FORMER pupils are saying 'cheers' to help chalk up a £1,000 Millennium boost for their old school.

A grand 1960s reunion party for ex-pupils of St John Vianney School, Marton, is being organised for August 4 by pub licensees Ray and Andrea Carroll at the Boars Head in nearby Preston Old Road.

The couple, whose six-year-old son Louie attends the Roman Catholic primary in Glastonbury Avenue, are hoping to raise £1,000 to help its appeal for £7,000-worth of much-needed play equipment, including swings and slides - it currently has none.

Ray is urging all ex-pupils from 1960-70 to come along, bring their photos and recall old times: "There's still an awful of lot of people round here who went to the school, as well as some retired teachers," he said.

The reunion is part of Allied Domecq Inn's Millennium Times Better campaign to encourage pubs to improve the lives of people in their own communities.

"We wanted to get wholeheartedly involved in this campaign because we are very much a community-based pub," said Ray. "We decided to support the school because many of our customers used to attend it and it's very much at the heart of the area.

"The schoolchildren currently don't have any equipment in their playground, so it would be nice if we can help to provide it in time for the Millennium."

St John Vianney was previously a secondary school, and when it changed to teaching juniors it lacked the appropriate playground equipment for younger children.

The reunion, with raffles and auctions, starts at 7pm on August 4, admission free. Other fundraising events are planned, including a charity bike ride.

At the turn of the Millennium, staff and customers at the Boars Head, together with the majority of Allied Domecq's 700 other northern pubs, will bury a time capsule to record their fund-raising campaign and details of local life in 1999.

Anyone seeking more information about the reunion should contact Ray or Andrea Carroll on (01253) 693579.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.