Slideshow: Oyster Park Primary School’s VE Day events

Pupils at Oyster Park Primary donned wartime clothes for a walk to school event on May 8 to commemorate the 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe.

It was part of a week-long insight at the Watling Road based school into what happened during World War Two.

History subject leaders Francesca Coomber and Louise Ambler helped organise visits from veterans and arrange events like tea dances.

Mrs Coomber said: “As a school, we strongly felt that the 70th anniversary of VE Day should be commemorated and that all our pupils should have an understanding and empathy of the sacrifices that were made during the war.

“Throughout the week, the children were visited by veterans and members of the local community who talked about their wartime experiences.

We set up a wartime museum that had original wartime artefacts and we held two 1940s Tea Dances where we learned some traditional dances.”

On VE Day itself there was a walk to school event where children and adults were invited to come along dressed in 1940s’ style clothes.

Miss Ambler said: “We had a rousing Last Night of the Proms style concert, complete with Union Jack Flags and Land of Hope and Glory, and in the afternoon we held our own street party where the tables were arranged in a ‘V for Victory’ shape”

“Some of the children had researched ‘What did children do on VE day?’ and consequently we joined in with the conga, the hokey cokey and other games.”

Finally the whole school community participated in the national two minutes silence at 3pm where children as-young-as three-years-old, displayed their respect for the fallen.

Miss Ambler added: “We hope we have made memories that will last a life time.”