STUDENTS of the Sixties took a trip down memory lane when they returned to their old school, five decades after leaving as pupils.

Former pupils of Ripon Grammar School - who are known as Old Riponians - travelled from across the country for the reunion, with two flying in from the United States.

Jamie Simpson and Paul Morris, who boarded in the late 1960s and early 1970s as sons of Forces families, found their old bedrooms during a tour of School House, which remains a boys' boarding house today, Ripon Grammar School being one of only 38 state boarding schools in the country.

Many of the school's Sixties alumni have gone on to achieve at a high level, including Stephen Swindells, who became a consultant anaesthetist in the liver transplant unit at St James’s Hospital in Leeds before using his expertise in Iraq and Afghanistan with the Royal Air Force, and Carolynne O'Donoghue, who worked for the United Nations as a peace development officer in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Professor Alan Plumb, a world renowned expert in meteorology and atmospheric dynamics, based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, travelled from the US, as did Ralph Waggitt, who moved to the semiconductor industry in Silicon Valley in 1978.

Retired teachers also joined the reunion, including Ben Smith, who taught geography for 25 years, Dave Postlethwaite, who taught chemistry and was deputy head for 26 years, and wood and metalwork teacher John Chambers.

Current pupils took the Old Rips on tours of the school, including the new sports hall, sixth form centre, humanities block and extension to the girls' boarding house, before many stayed for dinner with last year's leavers.

Headmaster Martin Pearman said: "It was an absolute pleasure to welcome so many Old Rips back to Ripon Grammar School.

"Much of the school was familiar to them but they also enjoyed seeing how recent investment has extended the school facilities for boarders and day pupils to ensure the best possible education here for years to come."