A school is marking its 50th anniversary by inviting former pupils back to class to see how much it has changed over the five decades.

Staff and pupils at Thamesview School will celebrate the milestone anniversary on Friday, and will also bury a time capsule.

Since 1968 there has been a secondary school on the site in Thong Lane, Gravesend, albeit not the same building.

On the day, visitors will be able to see displays, exhibitions and performances covering things which have happened during the 50 years and people will be able to see different learning areas and more.

George Rourke, the new head teacher, said: “We have the pleasure of inviting the local community into our school to join us in the celebration of our 50th year.

“We have invited local primary schools to come along for the first couple of hours to experience life in a big school.

“This will give younger students an opportunity to see what happens at the next stage of their education and see our fantastic facilities and resources.

“From noon the school will be open to the general public, and ex-students are welcome to come along to see how much the school has changed over the years, especially if they attended the school in the old building.

“Thamesview School has a great history and continues to go from strength to strength with strong results, consistently Good Ofsted reports, a new building and always being well supported by the local community.”

There will also be a tree planting ceremony and burial of a time capsule at 1.30pm, giving future generations the chance to see artefacts from 2018.

The main building will close its doors at 3pm but a football match between ex-pupils and current and ex-staff, will be staged on the front pitch and refereed by Bob Frame, who spent a large amount of his career supporting pupils at Thamesview before retiring in 2014.