Thorney Close Secondary Modern: A jewel in the Sunderland crown

A film tribute to the school on its 70th anniversary

Transcript

00:00 Sunderland in 1953. A year when we celebrated the Queen's coronation. A year when SAFC

00:09 shocked the world by splashing out on three marquee signings - Ray Daniel, Jimmy Cowan

00:16 and Billy Elliot to enter the likes of Trevor Ford and Len Shackleton on the books. And

00:24 a year when Thorny Close Secondary Modern School was first unveiled to the world. And

00:30 we are indebted to the staff for sharing some of the fantastic images from its archives.

00:37 Back on that first day there were prayers and hymns and a speech from Alderman English

00:43 who described the school as the jewel in Sunderland's crown. It stood out as an example of the wearside

00:51 post-war building boom and attracted visitors from all over the world, including Nigeria

00:58 and Australia. Have a look at these old photographs and guest books from the school. 70 years

01:05 on although it looks incredibly different, the school's heart remains the same - to provide

01:11 quality first class education to the community. Share your memories if you were a former student.

01:18 email chris.courtner@nationalworld.com