The timing could not have been more emotive. As the people of Winnenden in Germany came to terms yesterday with a gunman's killing of 15 people before he turned his gun on himself, in Dunblane they were preparing to mark the anniversary of their own darkest day.

It is 13 years today since Thomas Hamilton walked into a gym class in the Stirlingshire town and shot down 16 children and their teacher, also shooting and injuring others.

Since then, those who remain have been engaged in the agonising, seemingly almost insurmountable, task of remembering the past while planning a future. Yet whenever there is a school killing somewhere in the world - and those occasions, though mercifully few, are always heart-rending - the path ahead becomes harder. As one local resident said: “It hits home.”

Today in Dublane, its own anniversary will, outwardly at least, be marked discreetly. Candles will be lit by those who want to and left to burn in the windows of the Dunblane Centre, a youth and sports facility set up with speculative donations sent from around the world in 1996.

Today, 1,500 people of all ages use the centre every week. The building itself embodies the wish to create a positive future that acknowledges the past. It is open daily from 10am to 10pm and holds a cross-community appeal, with facilities including pre-school play areas, a recording studio, a gym and a five-a-side pitch. It has also managed to succeed where other such organisations have failed by attracting in mid to late-teenagers from the parks, street corners and pubs.

The centre is thriving and full of life, but there are ever-present physical reminders of the children who will never have a chance to use it. Engraved on the windows are images that represent each of those Hamilton murdered, chosen by their family. One, a cat, is in memory of Sophie North, whose father, Mick, campaigned against guns after her death. There are also snowdrops, the flower representing the campaign set up in the wake of the massacre to ban handguns.

Bob Dale was in the second year at the time of the shooting and is now employed as a youth worker at the centre. He was involved in the outreach work that pulled in the older teenagers. He told The Times: “Those of us who were here still remember a lot of it and will never forget it. A lot of the community see this place as a positive step forward. Not only somewhere to remember but to move forward and provide for everyone in the community - children and adults.”

Stewart Prodger, a Trustee of the Dunblane Youth and Sports Centre Trust, added: “The worst possible events in life often bring out the best in people, and we hope that the Dunblane Centre is a great example of how this community continues to pull together and look to the future. Designed for present and future generations, it is already a living, breathing integral part of Dunblane life.”

It grew out of an informal drop-in facility after the shooting. Some of the survivors and bereaved parents volunteer. None of those on duty yesterday was prepared to talk.

There appears to be a general unwillingness now to speak about what happened 13 years ago. In that time, some parents have been more vocal than others, hoping like Dr North to achieve change. It is thought that there is now a desire among some to maintain a dignified silence partly in the hope it will allow the surviving children to move into adulthood, partly in the hope that it will stop the town's name being synonymous with the events of one day in March 1996.

When 17-year-old Tim Kretschmer began his killing spree at Albertville school, in Winnenden, southwest Germany, yesterday, the people of Dunblane realised that they would again be sought out. One local figure told The Times that his “heart sank” when he heard the news - partly because of the tragic event, partly because of what it would bring to Dunblane.

“I think it maybe hits home to people who have been here,” said Mr Dale. “Any tragedy hits home because you know how it feels.”

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