The world’s oldest bakery school – the National Bakery School at London South Bank University – has this week marked its 125th anniversary.

The celebrations included an event hosted by City of London livery company The Worshipful Company of Bakers, at Bakers’ Hall, and attended by leading industry figures.

On display was a spectacular cake created over the past eight months by Jane Hatton, expert baker from the National Bakery School.

Baked in the shape of a sculptural monument, incorporating five traditional cake shapes – square, hexagon, petal, roundel and sphere – the cake is coated with white icing, displaying decorative reliefs and motifs. These include flowers, London South Bank University’s heraldic shield, a new crest created to mark the National Bakery School’s 125-year anniversary and the coat of arms belonging to The Worshipful Company of Bakers.

Guests at the event were able to sample a new, bottled beer brewed from surplus bread to mark the occasion.

“The National Bakery School is a shining example of how higher education and employers can work together to produce the highly skilled graduates industry needs,” said London South Bank University vice-chancellor Professor David Phoenix.

Echoing this, Paul Morrow, master of The Worshipful Company of Bakers and managing director of British Bakels, said: “Bakels will only prosper if we have customers who are trained in the application of bakery ingredients and expert staff who can support those customers. We therefore pledge to support the National Bakery School as they educate and provide career opportunities for young bakers.”

The school now faces the challenge of inspiring the next generation of bakers – from developing craft skills through to investing in applied scientific baking research, added National Bakery School head Elaine Thomson.

“Historic technological advances in the field of baking science and changes within the education landscape have already helped to increase the diverse range of courses we offer at LSBU and this offering will continue to expand in future.

 “Our vision is to be a truly national school, which will both meet and enhance the needs of all of the industry partners we work with.”

British Baker recently delved into the archives of the National Bakery School at London South Bank University.

The anniversary cake was created by Jane Hatton from the National Bakery School