AS Stretford's first school, Gorse Hill Primary holds a special place in the town's history and in 2005 it celebrated its centenary.

The Burleigh Road school first opened it's doors on January 7 1905 and despite a number of changes over the years has retained much of it's original Edwardian charm.

For the first six years of its existence, Gorse Hill stood as a junior school until an adjacent infant school opened in 1911.

But even then, the two schools stood separately with two distinct halls - adjoined by a door which apparently remained locked at all times - and separate entrances, despite sharing the same site.

The school's logbooks show that during World War II, Gorse Hill children were evacuated to the then countrified Stamford Park in Hale, away from the more industrial part of Trafford and it was not until 1979 that the infants and juniors joined forces to become Gorse Hill Primary as it is today.

The most recent major changes took place in 1996 with a £1.7million refurbishment, the results of which were officially opened by former-Manchester United and England legend Bobby Charlton.

Pupils and staff marked the 100 year milestone with an Edwardian themed garden party and teaching day and a balloon race while classes took a look down memory lane at the decades of the past century.

Mrs Phil Spencer, the school's longest serving teacher, said of the centenary: "The fact that the school is 100 years old is a great achievement while all the area round it has seen so many changes."