MEMORIES came flooding back for former students as they stepped into their old college and then up onto its roof for some fantastic views of Ipswich.

MEMORIES came flooding back for former students as they stepped into their old college and then up onto its roof for some fantastic views of Ipswich.

After being part of the townscape for almost 50 years, the Suffolk New College - or Civic College as most people remember it - is being demolished this year.

The landmark's rooftop was opened to the public for the final time at the weekend, with people making donations to the Ipswich and Suffolk Press Ball charity - this year the Cystic Fibrosis Trust - for the chance to go up.

Among those who took the opportunity to enjoy the panoramic views was Sue Crane, from Capel St Mary, who had attended a two-year course in clerical and secretarial work at the college in 1961.

She said: “I had never been up to the roof before and the views were amazing - it was great trying to spot all the different places and seeing how much everything had changed since we were there.

“Ipswich had changed, too. We could see the Wolsey Theatre, and the docks are now a marina.

“There were so many new buildings.”

She attended the day with her sister Monica Bateman, who travelled up especially for it from Berkshire. She had also been a student at the college in 1961, doing an intensive one-year secretarial course.

People on the roof could also track the steam from the Oliver Cromwell train as it passed through the town.