Plans are underway at Dashwood Academy to mark the school’s 120th anniversary with a ‘mini museum’ celebration on March 23rd. 

Dashwood School first opened its doors in 1902 and is one of the oldest primary schools in the area. 

Having moved from its original site on Dashwood Road to a new home in Merton street in 2008, the school was renamed Dashwood Banbury Academy

To mark the 120th anniversary, the school will be turned into a ‘mini museum’ with members of the public, past and present pupils, teachers and principals all invited to attend. 

The ticketed event on March 23rd will feature activity rooms and a range of displays, including art, dance and photographs, all with the aim of taking guests on a trip down memory lane. Money raised by the school will go to school funds. 

Here in this interview with Banbury FM‘s Andy Green, Dashwood’s Principal, Amy Rogers, reveals details about the treasure trove of sepia photographs uncovered alongside various report cards. There is also an itinerary about the first school trip abroad – organised in the 1960s – to Norway which instructed children to ‘be cheerful at all times’ so as not to give a bad impression of Brits abroad. 

Mrs Rogers said: ”We have found pictures of heads from the 1930s. In the 1960s we introduced school trips and we uncovered details about a trip to Norway and there are itinerary books from this trip and it basically tells them they have to be cheerful when they are on this trip!

”Absolutely there is a lot of pride [about the 120th anniversary], we’re quite a proud community at Dashwood. We work together and we’re a close knit community.

”While the name has changed slightly, the name Dashwood, the colour green, they are threads that have gone throughout the years which has been really nice. 

”We would love ex-pupils and staff to come along to our event. We would love to hear any stories they have, any pictures. 120 years of anything is impressive so the fact that we’re still going is incredible. I was talking to a grandparent the other day whose mother came to the old Dashwood when she was younger in the 1940s. And now her granddaughter is here so it’s a generational thing.”

Listen to Mrs Rogers’ Banbury FM interview by clicking through below: