SKIPTON Girls' High School Guild of former students is to fold this Spring after 100 years.

Membership numbers have crashed recently as former pupils turn to new technology to keep in touch.

The end will come on Saturday, May 13, at a special ceremony in the High school studio marked by the unveiling of a commemorative statue of a crane which is the school emblem and badge.

The bird was adopted in recognition of the 17th century brothers, William and Sylvester Petyt of Skipton, whose trust helped finance the school founded in 1886.

The Petyt coat of arms, which includes a crane standing on one leg and holding a stone, has the motto "He who is called small shall become great."

Linda Wall, Guild president, said: "It's a sad time for us but nobody wants to come forward and take it on. Membership has been falling for some time.

"Younger women communicate now through social media so we came to the conclusion it was the right time to finish.

"We were planning to finish last year but members thought it would be more appropriate to wait another year until our centenary."

The guild has commissioned the Harrogate-based sculptor Steve Blaylock to create the copper statue which will stand about six feet tall on its Yorkshire stone plinth.

"I'm very pleased with it, especially the beak, said Steve, who runs his studio from The Old Smith in Skipton Road, Harrogate. "I've used a stainless steel prosthetic hip and it looks perfect. The stone it's holding was brought to me by the school."

He would also be using a special technique to speed up the oxidisation of the copper in order to turn the metal into a verdigris colour.

Mrs Wall said: "It's an absolutely fabulous figure. Steve has done a wonderful job and it will look magnificent in the school and remind pupils of their debt to the brothers."

*A crane holding a stone in its claw is a symbol in heraldry and signify's vigilance, alertness and prudence.