STAFF and students at a Malvern girls' school celebrated its tenth birthday this week.

Tuesday marked the anniversary of the official opening of Malvern St James in 2006, following the merger of Malvern Girls’ College and St James’s School.

The school celebrated with a massive party, hundreds of cupcakes and circus-style entertainment from the London-based Ministry of Fun.

The day also marked the official launch of a year-long fundraising campaign by the school in aid of local charity Malvern Special Families.

This charity, which Malvern St James has been working with for many years, provides stimulating and fun social opportunities for children and young people with disabilities.

The school’s aim is to raise £10,000 for Malvern Special Families over the course of the next 12 months, with much of the fundraising set to be done by the girls themselves.

Headmistress Olivera Raraty said: “Choosing a local charity to partner with was very important to us. Malvern Special Families is a superb facility and we are delighted to be working with them.

"Malvern St James girls have regularly hosted an annual party for the children and families supported by Malvern Special Families; they’ve really enjoyed themselves and learnt a lot from the experience. 2016’s activities will build on this.

“As for Malvern St James itself, there is plenty of cause for celebration. The school is rooted in the Malvern community and its founding schools go all the way back to the nineteenth century. Malvern St James is significant in that it is now the only remaining all-girls school going through to sixth form, not only in Malvern, but also in Worcestershire.

"Nobody does boarding education quite as well as the British, and we are proud to be one of the leading schools for girls in this field. It is great therefore to be celebrating our first decade, and already we’re looking well ahead to the next decade and beyond. This feels like a very exciting time to be the new headmistress, and I’m enjoying every minute of my time here.”