Pupils walked in the footsteps of Edwardian children on Hampstead Heath to mark the 125th anniversary of their school.

King Alfred School headteacher Robert Lobatto led children along a path similar to one seen in an old photograph showing young scholars from on a forest expedition.

The photo was taken in 1911 — but the school was marking its foundation back in the Victorian era.

King Alfred School opened in 1898 when Golder’s Green was still in the Middlesex countryside, a decade even before the London Underground railway extension arrived.

The 1911 forest expedition was recreated when Year 2 was taken for an outdoor lesson by headteacher Robert Lobatto in the footsteps of the scholars of 112 years ago with the headmaster at the time, John Russell.

Simply click and drag the circle below to see the old and new photos.

“The school’s archive hidden away in a subterranean room is full of treasures,” Mr Lobatto revealed. “It has photographs, student publications and artefacts going back to the reign of Queen Victoria.”

The black-and-white photo from 1911 is one of many treasures to emerge from the archive.

“Outdoor learning has always been a big part of what we do,” he added. “Recreating this photo from our archive and feeling that connection with a previous headmaster from more than 100 years ago has been a powerful reminder that, while much has changed, our vision for outdoor learning is as strong as ever.”

The archives have gone online in the school’s Instagram project, threading a tapestry across the decades. School archivist Dr Sheila Hanlon tells the history of the school with 125 artefacts, stories such as the outdoor learning and being known as “the Treetop school” and how old movie footage of pupils ended up in the British Film Institute’s national archive. Followers can even put their knowledge to the test by taking a science exam from 1930.

King Alfred School was opened by Millicent Fawcett on June 24, 1898, with just seven children and two teachers, set up in “a ramshackle old house” in Ellerdale Road.

But 125 years on, the rollcall is 700 pupils and 150 staff on Manor and Ivy Wood campus sites in North End Road, near the heath.

“The school has touched the lives of thousands of children,” the head tells you. “It is a place people hold dear, to appreciate its profound impact.”

The school is issuing an appeal for “Old Alfredians” who may have lost contact over the years to get in touch by email to oa@kingalfred.org.uk.