Guildford High School Old Girls’ Newsletter EB RA

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Summer 2013

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An Amazing Year – Independent School of the Year!

Over the course of the year we have played our part in our local community and on a national stage. We were named Independent School of the Year by The Sunday Times and have been awarded National Teaching School status. These accolades recognise our consistency and excellence in delivering a rigorous, innovative education and, as a Teaching School, we will be working with the Institute of Education to lead the training and professional development of staff at all stages of their careers. I feel that Guildford High School is poised on the crest of a wave, leading the way in education in the UK, and it is very exciting. Outstanding exam results demonstrate our standing nationally. Last summer 96% of the GCSE grades were A or A* and 82% of our A Levels were A or A* grades. While exam results are important, as they provide a pathway to university, colleges and life beyond GHS, our focus is always on equipping girls with the skills that are useful in all aspects of their lives. My address at Prizegiving on Monday 8th July at Guildford Cathedral offered an opportunity to consider the diverse achievements, enthusiasms and talents of our pupils and you will find a summary of some of the highlights described in more detail in this newsletter. We were delighted to welcome Katherine Grainger, CBE, as our speaker at Prizegiving this year. Her warmth, humour and obvious passion for her sport made her inspiring message all the more motivating. Katherine described the years of commitment that had taken her from being an enthusiastic university student, trying every club on offer and discovering a talent and love for rowing, to winning a Gold medal at the London Olympics in 2012. She reflected on how her goals had changed over the years, from her first Olympics in Sydney when she saw any medal as a huge achievement (at the time no GB team woman had ever won a medal in rowing), to London 2012 when, after her disappointment at taking Silver in Beijing in 2008, she focused everything on winning Gold. She explained that while winning medals is exhilarating, it is the personal challenge of trying to be the very best and pushing your own limits that has kept her motivated throughout her career. Her message to the pupils in the audience was that they should have dreams and be willing to take risks, because failure and learning from your mistakes can often be the catalysts that spur you on to even greater achievement.

In This Issue

This inspiring message, emphasising the magic that is created when excellence and passion are combined, was the perfect note on which to end such a memorable year. Our attitude is always to appreciate what we have achieved but then to ask what we can do better and we can do next. In the academic year 2013-14 we celebrate our 125th anniversary and look forward to a year of celebrations and new challenges.

Old Girls News............................... 7

This Year at GHS............................ 2 Drama at GHS............................... 2 Music at GHS.................................. 3 Sport at GHS.................................. 4 Beyond the Classroom................. 5 GHS Foundation............................ 6

Former Staff News........................ 15

Mrs Fiona Boulton, Headmistress creative thinking • creative learning

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This Year at GHS

This Year at GHS Drama at GHS We were immersed in Shakespeare at the start of the academic year when 32 girls took part in the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival and performed A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Electric Theatre. Their production was an explosion of talent, colour and vibrancy. Our own Shakespeare Festival, for Years 8 and 9, was bigger and better than ever and we were delighted to welcome back Ella Hickson, a former GHS pupil and now a successful playwright, to help judge the festival. Our annual senior play continued the Shakespearean trend with an outstanding production of Much Ado About Nothing. The annual Pantomime, always a favourite in the GHS calendar, was a clever and entertaining re-working of Beauty and the Beast this year. In Lent Term, a major re-organisation of our dramatic space allowed us to stage a stunning production of Guys and Dolls in conjunction with the Royal Grammar School, with an atmospheric stage set and space “backstage” for the orchestra and performers. The large and hugely talented cast put on a wonderful show which was watched by over 1,200 during the course of its run. The dialogue was witty and wonderfully delivered, the music was uplifting and the ambitious choreography was neat, stylish and full of vigour. To round off the year, the lower school play was a charming and imaginative production of A Little Princess. The hall was transformed into a turn of the century English school room but, through the dramatic story telling and ingenious use of shadow puppetry, the audience was transported across continents to the heat and danger of the jungles of India in a magical production.

