Kooringal High School celebrates 50 years at open day

To celebrate its 50th birthday the school held an open day, inviting all associated with it - past and present - to reconnect and allow the general public a chance to check out the facility today in all its glory.

Among the former students to attend the event was Wayne Sims, who was part of the first cohort of year 7 students at the school when it first opened in 1973.

While Mr Sims, an audio technician, was working yesterday doing the entertainment for the event, he said it was an occasion he wouldn't have missed.

"It's not often you get to go to a 50-year anniversary of a school," he said.

At the time of the school's opening, only year 8 and year 7 students attended and the school was still in the process of being built.

"I remember in winter we used to sit around the workers' fire buckets of the morning," Mr Sims said.

"It was still getting built, so it was different."

Having always had a passion for music, Mr Sims was pleasantly surprised to have run into some of his former music teachers who recognised him.

"I always liked [the school], it had a good music section and I thought it was a great school and very supportive of the arts, even back then," he said.

Mr Sims said the day was pleasantly nostalgic - taking him back to his teenage years when he was in a band.

"I was walking down the corridors thinking to myself 'gee, I can't believe it's been 50 years already'," he said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"It was a good catch-up."

It was also a throwback for Downside's Kristy Cochrane, who attended the event with her husband, Scott, and two of her three sisters - Jo and Rosanne Buchanan.

"It was great that my sisters and I were able to sit down, relax and reminisce on our school days," she said.

Mrs Cochrane said she wanted to attend the event to catch up with former students and teachers.

"We thought it was going to be like a mini-reunion, which was the case," she said.

"A lot of great memories popped up and we just wandered around all of the areas we used to hang out in.

"It was a great day and the entertainment was amazing."

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: