THE Band of the Parachute Regiment serenaded a school celebrating its 50th birthday.

A celebration was held at Montgomery Junior School - which is named after Second World War Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery and still has strong connections to the military- to mark the five decade milestone.

As well as the band, Colchester MP Will Quince was in attendance along with garrison commander Lieutenant Colonel Ciaran Griffin.

To mark the occasion, the school named their two main buildings Jerboa and Pegasus as a nod to the emblems of soldiers based in Colchester.

Headteacher Bill Aylett said: “Sadly, little survives in terms of artefacts from the past that can be used to trace the school’s history.

“However, we have the original punishment book from Montgomery Junior School.

“Prior to 1986, headteachers were required to log the punishments given out to pupils for their little indiscretions.

“We named the buildings Jerboa and Pegasus and would like to formally thank the Brigade Commander of The Parachute Regiment and 7th Armoured Brigade for granting us permission to use their emblems.

“Special thanks go to our pupils who provided the entertainment with fairground style stalls and our catering team who whipped up some lovely cream teas.”