This Year at GHS

Music at GHS There have been almost forty musical performances this year. The first of these took place in October when GHS pupils participated in a United Learning massed concert at Southwark Cathedral, performing Howard Goodall’s oratorio ‘Every Purpose Under Heaven’, conducted by the composer himself. Over 200 pupils belong to the three orchestras, two wind bands and Big Band that performed in the Autumn and May Concerts. Lunchtime concerts by the Music Scholars have taken place at Holy Trinity Church and chamber music continues to thrive, culminating in a superb concert at St Mary’s Church in February. The 240 singers who make up our five choirs have sung at St John’s Church, West Byfleet, at the Carol Service in Guildford Cathedral and at a concert at Holy Trinity Church in March. In addition to the wonderful joint production of Guys and Dolls, the combined GHS/RGS choir sang Evensong at Winchester Cathedral and the combined choir and orchestra performed Britten’s ‘St Nicolas’ at Holy Trinity Church. In July they go on tour to Malta. In recent months we have added excerpts of live recordings to our website so, if you would like to listen to some of our recent musical performances, you can hear these online: www.guildfordhigh.surrey.sch.uk/seniorcreativelife

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This Year at GHS

Sport at GHS Our reputation as being one of the strongest sporting schools in the country is growing and the girls continue to impress with their dedication, talent and commitment. From the ever increasing variety of sporting clubs open to all, to the elite sportswomen who are representing school and competing at the highest level, the enthusiasm for sport at GHS is tangible. Activities such as fencing, golf, rowing and skiing have established a sound platform from which individual and team success has emerged. Yoga, dance, sailing, taekwondo, trampolining, rowing and climbing are all increasing in popularity. An incredibly successful netball tour to South Africa, in October, shaped the way for the rest of the season’s netball results. After winning six out of seven county tournaments and two out of three regional tournaments, the U14 team went on to win the National Schools title. In the pool, our swimmers retained all their trophies and titles at District and County galas and the Intermediate Team won double gold at the National Championships, breaking both the medley and freestyle records in the process. The GHS lacrosse teams have maintained their standing at the top of the school game. Our busy fixtures schedule means that around 200 girls regularly play lacrosse on Saturdays, ensuring depth and quality across the full spectrum of our teams. This breeding ground for success enabled the 1st, U14 and U12 teams to wine their Surrey Tournaments, while the U18B and U14 teams completed a fantastic season by winning National Championship titles in March.

This Year at GHS

Beyond the Classroom It seems that almost every week of the year there is an interesting and exciting trip planned for one of the year groups at GHS! The summer of 2012 saw Year 10 exploring in Wales, Year 8 enjoying a watersports holiday in the South of France, Year 7 going on an outdoor adventure in Shropshire and the Gold Duke of Edinburgh teams facing the challenge of their test expedition on Dartmoor. As soon as the new school year began, the incoming Year 7 girls set off to Oxfordshire for a “Bushcraft” trip which saw them camping in shelters of their own construction and cooking over campfires. It was a wonderful way for the girls to get to know each other and their form tutors as they settled into life in senior school. Many of the trips feed directly into the curriculum, enhancing topics the girls are learning about in the classroom. Visits to the British Museum and Tate Modern have inspired GCSE and A Level artists, Year 8 explored Cheddar Gorge and the Eden Project to bring geography topics to life and Year 9 pupils visited the Somme to learn more about WWI. The Sixth Form Economics, Politics and French students attended a conference in Paris where they heard from leading politicians and entrepreneurs on topics of current political and economic relevance. During the Easter holidays, forty GCSE geography students went to Iceland for a memorable trip which included visits to waterfalls, glaciers and volcanoes. At the same time, Classics students were touring Greece visiting ancient sites including the Theatre of Epidavros and The Tomb of Agamemnon, and History students were exploring Berlin to gain a deeper understanding of the Cold War and to investigate the changes in Germany during the 20th century. Trinity Term sees girls in Years 7, 8 and 9 come off timetable to undertake a variety of interesting challenges aimed at building skills such as team work, decision making and public speaking. Year 7’s Activity Week, Year 8’s Creativity Week and Year 9’s Skills and Styles Week were packed with new experiences. The term also saw a new event for GHS when we held a Careers Speed Dating afternoon for girls in Year 11 and the Lower Sixth to meet with professionals from a wide range of industries to learn about possible career paths. Entrepreneurship and business sense is always at the fore with the annual Young Enterprise scheme and one GHS company, Sparks, has had particular success this year with its locally inspired recipe book, Taste of Surrey, which has won the Surrey round of the competition.

