More than 600 women visited Bradford on Saturday to share memories, meet old friends and celebrate a very special occasion.

Some were in their 20s, while others were in their late 80s.

Some had come from as far away as Australia and the USA, while others lived just down the road.

But they all had one thing in common - they were once pupils at Bradford Girls' Grammar School.

The Squire Lane school was holding its biggest old girls' reunion to mark its 125th anniversary.

Head teacher Lynda Warrington said: "This is a special event for the Millennium.

"We hold regular reunions targeted at particular year groups, but we decided this was a good time to invite everyone back."

It seemed to be a success, with corridors and classrooms packed with ladies searching out former classmates and swapping stories with old friends they had just recognised again.

The oldest former pupil there was Joan Hamilton who had travelled from Surrey to revisit the school she had attended between 1926-31.

She was with her sister Pam Milner, of Bingley, who was a year behind.

The Webb sisters, as they were known then, had attended the school at its former more "cramped" site at the bottom of Hallfield Road.

They remember selling chocolate bars to raise funds for the new buildings but were not there long enough to benefit from the new site when it opened in 1935.

Mrs Hamilton's clearest memory was watching the school's most famous old girl giving her schoolmates a taste of things to come.

It was 1927 and the future cabinet minister, Barbara Castle, still making the headlines at the age of 90, was head girl and speaking in a mock general election campaign.

"I was only 14," said Mrs Hamilton. "But when I heard this remarkable young red-haired girl speaking for her Labour beliefs I remember thinking 'My goodness this a terrific speaker, she is a clever girl who will do well'."

More recent former pupils who have made their mark include Changing Rooms TV star Linda Barker and 19-year-old Janine Bolton who has been swimming for Great Britain at the Sydney Olympics and also competed at the Atlanta Games while she was still a pupil.

The school's present head of studies, Jenny Robson, said: "The school has produced a steady stream of talented women including scientists, musicians, doctors and artists.

"Even in the 19th century the girls were extremely intelligent and forward looking.

"We have always managed to produce independent girls who were confident in their ability to succeed."