FOR three students at Red Cliffs East Primary School, the first day of school was special.

Ryder, 10, Nate, 7, and Beau Gathercole, 5, were picked up from school on Thursday by their great-grandmother, 94-year-old Martha Gilbert.

Mrs Gilbert has collected her great-grandchildren from their first day of school each year, so it's a family tradition now.

"Not many kids get their great-grandmother ...