Stanley pupils journey back in time

PUPILS at Stanley Road Primary School are becoming history detectives and reporters in an exciting project linked to the Oldham Chronicle.

Students from years 5 and 6 will be talking to past pupils and teachers and digging deep into the archives to find out how their school has changed over the years.

Since it was first built in 1903 the school has changed its use and its name many times and has been used as an annexe to Freehold Community School and as a secondary school.

In 1998 it changed its name from Butler Green to Stanley Road.

The burst of historical investigation has been inspired by recent building work at Stanley Road to cater for the growing number of children attending the school and the building of the state-of-the-art Children’s Centre, which was opened in 2006.

It is these latest changes that have set the pupils wondering in what other ways their school has changed over the years.

Anyone who might know anything about the history of Stanley Road — especially former teachers and pupils — who can shed some new light on the school’s history can help the children to complete their mission.

They should contact Andrew Percival at Stanley Road Community Primary School, Derby Street, Chadderton, Oldham, OL9 7HX (0161-770 8383).

The children’s history of their school will be published in the Oldham Evening Chronicle in late October and will be a permanent record of all the hard work they have put in.

The latest change at the school has seen the arrival of portable classrooms to assist in meeting the needs of the fast-growing roll.

Due to growing numbers the school is now able to offer places to 60 reception pupils, an increase of 20 on previous years.