Bishop William Ward pupils board the Groove Train

Bishop William Ward Primary School, in Coach Road, Great Horkesley, officially opened in 1976 with 127 pupils.

Now, 40 years later, there are 204 children and each of them got a taste of 70s school life.

Head teacher Toby Bull said: “It was a very enjoyable day for the children and the staff.

“Everybody got dressed up and got into the spirit of things.

“There were a lot of flares and homemade costumes, it was very colourful.”

Mr Bull himself arrived at school in brown corduroy, akin to a 70s headmaster.

Cooking staff also laid on a 1970s-style lunch – complete with pink custard.

Children welcomed back previous head teachers Derek Webber and Graham Rushby during the day and they gave the youngsters an idea of what has changed since 1976 and what remains the same.

Mr Bull added: “We looked through a lot of Gazette cuttings on the school, from pupils winning largest teddy bear competitions to people who were raising money for the school and other things.

“The children really enjoyed it all.”