Escanaffles Communal School Celebrates Its History During Esca'Fête
The institution organized an archive exhibition and an Adeps walk, bringing together former students and walkers to celebrate its past and its role in the village.
By Aurélie Leclercq
••3 min read
AI
Facade of a Belgian communal school in a village, under the afternoon sun.
The communal school in Escanaffles came alive last weekend during Esca'Fête, combining an archive exhibition tracing its history with a Sunday Adeps walk.
Last weekend, the Escanaffles communal school partnered with the Esca'Fête festival to offer a rich program of events. On Friday evening, an archive exhibition traced the history of the institution, while on Sunday morning, an Adeps walk brought together numerous participants.
Alderman Ophélie Huvenne emphasized the school's importance in village life: "In a village, the school is a living space. It is crucial not to forget it. Festivities like last weekend allow us to place, not the church, but the school at the heart of the village".
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"In a village, the school is a living space. It is crucial not to forget it. Festivities like last weekend allow us to place, not the church, but the school at the heart of the village"
The director, Stéphane Delhaye, described the weekend as "more than positive". He particularly highlighted the welcome of 650 walkers on Sunday and the complementary collaboration with the Esca'Fête committee.
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"Firstly because we welcomed 650 walkers on Sunday, but also because the collaboration with the Esca'Fête committee is very complementary."
The archive exhibition was a great success, allowing former students with strong ties to their school to reconnect. Precious documents were collected, including the program for communal schools dating back to 1884, handwritten notebooks from 1920, and photos of the construction of the kindergarten site in 1876 for approximately 25,000 francs. These memories, some showing students from the 1960s recognizing their parents, hold significant sentimental value.
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"We saw former students who hadn't been back to school for years, even decades, people who remain very attached to their school. Beyond these reunions, we have above all managed to collect many very rich archives, including the program for communal schools dating from 1884 or handwritten notebooks from 1920. The entire history of the school is traced in these documents, such as photos of the construction of the kindergarten site, in 1876 for about 25,000 francs. There's a collector's item and above all, an enthusiasm for these precious memories. Then we received more recent photos, from sexagenarians recognizing their parents. These photos have sentimental value. I take this opportunity to tell former students to come see us so we can digitize these memories. And if others still have archives to transmit or lend us, we are interested. It would be good to see the exhibition return and grow."
The director concluded by expressing the desire to continue these initiatives: "We don't want to stop there, that's for sure...", hinting at a new edition next year.
Based on information from the official source: Commune de Celles (30/09/2026)
