OLD GROVEIAN REUNION

On Saturday, 17^th October, 83 Old Groveians (girls and staff) gathered for the first reunion in quite some time to be held in Hindhead Court. For many, just being in Hindhead Court again was very nostalgic especially for those who had been boarders but for others, who left school before The Grove acquired Hindhead Court in January 1955, it was just a beautiful venue for the reunion!

There was a vast age range present but perhaps it would be kinder to say that there were some who left school in 1938 through to those who left in 1997! Some seem never to have left as there were at least three old girls present who are now members of staff; two sisters, Caroline (Roly) Phillips and Joanna Smith (nee Phillips) and Libby Daniels (nee Jones). Roly works at both the Junior and Senior schools as a Classroom/Learning Support Assistant and Boarding House Mistress and Jo works at the Junior school as a School Secretary and Marketing Assistant. Libby works in the Learning Support and Art Departments at the Senior School. Although not present at the reunion, Mrs Taylor-Gooby’s Assistant, Sarah Hamer (nee Booth) is also an Old Groveian! It surely says something about their schooling that they wish to return to the seat of their learning to work although, certainly in the case of Roly and Jo, with a quite significant break! There was also one old girl present, Victoria (Tick) Sullivan, who is a current parent with a daughter in Prep 6.

Mrs Taylor-Gooby welcomed everyone to the day and thanked Diana Hamilton-Jones (old girl) and Mrs Beach (staff) for organising the reunion. The old girls enjoyed a wonderful three course lunch before which each old girl was asked to stand and give her name and the year in which she left school. This resulted in much cheering for those more senior girls in the party and for those who had been School Captains and Head Girls. Curiously though, some of the loudest cheers went to those old girls who were brave enough to admit they had been ‘invited to leave’. In today’s parlance….excluded!

It is true to say, however, that the loudest and most heartfelt cheers were reserved for the old members of staff present; Miss Childs (Geography) who inspired the writer’s love of maps and all things volcanic, Mrs Barker and Mrs Dawson (English) who inspired many of those present to love the English language, both spoken and written, Miss Paes (Maths) who did her utmost to instil a similar passion for numbers in her students with some notable successes (but sadly not in the writer’s case).

Some of the old girls were able to reminisce with the help of old school photographs from the 1960s and 70s and all had happy and fond memories of their time at school – even those permanently excluded!

The Old Groveians are looking forward to the next reunion in two years’ time when it is hoped that even more old girls and staff members will attend.

A group of ‘64 and ‘65 leavers