THE Gazette 50 years ago was looking forward to the official opening of the Chase Secondary School, as it was then called.

At the time, the school had 785 pupils, aged 11 and upwards, "being equipped, physically as well as mentally, to face exacting competition in the adult world."

"Already in the short time the school has been running," wrote the editor, "things such as a flourishing parents-teachers association, the healthily competitive house system and the growth of out-of-school clubs and activities has been established.

"In common with the rest of Malvern, the Gazette is glad to wish the Chase School long and useful life, and an ever-widening stream of happy and successful pupils."