The Blue Coat School celebrates annual Founder's Day.

The Blue Coat School’s annual Founder’s Day celebration took place last week with the local community coming out to support.

The day celebrates the founding of the school by hat manufacturer Thomas Henshaw, who died in 1810, leaving £40,000 for the endowment of The Blue Coat School. The foundation stone was laid in 1829 before the school opened as a boy’s boarding school in 1834. It eventually evolved into the mixed gender academy it is now.

The day began with the parade which started at 10am from the front of the school with a procession led by the school band through Oldham town centre and ending at Oldham Parish Church where wreaths were laid by students on the Memorial and Old Blues’ grave.

Before entering the church, ex-pupil Timothy Young played the Last Post in tribute to the ‘Old Scholars’ who fell in the wars.

This was followed by a service of thanksgiving for the Founder Thomas Henshaw and a sermon given by Rev. Katy Cunliffe. The Blue Coat Band played and the choir performed alongside some solo pieces by students. The performance finished with the National Anthem.

The procession then returned to the school where a wreath was laid at the bust of the Founder and pupils were dismissed for the day. Guests, staff, governors and friends, including the Worshipful Mayor of Oldham Cllr Ginny Alexander and Oldham Youth Mayor Samah Khalil, then stayed for lunch.

The Mayor described the day as ‘one of the proudest moments of my Mayorship so far’ and the performances as ‘simply phenomenal.’

She added: “My wholehearted thanks go out to all the students and staff that made this brilliant day possible.

“I really do look forward to coming back to Blue Coat very soon. This school is a really brilliant, community-oriented asset to our town.”