Senior Prefect Team for 2013-14 Head Girl Christina Plowman Deputy Head Girls Clare Antcliff Mirri Venables

Senior Prefects Olivia Bedworth Catherine Bird Chrissie Burke Luci Delaney Ailie Groom Ellie Kearney Flo Moruzzi Emma Tarcy Lizzie Webb creative thinking • creative learning

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This Year at GHS

Guildford High School Foundation This year we are setting up the Guildford High School Foundation to raise funds for our next major development project. We are planning to expand our Library and research facilities and to build a new Music Rehearsal and Performance space in Nightingale Road. Our ultimate fundraising target is £4m and, as we work towards this goal, the generosity of our friends, former pupils and school community will be very important. Whether you are able to contribute a £25 donation that will provide books, £150 that could be used to purchase furniture or £50,000 that would sponsor a rehearsal room, we will be hugely grateful for your support. If you would like to make a donation, you can send cheques (made payable to Guildford High School) to Guildford High School, London Road, Guildford, Surrey GU1 1SJ. Alternatively, please contact Philippa Crosthwaite for details of how to make donations by bank transfer. ([email protected])

Illustration of draft plans for future development

Celebrating 125 Years of GHS On Friday 20th September 2013, we will be holding a drinks reception in the East Cloister of Westminster Abbey to celebrate the 125th year of GHS with former pupils and staff. The event will take place between 6.30pm and 8.30pm (allowing groups of friends to make their own plans afterwards for evening meals and ongoing reunions) and tickets are priced at £25. Unfortunately, the number of tickets available is limited and therefore they will be issued on a first come, first served basis. A booking form is enclosed with your mailing of this newsletter and can also be downloaded from the Alumnae pages of the GHS website (go to www.guildfordhigh.surrey.sch.uk and click on the Alumnae link located on the top right on the homepage). Booking forms should be returned with the full payment and we will contact you to confirm receipt. Any booking forms received after tickets have sold out will be returned and we will run a waiting list in case of cancellations. We look forward to seeing you there!

Research into the Life of Joan Harrison Earlier this year we received a fascinating email from Mary Troath who is helping an Associate Professor at Miami University to gather material for a ‘cultural and critical’ biography of GHS ‘old girl’ Joan Harrison. Joan was at GHS from 1913 to 1925 (along with her sister, Faith, and brother, Jack) and then attended St Hugh’s, Oxford, where she read Modern Languages and graduated in 1929. Joan became an assistant to Alfred Hitchcock and went on to become a respected screenwriter and producer in Hollywood. Mary would be interested to receive any other information about Joan, her family and her early life in Guildford.

Goodbye Mrs Kittow! At the end of any year we have to say good bye to members of our community. We have staff moving on and we wish them all well but I would like to pay particular tribute to Mrs Rosemary Kittow. Rosemary has delighted her Chemistry classes with fireworks and jelly baby explosions, has inspired sixth formers from RGS and GHS in General Studies Flower Arranging and looked after the pastoral wellbeing of Years 8 and 9 for 13 years. She has been passionate about her job, she has nurtured many pupils through difficult times and she will be sorely missed for her creativity, her vibrancy and wisdom. We wish her all the very best in the future. Mrs Fiona Boulton, Headmistress

Old Girls’ News

Old Girls’ News Mary Sex (née Edden) At GHS in 1939–1951 I joined Morton House in 1939 and went through the war with gas mask drills and sitting on our hands in class to keep them warm. We each had gardens, under what is now the games field carpark, to help us with our French! I left in 1951, the last year of the School Cert! I then went to St Christopher’s in Kent to study babies and children from Dr Barnado’s, which held me in good stead when my husband died young leaving three small children. I spent 20 happy years as general factotum in a small independent junior school locally. I now keep active in the garden, swimming, travel, family and kayak on the water in summer. I also hope to toboggan again in Switzerland this winter. I still keep in touch with three old girls. I am also delighted to say that I have a granddaughter, Beatrice Sexton, who joined GHS last September, now treading the boards – a lovely thought!

