An appeal has been launched to trace people in their early sixties who were among the first intake of pupils at Marlwood School when it relocated to Alveston in September 1972.

Marlwood headteacher Seema Purewal said: “It will be 50 years since the school first opened the doors of its new buildings in Alveston, received its first comprehensive intake and was renamed Marlwood School.

“We would love to invite anyone who started their secondary education at Alveston in 1972 to be a part of our celebrations, so if that’s you please let us know.

“We’d be particularly interested to share any old photos of you and your classmates, or memories of your early experiences here.”

Anyone born in 1961 or 1962 who was part of Marlwood’s first comprehensive intake is invited to send their name and contact details to Seema Purewal at MarlwoodSchool@CSET.co.uk, together with photos and/or notes of memories of what life was like when they started at the school.

Originally founded in 1606 as Thornbury Free School and based in Thornbury, the school merged with Attwell’s Free School in 1879 to become Thornbury Grammar School, and moved to a site on Gloucester Road before transferring to its current buildings in Alveston in 1972, when it became a comprehensive school and was re-named Marlwood.

The school converted to academy status in 2014 and is now part of Castle School Education Trust (CSET), with sixth form provision shared with The Castle School and based in the old Thornbury Grammar School buildings.

Marlwood and The Castle School are currently jointly benefitting from an £18.1m refurbishment and upgrading programme, funded by CSET and South Gloucestershire Council, which will include new classrooms for art, design technology and science.

CSET is responsible for a total of seven South Gloucestershire schools, educating children and young people across the primary, secondary and sixth form key stages. For more information about Marlwood School visit www.marlwood.com and for CSET visit www.cset.co.uk