For the first time in half a century some of the new arrivals at Hewett School when it opened, return to meet the students of 2012.

Half a century on, the class of '62 went back to school in Norwich – to discover how much had changed over the decades.

Since publishing a class photograph, nine former students from the first sixth form at the Hewett School in 1961/2 were tracked down for a reunion, the highlight of which was a return to the school.

'We were given a very warm welcome,' said organiser Dr David Lee, who went on to become a teacher himself and still works as an education consultant.

The group is now considering setting up an annual award from the class of '62 for students who, in their school life, mirror the traditions of the Hewett and not just in academic achievement.

The group toured the school and spent time with some of the pupils, explaining what life was like at the Hewett all those years ago, and learning about education in the 21st century.

'The school today is very much bigger than the Hewett we knew 50 years ago. Striking issues were the red sweatshirts as uniform rather than green blazers. The buildings and the surrounding areas were rather drab and some in need of repair,' said David.

But while the buildings could do with some care and attention, they were impressed by the students and their work.

'Our curriculum was a very narrow one, but the choice of subjects today is much wider. The quality of art work on display was very high and it was great to see that technical workshops were still in use, and additional ones had been added to accommodate multimedia work.

'The excellent sports facilities we had, have also been enhanced,' added David.

Chatting to the students of today, they were quite taken aback by the changes which have happened in education over the last 50 years.

The students fired questions at them to discover what the school had been like in their day, and what they had done with the rest of their lives.

'Some stories were a reminder of how times had changed as we relived our lives,' said David, who thanked the school for their hospitality and the Evening News for helping to find the class of '62.

The school was brand new when they moved in. The Hewett took pupils from the old Junior Technical School, which was based at the city college.