A NORTH-EAST secondary school took local residents back through nearly 80 years of music at a special Valentine’s Day café.

Students welcomed more than 30 visitors to Parkside Academy, in Willington, County Durham, for a ‘Broth and Roll’ event, featuring food, live performances, and games.

The students, aged between 11 and 14, served up fresh soup and cakes alongside rock and roll from 1950 to 2024 to create a unique Valentine’s Day celebration at the school, which is part of the Advance Learning Partnership.

The Northern Echo:

“Valentine’s Day is a time we show how much we care about people who are important to us, and here at Parkside, that’s the people in our local community,” said Deputy Headteacher, Julie Hurst.

“We like to involve parents, guardians, carers, grandparents in the life of the school, and that has a very positive impact on both them and our students, so events like this are a great opportunity to bring everyone together.”

Students entertained their guests with music and dance performances, a raffle, a quiz, and bingo while dressed in rock and roll fashion from different decades.

Year 7 student, Abbie McKee-Brown, who helped stage the event, said: “We do this because we like seeing the joy in people’s faces, and because how lovely it can be to help our community. Doing this just makes us feel happy inside, it gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling.”

The Northern Echo: Students dressed as rock n roll icons, including 1950s-style musical Grease's Pink Ladies. From left: Julie Taylorson, Lorna Evans, Elaine Murray, Abbie McKee-Brown, and Jan HamiltonStudents dressed as rock n roll icons, including 1950s-style musical Grease's Pink Ladies. From left: Julie Taylorson, Lorna Evans, Elaine Murray, Abbie McKee-Brown, and Jan Hamilton (Image: Chris Barron)

Mrs Hurst added: “I’d like to commend our student leadership group, Valued Voice, for all the work they put into making this happen, our school counsellor, Donna Heslop, for her tireless support of them, and our talented school kitchen team for catering.

“Everyone really came together and worked hard to deliver this, and they were determined for our guests to enjoy themselves and leave happy. They’re a credit to the school.”

The Northern Echo: Year 9s Jesse Rushworth and Abbie Newcombe represented 1990s grunge rockYear 9s Jesse Rushworth and Abbie Newcombe represented 1990s grunge rock (Image: Chris Barron)