A primary school kicked off its 75th anniversary celebrations with an assembly about a former mayor known as the “maker of modern Brighton”.
Students from Carden Primary School in County Oak Avenue presented the assembly on Friday about what they had learnt about the school’s history.
They researched former Brighton Council mayor Sir Herbert Carden who the school is named after.
Sir Herbert helped provide a lot of the council housing in the city, including the Whitehawk and Moulsecoomb estates.
He was also known for his work in protecting the Downs around the city.
Headteacher Laura Sibley said: “The 75th will be a whole year celebration for all of our big events. We have a big fireworks event and light for learning event. We will have our summer fair at the end of the year and make it even bigger and better.
“The children have been doing lots of work about Sir Herbert Carden and what’s happened in the 75 years since it has been a school. We brought that together in this assembly.
“We also had a competition for the children to design a new logo for 75 years of the school. It has been a really nice opportunity to bring all the children together.”
Sir Herbert was mayor of Brighton from 1916 to 1918 during the First World War.
Following Sir Herbert’s death in 1941, developers named the Carden Avenue estate after him, in 1947.
Carden Primary School, completed in 1948, was the first new school to be created in Britain following the end of the Second World War. It was also designed so that it could be used as a hospital if needed.
Students presenting to the rest of the school spoke about some of Sir Herbert and the council’s other notable achievements which included protecting the Downs around the city.
Because sellers of land would have increased the price had they known the council was a buyer, Sir Herbert bought the land himself and sold it back to the council at a cost price.
This included land north of Brighton such as Ditchling Beacon, Devil’s Dyke and Hollingbury.
Sir Herbert campaigned for Greater Brighton to be created by moving the boundary north beyond the built-up area. He gave £1,000 for one of the two stone pylons on the A23 which now mark the line.
- READ MORE: The visionary who saved parts of the Downs
One of the students said they were excited to see Sir Herbert’s name in a plaque at Brighton Marina.
Two of Sir Herbert’s great grandchildren, Tim Carden and Helen Thompson, were invited to the assembly by the school.
Tim said: “Thank you very much, you have worked so hard on this. That was a fantastic assembly, well done all of you.
“My great-grandfather loved the people of Brighton and would have been so happy to see this.”
As part of the celebrations, the school will be holding a fireworks night and light trail experience for students and their families. The light trail is 5pm to 7pm between November 14 and November 16.
The school also has plans for its Christmas celebrations and 75th anniversary summer fair.
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