We had the absolute pleasure of welcoming back 70 alumnae to our annual Magnolia Tea & Tours on Saturday.

Seeing friends return to The Abbey for this event and reminisce together is one of our favourite moments of the year.

Laughter and chat never stopped from the moment alumnae arrived at the drinks reception in the Hardcastle Hall.

Tours were soon underway, guided by our current Sixth Formers. Highlights included returning to the cookery room, visiting former form rooms and finally seeing behind the door of the staff room!

The Magnolia Tree had held on to some of its bloom and looked magnificent in the sunshine as former students passed by, retracing such familiar footsteps of years ago.

Everyone then reunited in the Richards Hall where we enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea and exploring memorabilia on display.

Former teachers that joined us were given such warm welcomes – Elaine Cook, Ros Johnson, Marlene Robinson, Stephen Willis, Elizabeth Sutcliffe, Mike Dalton, Uli Bryne, Ed Hills and Manal Spencer were all lost in conversations catching up with former students.

During speeches from our Head, Dr Tullis, Junior School Head Mrs Newton and Chair of Governors Mrs Harrison it was made clear just how much we value and appreciate our alumnae community.

This was followed by a message from former Head, Barbara Stanley who encouraged everyone to, “Enjoy today, relive your time at The Abbey and be proud of the school we all shared and which is going strong now with Dr Tullis and her team.”

Finally, we celebrated our anniversary years of 1976, 1986, 2006 & 2016 with even more cake before it was time to draw a wonderful afternoon to a close.

We love to welcome back alumnae to The Abbey, and the annual Magnolia Tea & Tours are always a highlight of our calendar.