September 6, 2013 9.41 am This story is over 126 months old

Lincoln pupils celebrate school founder with Spitfire flyover

New ceremony: As part of a new annual ceremony, pupils watched a flypast to mark a school’s founder.
William Farr students watch the Spitfire flypast.

Pupils at a popular Lincoln secondary school watched a special Spitfire flypast to mark the founder of the institution.

William Farr School in Welton is named after a local vicar who established the original school on the site 60 years ago.

Reverend William Farr bought the land, a former World War Two bomber command station, for £600.

The school opened in 1952, but was named after him just after his death in 1955.

The school now celebrates the founder every September 4 with a ceremony called Founder’s Day.

New intake attend a service at St Mary’s Church in Welton, where Rev Farr was vicar, aiming to inspire new pupils.

The service was completed with a flypast of a Spitfire due to the school’s ties with the RAF.

Head teacher Andy Stones said: “The school is very proud of its heritage and its close ties with the RAF.

“The story of William Farr’s dream of creating a new school and the commitment and determination to reach that goal is still an inspiration to us more than 60 years later.

“It’s a fantastic idea to use that history to inspire the next generation of the school’s community and this event will now form an important part of the school’s calendar.

“We are also delighted that the RAF kindly agreed to the flypast. It was exciting for all the students and staff and an emotional reminder of the brave men and women who fought for our freedom from the very site that we now occupy.”