Childhood friends together again and celebrating school centenary

TWO childhood friends have been reunited after almost 60 years as part of their former school's 100th anniversary celebrations.

Kay Dexter and Norma Brown attended Dale Primary School, in Porter Road, Normanton, in the late 1940s and were best friends.

After Kay's family left Derby when she was nine, the two lost touch and, with both changing their names after becoming married, it became harder to track each other down.

Last month, Mrs Dexter, whose 88-year-old mother, Betty Mead, and 95-year-old uncle, Ralph Storer, also attended the school, issued an appeal in the Evening Telegraph to try to trace her former pal, Norma Slater.

And yesterday, the two met again back at Dale Primary as part of a week of events celebrating the school's 100th anniversary.

Mrs Dexter, who now lives in Blaby, Leicestershire, said: “It's been lovely meeting up again after all these years. We never would have recognised one another and would have walk past each other in the street.

“We've been talking about old times and comparing stories and photos and both our husbands get on very well, which is nice.”

Mrs Brown, nee Slater, of Ashover Road, Allestree, said she could not believe it when a friend contacted her to say her name and photo was in the Evening Telegraph.

She added: “I had recently been going through some old photographs which were taken when I went on holiday with Kay and her family to Wales and had been wondering where and how she was.

“When I saw the article, I contacted the Telegraph straight away and then we spoke to each other over the phone first.

“Meeting today has just been wonderful and we still have a lot to catch up on.”

The pair were among a number of former pupils who visited the school to help mark its centenary, which takes place on November 25.

To celebrate the anniversary, Mrs Dexter, her mother and uncle donated a clock to the school, which will be known as the Storer Clock.

For the last few months, current pupils have been helping to research the school's history and a committee has been formed to help create a book documenting the past 100 years.

Entitled Dale Through the Years – Reflections on 100 Years of Our School, the book has been put together with the help of Living Derby – a group of writers, photographers, artists and designers, who give up their time to help record and archive Derby's history.

Hannah Fox, of Living Derby, said: “We sent out calls-outs a few months ago via the internet and the paper to find former pupils to contribute to the book.

“Some of them have visited the school and spoken to the pupils about their experiences here.

“An editorial committee made up of about 18 pupils was formed and they have been helping to design the book, which is going to be launched in November on the anniversary of the school opening.”

The school's literacy co-ordinator, Sarah Coxson, who helped organise the project, said: “As a school, we are trying to make the curriculum more interesting and relevant for the pupils here and this has been a great example of that.”

More events are planned in the week leading up to the anniversary and copies of the book will be available from the school from the end of November.