THE passing years may have changed their appearance, but it was not long before there were cries of recognition from every corner of the school, when more than 130 former pupils and teachers of Rosa Street Primary School, Spennymoor, met to swap memories at a millennium reunion.

The event, the culmination of months of hard work by a committee of eight people, was for pupils who attended before 1950.

Visitors enjoyed a concert from present pupils and had the chance to have group photographs taken.

The school was decorated with photographs of former pupils, and the evening ended with a musical memories concert by Lesley Wise, a former music teacher.

The two oldest former pupils to attend were Wilf Watson, 83, and Jenny Richardson, 92.

"When I came here in 1913 we just had a desk for two and wrote on slates before we got the wells for the ink. It has been a wonderful evening, very enjoyable," said Jenny.

Arnold Stapleton, one of the organisers, said: "Most people, once they'd got over meeting all their old friends, could absorb everything. We had a lot of positive feedback."