ONE of the delights for schoolchildren at this time of year is making their own Easter bonnets.

And pupils at these schools were determined not to miss out and to celebrate Christ’s resurrection with amazing displays of headgear.

Black and white pictures don’t do justice to their hard work, but we are assured that they were full of colour and imagination.

The top picture was taken at Church Cowley Infants’ School in Oxford in 1977.

The Oxford Mail reported: “When spring is in the air, everyone feels fancy free – and these youngsters are no exception. To celebrate Easter – and the end of term – the children had a fancy hat and Easter bonnet parade at their school at Cowley.”

The other picture shows pupils at Bernwood First School in Barton, who were set a test by their teachers in 1984 – to create their own Easter hats.

They set to work with paint, paper and glue and according to one teacher, “created a crowning success”.

Their 30 hand-made hats got two airings, the first before the school broke up for Easter and the second at St Mary’s Church hall at Barton, at a parade and fun day, after the term had ended.

For centuries, the Easter hat or bonnet has symbolised new life following winter – the beginning of spring, the birth of lambs, and budding flowers and trees. Women would buy or create decorative hats to wear with their Easter dress at church services celebrating Christ’s resurrection following his crucifixion on Good Friday. In recent years, more casual church services have decreased the popularity of the Easter hat, but the tradition is still kept alive at many schools.

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