‘He’s got talent’

ART met history for one Gainsborough pupil who designed a front cover for a special history book on his own school.

Gainsborough Parish Church School pupil Harley Skelley, 10, flexed his artistic skills for the new book co-written by Susan and Sara Edlington.

Headteacher Tracy Fulthorpe said the school are extremely proud about Harley’s efforts and that he had done a great job.

“He was incredibly happy when he found out his design was being used for the cover and I know he will remember it for years to come,” she said.

“He is a very talented artist and I would be surprised if he doesn’t have a future career in advertising.”

Susan, who is chairman of the Gainsborough Heritage Association, said she was delighted with Harley’s design.

“I was very impressed with his design. It encapsulates the history of the school and the more modern aspects of it today,” she said.

The book charts the Parish Church School’s history from when it started as a National School, on Little Church Lane in the Methodist Chapel Yard in 1844 until the 1980s.

When the school’s famous headmaster Benjamin Adlard started teaching there in 1874 the average attendance was 46. By the time he retired 46 years later, it was nearly 500.

The school even had its own small museum. The first mention of the museum is in 1893 when a glass cabinet was bought for it and by 1895 it had a received a variety of donations including a bamboo cane and

In the early 1950s the school had five sets of twins attending at once, which must have been confusing for the teachers at times. This unusual event was covered by the local paper.

The book also includes a chapter about the vicars of All Saints, which covers the time from the first vicar Robert in 1220 until the present day.

Anyone interested in buying the book, priced £10, can call Susan on 01427 612030 or visit The Gainsborough Heritage Centre, North Street, from 9am-1pm every Saturday.

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