SENT to Looking Back by Read reader Bill Greenhalgh, this picture of prefects at the old St Peter's C.E. Boys' Secondary Modern School in Blackburn (above) was taken half a century ago in the autumn of 1953.

And though one or two in the group are no longer alive, Bill hopes there are still enough of them around to meet up for a reunion next year -- to mark the 50th anniversary of a new departure in education that some of these lads were among the first to experience sitting the examinations for the General Certificate of Education, the forerunner of today's GCSEs.

Says Bill: "The boys in the group were prefects from two separate years. The nine who were in the older group -- 15-plus -- were the first to be given the opportunity to study for the then-new GCE in May, 1954."

And referring to the recent Channel 4 TV series which exposed modern-day pupils to 1950s-style tuition, he adds: "Those were the days of real live 'That'll Teach 'Em,' but they were days that most of us are very grateful for nevertheless."

Bill, who is seen second right in the front row, can be contacted on 01282-774602.

The boys in the group are (left to right) -- Back row: Peter Corbridge, Keith Whittaker, Barry Williams, Paul Youd, Roy Benson. Middle: Ray Howarth, Bill Small, Alan Shaw, Geoff Howarth, Ray Hobson, Keith Miller. Front: Raymond ?, Ken Ashby, Keith Holden, Brian Atkinson, Stewart Walsh, Bill Greenhalgh, David Howarth.

St Peter's Boys' was merged with St Hilda's C.E. Girls' School in 1965 to become the present-day St Wilfrid's High School.