SKIPTON'S Brougham Street Nursery School welcomed back former pupils and teachers.

As part of its 70th anniversary celebrations, the nursery held a birthday party - and among the guests was one of the original pupils, Pam Skelton.

"A couple of hundred people came along," said headteacher Angela Harrison. "They really enjoyed looking at old photographs and registers and trying to find themselves."

Guests ranged in age from 70-plus to babies and included former headteacher Sally Woodhouse (formerly Newlands) and Skipton mayor John Dawson.

And, to mark the occasion, Cllr Dawson planted two apple trees in the nursery's sensory garden.

When the nursery first opened its doors, the children were housed in a pre-fab class room which could cater for 40 children. It was open for just a few hours a week.

Now it can look up to 70 children at any one time in new premises, with large outdoor spaces. It is open 10 hours a day , 51 weeks a year.