Comedian Billy Pearce is hoping to organise a 60th birthday get-together of old classmates from Benton Park School.

The Yorkshire comedian was one of three former classmates to turn up for Benton’s 50th anniversary celebrations, and now they are hoping to organise another reunion to celebrate their 60th birthdays next year.

One of them, Julia Briggs (formerly Wilson), who lives in Rawdon, said: ““We left in 1966. Everyone who was in that class at school will all be 60 this next year – so Billy wanted to see if we could arrange for everyone to meet up.”

Although the Benton Park celebration was a huge success, with former students travelling from around the globe, Julia said not many people from their class had attended. She said the third person who attended was Maria Calvert, formerly Langley.

“We had quite a big class, in those days there were about 40 in the class,” she said. “We know that a few of them have died and a few have moved away – but we are hoping that about 20 might be able to come.

“So far we have about 12 names of people who still live locally.”

She said many people might be unaware that they had gone to school with Billy Pearce, as his real name is Stephen Cookson.

“When he was doing panto in Bradford, someone mentioned to me that he was a Horsforth lad who had been to Benton.

“I had been going to the panto for ten years and I hadn’t recognised him.”