Parkview School at Barrow welcomed back its first headteacher, Miss Rita Stansfield, as a guest at the school's awards evening in 1992.

Miss Stansfield was head of Barrow Girls Grammar School from 1966 until the comprehensive system was introduced in 1979.

Headteacher Rod Wilson told parents and pupils that the system was well established and prospering at Parkview.

Mr Wilson said 1991/92 was a very successful year when a great number of developments had come to fruition.

He said the school had gone from strength to strength over the last 13 years, during which staff and pupil numbers had halved.

The school was a medium-sized comprehensive, very similar in size to its neighbours, said Mr Wilson. "In terms of facilities, though we may be middle sized, we can offer our pupils the equal of any large school," he said.

He praised staff as the best he had worked with and said the school was equally lucky with its pupils.

The school had been totally refurbished in addition to major building works and the school's two blocks had been renamed the Fraser and Auld buildings after the first two heads of the grammar schools.

Mr Wilson said the school had been relaunched in 1992 with a new uniform and a celebration of Parkview and its predecessors to mark the diamond jubilee of the Auld building.

"We had concerts, beachball competitions, displays of memorabilia, rededication of the honours boards and much more.

"We had over 2,000 visitors, who came from all over, not just Barrow," said Mr Wilson.

"The memory I treasure is of the atmosphere on the day, the interest and enjoyment shown by our visitors.

"It was a celebration - a day when a school going from strength to strength took pride in opening itself up for inspection.

"It certainly gave a boost to our collective self-confidence."

But it was the compliments made by visitors about the pupils which had given him most pleasure, he said.

"They could not have impressed more if they had tried to," he said.