STAFF and children at Skipton Parish Church CE Primary School are busy preparing for their own unique Platinum Jubilee celebrations to commemorate 70 years since Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne.

On Friday, May 20, the whole Skipton primary school community will process through the town in homage to the royal procession that took place 70 years ago. Led in style by horse and carriage, the procession will set out at 1.45pm along New Market Street and follow a route up to the top of the high street.

Road closures have been put in place to ensure the 250-plus strong gathering can be conducted safely and is likely to be quite the spectacle for anyone visiting market day in the town.

The Jubilee event will culminate with a church service, held at Holy Trinity Church, Skipton, where children will play the roles of HM The Queen, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. All children taking part will be invited to take the part of one of the individually invited guests 70 years ago.

The event, which has been in the planning for some months, was designed to ensure that all children at the school could be involved in this historical milestone, leave a lasting memory for years to come whilst bringing learning about this particular period of British history to life.

Lucy Peberdy, headteacher at Parish Church Primary School, which is part of Yorkshire Causeway Schools Trust, said: “We are all very excited to be organising this once in a lifetime event to mark this special occasion. We wanted to create a memory for the children that they will one day share with their own children and grandchildren. The school community are thoroughly enjoying being involved with the preparation and there is a real buzz of excitement as we approach the 20th of May.

“Thank you to all the staff and families of Skipton Parish Primary School for their support in advance of this special day. We expect our parade through Skipton on market day to be a real extravaganza and a day to remember.”

Ms Peberdy also paid tribute to the organising committee of Skipton Town Council parish and The Reverend Canon Dr James Theodosius, of Holy Trinity Church, Skipton, who have been involved in planning for the one-off event.

She added: “We are so fortunate to have had such support in being able to host this event.”