THERE were stars in the eyes of pupils at St Mary’s Roman Catholic School, at Ulverston, in 1995, when they were visited by a star dome.

The specially-designed dome was set up in the hall by Daniel Elloway and Jacqueline Claisse of Inter-Action Star Dome, a London- based educational charity.

The children could go into the dome and see the night sky as they would in a planetarium.

Classes two and four were doing a star project and had also visited Jodrell Bank, near Manchester.

In 1996 more than 2,000 people flocked to the annual parish gala held at St Mary’s Roman Catholic School in Springfield Road, Ulverston.

The huge crowd helped raise almost £3,000 for renovations and refurbishments at the school and the presbytery in Victoria Road.

A record number of 50 teams from schools across Furness took part in sporting competitions and there was also a good response from local youngsters for the under eights and under fives races.

Winners of the Upper Junior football competitions were Pennington C of E School, near Ulverston, who won the Craig Wilkinson Trophy.

The runners-up were Allithwaite School.

Allithwaite School went one better in the Lower Junior football contest, running out winners of the Scott Trophy, with Dalton’s George Romney School runners-up.

Netball champions were Sacred Heart School, from Barrow, who won the Glaxo Chem Trophy.

The runners-up were the George Romney School from Dalton.

The £100 lucky programme prizewinner was Stephen Searle, from Rowan Avenue, whose son David brought him good luck by typing in his number to the computer list of programme entries.

The previous year the event raised £2,500 but gala organisers said £2,800 has already been raised shortly after the event and that figure might eventually top £3,000.

The cash raised would be spent on providing new windows and doors at St Mary's School and re-wiring the Church Presbytery.