PAST pupils joined present pupils to ensure Colling-bourne Ducis Primary School's building had one last hurrah before moving to a new site.

The village school, dating back to 1861, invited generations of former pupils to return for one last reunion. The old boys and girls of the Wiltshire village school were keen to tour their former stomping ground one last time.

"Looking at it today for the first time in years, a lot of it is just how I remember it," said former pupil John Wilkins from the class of 1940.

Although John made the journey to Collingbourne Ducis from Amesbury, many of the school's old pupils still live in the area. Victoria Balsdon, who left in 1988, is passing on the Collingbourne tradition to her daughter who will soon be starting at the new school.

Another ex-pupil, Roy Chandler, said the tour of the school brought back happy memories - and some not so pleasant!

"I was at the school from 1935 to 1941 and standing here today I can still remember having the ruler cracked across my knuckles," he said.

Headteacher Jeff Mason said they plan to move all the building's contents over half term so the pupils return to a modern village school, opening on 18 October. "It will be sad to see this place go because there are a lot of memories here."

School governor Jane Crook is compiling a scrapbook of school photos and other mementos so future pupils can see how the school has evolved.