Clyde School was set up at the height of the Otago gold rush and its golden origins will be celebrated next month, along with its successes over the past 150 years.
More than 130 people had enrolled so far for the jubilee celebrations at Labour Weekend, and 200 to 250 were expected, jubilee convener Sally Bell said this week.
Mrs Bell lives in Clyde, attended the school herself, as did her husband and their children. She taught there, was on the first board of trustees and her father, Harry Chandler, was also on the school committee.
''I guess you could say I've got quite strong links to the school,'' she said. As well as heading the jubilee committee, Mrs Bell has compiled a book titled Clyde School 1863-2013 Celebrating Success which will be launched at the celebration.
The book is designed like a scrapbook, includes material from an earlier history of the school, published 25 years ago, and updates the history, as well as featuring excerpts from old newspaper articles and contributions from ex-pupils and staff.
Mrs Bell said events marking the 150th anniversary would begin on Friday, October 25, with registration and ''roll call'' at the school. Present-day pupils would dress in period costume that day and speakers at the ''mix and mingle'' that night would include ex-pupils Carl Meyer, Allan Johnston and Jim Carle.
The following afternoon was ''assembly'' and photographs, as well as the cutting of the jubilee cake by the youngest new entrant and Des Paulin, who attended the school from 1930 to 1938.
A dance would be staged in the school hall that evening and the festivities would continue the following day, with a picnic and market day in the school grounds, open to the general public, Mrs Bell said.
The weekend will be a busy one in the town. The Clyde Bowling Club and Dunstan Cricket Club are both celebrating centenaries that weekend and a food and wine celebration called Cuisine at Clyde will also take place.
In its 150-year history, the school has only had 15 principals. It has a roll of 130 pupils this year, and has six teachers working from six classrooms. Doug White took up the role of principal in 2005 and said the school, which started as a village school to cater for the children of goldminers, remained a village school today.
''We often talk of the Clyde School family and indeed many of our school's staff have or have had their families pass through our school.''
Mr White said the school had had relatively few principals and Joseph Stevens, in particular, had laid the foundation for success, serving as headmaster for 38 years, from 1872 to 1910.
Mr Stevens' wife, Dora, was assistant mistress at the same time and retired after 35 years. Mr Stevens was a lay preacher in the Anglican Church, and became interested in medicine while helping out as secretary for the Vincent Hospital Board.
He later acted as anaesthetist at Dunstan Hospital. As there was no resident dentist in Clyde, he took on that role when required.
Be there
Registrations for the jubilee can be made online, on http://www.schoolground.co.nz/clyde
