MORE than 300 former pupils went back to school last week.

To mark 70 years at Stanborough School the former pupils returned for a one off special occasion, which featured a balloon launch and a barbeque.

The opening of the recently-refurbished clock tower at the Lemsford Lane school – which opened in 1940 as WGC Grammar School – was the focus of the birthday celebrations.

Other highlights were an archive exhibition showing each of the decades at Stanborough, the cutting of a specially homemade 70 cake by borough councillor Kim Langley, and a barbecue.

Equally important was the balloon launch, which was helping with funds raised throughout the year for a state-of-the-art ecological system, a quad for pupils to relax in and the refurbishment of the clock tower.

Headteacher Peter Brown said: “It was a great way to mark the end of a busy year, in which we have been mixing current issues with the 70th anniversary and overall raised around �15,000.”

He added: “It was a fantastic day that seemed to be very well received.”

For more on this story read this week’s Welwyn Hatfield Times.