West Park has a long and proud history, and it is right and proper that the school should celebrate its 50th birthday.

“Many of the school’s former pupils have gone on to achieve high in a variety of walks of life and I am sure that our current pupils will achieve similar success.”

Ad Astra Academy Trust was formed in 2015 and over the last eight years has grown across the Tees Valley, providing education for more than 3,500 pupils and 525 employees in Hartlepool, Stockton and Middlesbrough.

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