Anne Dunford (née Tunnell) At GHS in 1943–1953 I rarely have a free day to myself! I’m still frantically busy with the same activities as last year, except that Parish Council work is even more demanding, so to compensate I am retiring from exam invigilating at the end of the Summer Term. My grandchildren Laurence and Joseph are growing fast and provide a lot of fun; four year old Laurence has settled well at school in Cambridgeshire and is making good progress. As you see from the photograph, Joseph is now quite heavy to lift! I still meet up with Margaret Kelly (née Latham) and correspond with others from GHS from time to time. I was delighted to make contact again, after more than sixty years, with Sarah (Sally) Cumming and we now enjoy catching up on each other’s news by email across the pond.

Anne Dunford with her grandson Joseph.

Sheila Sharman (née Sutton) At GHS in 1945–1953 I still live in Yorkshire in a village called Swanland which is situated four miles from the Humber Bridge and nine miles west of Hull. We came to live here in 1965. I have one daughter, Tina, who is 46. Sadly my husband, Russell, died in 1981 when Tina was 13 years old. I started a ‘Celebration’ cake business shortly after that which kept me busy for many years. I am still in touch with Ruth Hodgson (née Conisbee) and Jenefer Gadd (née Roberts). For my 76th birthday in November 2011 Tina treated me to a short stay in a fantastic eco–friendly hotel on the North Cornish Coast and here we are, celebrating in a hot tub on the cliff and under the stars!

Sheila Sharman with her daughter Tina.

Sally Baker (née Taylor) and Jane Fisher (née Hooper) When Jane Fisher (née Hooper), who attended GHS 1957-1968, was on holiday in Canada earlier this year her cousin introduced her to an English neighbour - Sally Baker. It transpired that Sally had also been a pupil at GHS. Jane and Sally had even been in the same school house, Abbott, albeit some years apart! Sally was 93 in January 2013 and, when Jane met her, she was enjoying an active life in Vancouver and kindly provided some memories of her time at GHS which are included below. Sadly Sally died on 28th April following a major stroke.

Sally’s Memories of GHS I attended Guildford High School from 1930 to 1937. I started in Form 3 at the age of nine. The Senior School uniform was a dress with a collar and tie, grey stockings and black shoes. My mother was very good at sewing. She would buy one dress and make me two more. I remember classes walking up the London Road where lands around the school were used for sports, rounders etc. On Mondays the classes would walk down to the Municipal Baths for swimming. I was in Abbott House. Our Maths teacher was called Miss Nye. In the summer of 1936 I took the Big Exam in Form 5. In Form 6 the school had a trip to Paris. We stayed on the left Bank where we slept two to a bed. I shared with Ellen Davie, Pat Hall and Pat Ross. I left GHS in July 1937 and entered Secretarial School in London – called The Triangle. From May 1938 to March 1946 I worked as a secretary at The Chinese Consulate General Office in London. We withstood the War and all the overhead bombings by the V1 and V2 German flying bombs. In June 1945 I married a Career Officer in the Canadian Army. Our first son, Kenneth was born in May 1946. We travelled to Halifax, Nova Scotia in October 1946 in a converted hospital ship. Then we travelled across Canada by train, sleeping with the baby in an upper berth, to Saskatchewan. We experienced a frigid, cold, real prairie winter! Eventually my husband was posted back East again to Ottawa. In 1947 my second son, Colin, was born. Being an army family we moved frequently ending up in Vancouver in 1958. My husband died of cancer in 1980.

home of Sally and Jane enjoying a meal at the Jane’s Canadian cousins.

