Mystery of 28-year-old graffiti baffles school

A secondary school is trying to track down two former pupils from the 1990s after workmen found their names scrawled on a wooden beam.

"Cooke & Chedd 97" were the words revealed under the stage in the hall of Perryfields Academy in Oldbury, West Midlands but no current staff can remember who they were.

This year the school will undergo a full rebuild and a spokesperson said they wanted to tell the stories of students from years gone by, including the mysterious pair.

They reassured them they were not in any trouble and did not face detention for vandalising school property.

The school, which first opened in 1956 as Brandhall Secondary Modern, is now part of the Broadleaf Partnership Trust and serves about 1,000 pupils.

Head teacher Clare Harris said the rebuilding project had been "hectic" but they wanted to "recognise and honour the immense history of these buildings and the many thousands of children who have passed through".

So when the graffiti turned up under the school hall, she said it got staff talking.

"Some of our teachers have been here a long time and others were former pupils, now staff - and yet no-one seems to know who they were," Ms Harris said.

She added there were a range of theories about the pair.

"Some think they might have been best friends trying to hide away from lessons, others prefer the more romantic notion of young love that may have lasted into a relationship outside of school," she said.

The school is now trying to track down Cooke and Chedd through social media but they said they also wanted to hear from all former students.

Old photos of school life as well as old books and uniform were also being sought.

Some of them would then go into a time capsule, the spokesperson said.

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