What a glorious time we had at our ‘Magnolia Tea & Tours’ on Saturday. It was such a pleasure to welcome back alumnae to our annual reunion. We threw open our doors to former students to enjoy a tour of the school, given by our current sixth formers, and then all reunited in the Richards Hall for a delicious afternoon tea.
As the alumnae arrived, it was a delight to witness friends reuniting with warm hugs, hear the lively chatter filling the air, and feel the excitement of revisiting familiar places. One alumna even turned up looking magnificent in her original green cape!
After a drinks reception, tours got underway. Groups included the celebratory anniversary years of 1975, 2005, 2015 & 1973. Our sixth formers guided them around familiar corridors and classrooms, to the Head’s Study, the new sixth form centre and a highlight was clearly finally seeing inside the staff room! Physics teacher Mr Hills, who has been at The Abbey since 1999, was very touched to arrive on Monday morning to find multiple, kind messages from former students left on his desk in the staff room.
It was heartwarming to feel such a sense of community between our alumnae and current sixth formers. Listening in to conversations about memories from the past and questions about what it’s like now. Grace in Lower VI, said “It was amazing, all of the stories they shared were very inspirational”. Alumna Viki Rundell née Willis (Class of 1980) got in touch afterwards to praise her tour guides “Please thank the students for giving up their Saturday – their enthusiasm, confidence and most especially their charm made the afternoon very special; they are a credit to the school, their families and themselves.”
Everyone reunited in Richards Hall where memorabilia was laid out for alumnae to explore, before enjoying a delicious afternoon tea. There was a brilliant atmosphere as conversations flowed over sandwiches, scones and cake.
Guests were given an update on what has been happening at The Abbey from our Chair of Governors Liz Harrison, followed by Head Will le Fleming sharing why he believes this school is so special. Alumnae were also treated to a message from former Head Barbara Stanley and the room burst into laughter as she shared the memory of the old grass playing fields where, “We used to get lots of personal bests because we were doing our races down hill!”
Barbara beautifully summed up that, “it’s not really the facilities, important as they are, that makes The Abbey. What I loved was all of you and seeing how much you enjoyed school, how much you put into it, and therefore how much you got out of it. It’s a real pleasure to see that you want to come back and that you are keeping in touch with each other over so many years.”
Veronica Whitehead, née Latto, (Class of 1975) sent this kind message after the event, “Just a quick note to let you know how much we enjoyed the Reunion event on Saturday – it far exceeded our expectations!! As part of the class of 1975, we had a wonderful time sharing stories and catching up on news. Thank you.”
It was an honour to welcome so many former students and staff back, all united by a shared history and the Abbey community. We are already looking forward to our next alumnae event – our London Drinks Reunion on June 19th.