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Diana Shelley At GHS 1943–1954 I went to GHS from 1943 when I started school in upper transition (part of the kindergarten – nursery, lower and upper transitions – which was held in those days in a kind of extension at the back of Morton House) and finished in 1954 at the end of lower VI. I went on to Guildford Tec (as we then called it) to complete my three A Levels in botany, zoology and chemistry. I believe I recall that the school labs were not then equipped to do A Level chemistry and physics. For three years, when things at home were a little disrupted at the end of the war, I became a border at Morton House. A mixed experience. I was only nine when I started and was very homesick at times. We had a rather fierce matron called Miss Horrocks who didn’t exactly make it feel like home. We used to play among the tank traps which still hadn’t been removed from the grounds of Morton House. Many things were still rationed; we received our monthly sugar ration at the beginning of the month. The wise ones made it last while the foolish ones ended up with porridge and tea without sugar for the latter part of the month! Quite an exercise in selfcontrol for nine-year-olds!

Taken, according to the picture, at the “end of Spring Term 1954 in the Shrubbery” (part of the playground on the corner of Nightingale Road and London Road). Left to Right, back row standing: Jennifer Hair, Jackie Hole, Sandra Courtin, Diana Butler, Jillian Wilson, Elizabeth Bonenblust, Hazel Grenside, Vanessa Leigh. Seated row: Sue Leroux, Linca Pratt, Judith Unwin, Diana Shelley. Front: Caroline Dickens, Ruth Tinling.

To this day, I look back on my 11 years at Guildford High School with much appreciation. I believe we received a very fine education. The school was very Church of England back then and I received an excellent grounding in that religion which has remained a very important part of my life. We had Morning Prayer to start every school day and were marched two-by-two to Holy Trinity Church for some of the High Festivals of the church. Religious Knowledge (RK) had a slot on the timetable twice every week – taught by the then headmistress, Miss A. M. Reid. Academically, we were very well rounded. In addition to my science subjects, I ended up with a very adequate working knowledge of French, a good background in Latin (at the expense of domestic science I must admit), a great appreciation of art and an even greater appreciation of fine music. For those inclined towards sports there was a wide range including hockey, lacrosse, netball, cricket, tennis, rounders and gymnastics. Who could ask for more? My appreciation of literature was well inculcated. We started reading Shakespeare as young as 10 or 11 years and covered the gamut from Chaucer to George Bernard Shaw and TS Eliot. Of course there was much emphasis on impeccable grammar and writing style. I am often the one to whom my friends and colleagues turn when they want a grammar question answered – and all those skills taught to me by Miss Osbourne at GHS. There was much enforced memory work in English literature and to this day I can still recite a good number of long passages from Shakespeare and others. I learned to play the piano and sang in the choir. Two pleasures which have remained with me throughout my life. After I left GHS and had completed my A Levels at the Tec, I went on to take a secretarial course and launched into a short career as what we would call today a medical secretary. I immigrated to Canada in 1960 where my husband took up the position of registrar of Acadia University in Nova Scotia. We had three more children and my husband died in 2005. I love the little town of Wolfville where I have lived since 1968. I went back to a medical secretarial job when my children were grown and retired nine years ago. I keep very busy with volunteer activities now, both in the realm of the church and in the community. Three of my children live in Halifax, NS – about an hour’s drive from here, my older son lives in Vancouver and my youngest daughter lives in Lewes, E. Sussex. Three grandchildren live in Halifax, two in Vancouver and one in Lewes. Sadly, I have little contact with any of my contemporaries. My “best friend” was Ruth Tinling. We met at Morton House when we were nine and later immigrated to Canada together. Sadly, she died very suddenly in 1995. I still keep in touch with her husband. I recently reconnected with Vanessa Leigh. She and I were in the same form. I believe she started at GHS in lower IV. I would love to be in touch with anyone who went to GHS between the years towards the end of the war and the early-mid 50s.

Janet Anderson (née Davies) Left GHS in 1955 I watched the Service on television of the Queen’s Thanksgiving Service for 60 years of her reign. How technology has changed! In this photo, taken during my time at GHS, you can see the old fashioned camera on the right. The small television sets just after the war – the advent of email, Youtube, Facebook. I remember ration books and petrol coupons! I married in All Saints Church, Woodham on 20th July 1963. This year we have our grown up children and five grandchildren here with us to celebrate our anniversary. Janet Anderson with old school mates at GHS.

