A 40 Year Reunion

BHHS 40 Years on…

On a chilly and very soggy Saturday in July, 14 members of The ‘Class of ’83’ (plus a handful of siblings and parents) gathered back in the Temple Building to reminisce over our years at the High School and to catch up on 40 years of news and life events; and what a welcome it was!

Some came from abroad, others with a degree of trepidation; nervous about catching up with familiar (and not so) faces after so long, but arrived to a friendly and welcoming bunch who were soon laughing about the 70’s and 80’s as though they were yesterday, and wondering ‘whatever happened to?’ So many names we had forgotten and a few childhood nicknames brought back to life!

The tour of the senior and junior school was a real blast from the past. Aside from the stylish re-purposing of the old main school hall to the new elegant Hive area (memories of lining up for Assembly and the walkway behind the stage), the basement refurbishments probably generated most discussion. Gone is the cold dark dingy space with rows of old wooden coat and shoe racks, Victorian toilets, the nurse’s area where we were jabbed, the milk station (always too cold or too warm) and instead there’s a bright state of the art music area with sound booths, instrument storage and a Grand Piano.

The old Staff Room also drew much comment; mainly recollections of waiting nervously for the door to open, only to be hit by a wall of cigarette smoke. We have been assured that not many of the staff actually smoked, but it does seem to be the abiding memory of everyone on the day! Generally, it all felt much smaller than we remembered, and as one person reflected; how did we ever fit 30 in those classrooms?

The landscaping outside is impressive. The side grass area where we used to eat lunch and tan our legs in the summer is now beautifully paved and planted with lavender and shrubs. Over the road at the Old Vicarage, gone are the Junior School tennis courts and the bushes we spent hours playing in, but again, it’s all been beautifully planted.

The Junior School hasn’t changed much inside, but funny memories flooded back of needlework lessons, making felt Christmas decorations and needlework needle cases; and those of us in Kindergarten and Transition having an afternoon nap on the camp beds. Sadly, we couldn’t find the wooden ‘Indoor Shoes/Outdoor Shoes/Coats On’ sign.

It was wonderful to be joined by 3 members of staff; Brigid Wells, Dorothy Denby and Jane Baker who amazingly remembered most of the girls. We didn’t get around to singing the school song, but House competitiveness still seems rife; and it was lovely to see how the 4 Houses now seem to be a greater focus boasting lovely House Rooms with cross year-group mingling and mentoring. In our day it was mainly all about end of term sports, music and drama contests.

Coming from the pre-social media era, it has been harder to track classmates down, but word of mouth and the power of Facebook and LinkedIn is starting to work, and we now have reconnected with a good proportion of the year group and would love to find a few more for the next one; maybe our 50th? If you haven’t been in touch and would like to join this wonderful group, please do get in touch!

Whilst school has undergone a dramatic and impressive refurbishment, at the end of the day, I’m not sure we had changed much as a group. I always recognise a High School Girl when I meet them out in the world; there’s a warmth, connection and undefinable ‘something’ which stays with us and which shone through when we came back together. I know many of us will continue to stay connected and build new memories in the years ahead.

Huge thanks to Rebecca for helping find a few lost faces and for her generous hospitality, archive photos and magazines, and unexpected 40th cake; and to Dorothy Denby for helping bring Brigid and Jane (and almost Carole Best – you were missed!) and for bringing us up to date on the teachers, many of whom are sadly no longer with us.

One final reflection overheard from the day: ’40 years on and I think we are ageing pretty well.’

Lucy McCrickard Class of 1983