If there’s anything that can be said about Victor Scott Primary School students, it’s that they sure know how to form their numbers.The Royal Gazette recently asked students to line up in the shape of the number ‘80’ in celebration of the school’s 80th anniversary, so that we could take a photograph. All 117 students were brought from their classrooms in record time, despite lack of any prior warning.To take the photograph Mark Tatem stood on a ladder balanced precariously on some school playground equipment. Teachers quietly and patiently shifted the students right, left, right again and then a little more to the right, then in more, some out, left, left, left and a little to the right again at Mr Tatem’s directive. One would have thought the teachers arranged the children to form double digits, every day.The school has always had a reputation for firm management of its students.Talk to some of its earliest pupils and they inevitably mention the strap or the cane that teachers carried, a practice that is, thankfully, now a thing of the past.The school on The Glebe Road in Pembroke was formed as the Central School in 1931. In 1977 it was named after its second principal, Victor Scott. This month, the school is celebrating eight decades of history with special events including a principal recognition ceremony, a tree planting, a family fun day and a day of worship.Current principal Valerie Williams herself attended the school from 1957 to 1962. She became the principal three years ago, taking over from Gina Tucker.“I do remember my first day at the school,” she said. “I was very shy. They skipped me a grade the first day of school, because I could already read. My birthday was in September, so I had just turned five. I walked into a class of children who had already been at the school for a whole year. I remember sitting in the corner, being so afraid and intimidated by the older students and the teacher, Mary Francis Ball. I settled in pretty quick though.”Today when Ms Williams tells her students, “I know what you are going through”, she really means it.“I definitely tell my students that I went to the school,” she said. “That is why I really felt it was an honour when I was appointed principal here.”Besides Ms Williams, the school has a number of well-known past students including former Premier Ewart Brown, former Premier John Swan, Progressive Labour Party MP Dale Butler, the late lawyer and politician Julian Hall and writer and Bermuda College lecturer, Angela Barry.The school started as an amalgamation of four elementary schools in the area. Jamaican Isaac Henry was the first principal.When he opened the school he vowed to model it along the lines of English public schools of the time, and to train the students for the responsibilities of life.Victor Scott, also from Jamaica, took Mr Henry’s place as principal in 1934 and remained in the position until 1961. He was assisted by teachers such as Edith and Matilda Crawford, Mary Louise Williams, Bertha Hodgson, the mother of Marion Robinson who also went to the school, and Doris Corbin, who recently turned 100.Today the school will hold a special assembly to remember its past principals Mr Henry and Mr Scott, Cecil DaCosta, Yvonne Simmons, Freda Byron, acting principal Livingston Tuzo, Esme Trott Williams, and Dr Tucker. Awards will be presented in their honour.College lecturer Ms Barry will accept the award on behalf of Mr Scott. His wife, Edna Mae Scott, was her godmother.“[Central School] was wonderful,” she said. “I would have been there from 1957 to 1960, or thereabouts. Mr Scott was the guiding spirit of the whole school.“The teachers were loving but in a very tough way. We knew they cared for us. They also expected us to work hard and achieve. That expectation was very much translated to everything that they did and hence we performed as they expected us to.”Mr Scott was known as an excellent mathematics teacher. Ms Barry said, as a result, when she went on to the Berkeley Institute, she and other students from the Central School coasted along for at least three years because they had already covered a lot of ground in primary school.Community Development Minister Michael Weeks will also speak at today’s ceremony. He was a student at the school from 1965 to 1970.“I have a lot of good memories while at the school,” he said. “I enjoyed playing for the football and cricket teams. I have a special memory of my school class camping out at Mesina House in Somerset.”Mr Butler attended the Central School from 1958 to 1965. One of his memories was about accidentally checking himself into the “special class” for children who were struggling.“At the Central School the word got out that students who were artistic were sent to the long green barn where the assembly hall is today,” he said. “In later years I learned it was the place for ‘slow learners’. One day I was sent to take a message to the teacher in the barn. The children there were so happy and engaged with their work that I decided to stay. I was there for two weeks before anyone missed me.”Victor Scott Primary is actually much smaller today than it was in the past. When it was the Central School it had more than 1,000 students housed in different buildings around Pembroke.In honour of its anniversary, the school is taking on the ‘Leader In Me’ Franklin Covey programme that encourages leadership in students and adults. The objectives of this model are to encourage leadership, and help students see the impact they can have in the community. The staff has already participated in programme training, and will introduce it to the students next year. The school is currently raising $13,730 for the programme and is asking the public to sponsor a student for $80.The rest of the 80th anniversary celebrations include an alumni Pay it Forward Day tomorrow. Past staff and students are invited to interact with current students throughout the day. A family fun day is planned for Saturday, which includes a family fun run, a netball game and a soccer match. On Sunday the school is encouraging students to worship at a number of churches around the island whose members are Victor Scott volunteers.Telephone 292-1787 to register for these events.