HUNDREDS of people have enjoyed a display celebrating an Otley school's last century.

The 100 Year Exhibition was organised to showcase how Prince Henry's Grammar School has been involved in the life of the town over the past ten decades

More than 350 people of all ages attended on Saturday, June 29 when they were treated to lots of old photographs, archive material and a restored film.

New work by current students was also on show, including a specially produced video about the school that had been created by the Year 7 Media Club.

There was also a display detailing the career paths that had been taken by some of the school's Kerr Scholars - with a number of past winners attending on the day.

Former student Brian Agar, meanwhile, was reunited with the swimming cup that he had become the first winner of back in 1944 and 1945.

Mr Agar raised a laugh when he told how the only time he had ever been excused from doing his homework was when peace was declared during his physics lesson.

Another ex-student told the tale of meeting their first love and then marrying them 40 years later - returning to the school to take pictures of where they first met.

Others came to see where their parents had been educated, while a cine film of the early 1960s at Prince Henry’s (converted to digital thanks to a grant from Otley Town Council) elicited much excitement as people recognised themselves, friends and teachers on the screen.

Visitors, who also enjoyed tours of the school, left lots of positive feedback. 'Fantastic exhibition – so much to see', wrote one while another said: 'You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Lucky to have attended this school.'"

Assistant Headteacher Stephen Clarkson, who organised the exhibition, said: "This has been a lovely event, connecting the school old and new together again.

"We have been delighted to see so many of our ex-students and it has been fascinating to hear of their time at school and their lives since then.

"The atmosphere has been extraordinary."

Otley's MP Alex Sobel (Lab, Leeds North West) was among the visitors.

He said: "I was particularly inspired by the close community at Prince Henry’s Grammar School.

"The school has had a profound effect on the young people it has prepared for the world and remains an important focal point for the local community in Otley, as it has for the past 100 years."

Prince Henry's has been part of Otley since the 1600s but it was in 1918 that its modern incarnation, now based on Farnley Lane, began.