Old Girls’ News

Leavers of 1962 Hilary Luckenbaugh (née Fogwill) Left GHS in 1964/5

Sue Stevens (née Beer) As last year was the 50th anniversary of leaving GHS, Ruth Hudson, Liz Critchfield and I decided to see if we could organise a reunion. We seem to have been a year which did not join the OGA or attend school reunions or functions, so although one or two individuals had kept in touch with each other, many had not had any contact with the school or anybody connected with the school. The school did not hold any personal information of 1962 leavers, so it was a case of Family History websites, Facebook, Google and word of mouth! Between us we remembered 54 people in our two streams. Some had left before 1962, but they were still included. We made contact with 26 of them, and 17 came to the Reunion held at the school in September 2012. The school gave us a warm welcome, and provided excellent accommodation and food in the Sixth Form block. We were fortunate that it was one of the few sunny days last summer, so the attached photo shows us making the most of the GHS garden...rather more spacious than in our day! We were also very pleased, and surprised, that Fiona Boulton found the time to join us and tell us about the present day GHS. We would also like to thank Philippa Crosthwaite for all her help and support.

I was a pupil at GHS from the age of four until I completed my GCE ‘O’ Levels in, I think 1964 or 65. My sister and two or three cousins followed me and I know that my beret was handed down and worn by the cousins for many years to follow! My maiden name was Fogwill, my sister was Zillah and my cousins were Stockwoods. I moved to the United States in 1979 and have lived here since and for the last 25 years have pursued a career in the commercial design and construction industry. I have just been honored as IIDA (International Interior Design Association) Member of the Year. My education has never stopped, I have had some amazing mentors, older and younger, throughout my career in the UK and here and we never stop learning and we should always be teaching others.

Leavers came from as far afield as Devon, Cumbria, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Dorset, and although name labels were a help, many of us were instantly recognisable to each other. After lunch at the school many adjourned to Liz’s house a mile or so away for tea and cakes. The noise levels continued to be high, and the lasting outcome has been the continued links between a number of attendees.

Left to Right, front row: Fiona Boulton, Rachel Hallowes, Susan Beer, Ruth Hudson, Ann Orchard, Vivien Chadder; back row: Diana Pitt, Dereka Dodson, Elizabeth Johnson, Susan Bell, Tessa Philpott, Sarah Cherry, Joan Revell, Liz Critchfield, Carole Harrison-Watson, Gillian Buzzard, Elizabeth Ware.

Penny Mawdsley (née Crockett) At GHS 1958–1968 Twenty two of us from the year group which (mainly) left GHS in 1968 held another of our very enjoyable reunions in February 2013. We met and stayed overnight again at the Holiday Inn, Gatwick, which is particularly convenient for those of our number travelling from the continent for the event. We are looking forward very much to reuniting again in 2018 to mark 50 years since leaving school – although, as we get older, many of us feel that five years is too 1968 (mainly) reuinion long a gap between getting together and we are hoping to organise something for 2016 as well. Lesley Hutton and I will be meeting later this summer to discuss this in more detail, using the results of a survey we issued to the wider group (30 of us) following the February weekend.

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Old Girls’ News

Leavers of 1975 Lunch at “Clarke’s” for the Leavers of 1975 For our last get together in November 2012, a group of nine of us enjoyed a delicious lunch at Sally Clarke’s (GHS old girl) restaurant, Clarke’s, in London – fabulous food, excellent service and such a lovely, welcoming warm atmosphere. We probably made far too much noise, but had such a great time catching up and enjoying all the delicious food so much that “lunch” carried on until gone 5pm! A huge thank you to Sally and all her team! Clockwise from bottom left: Rosamunde Drew, Cecilia Coleshaw, Zandra Boodhoo, Bobby Crabtree, Polly Horwich, Jane Dallyn, Annelies Hiscock, Sally Tattersall and Sarah Kerr

Zandra Boodhoo

Mary Thomas (née Starte)

Jane Dallyn (née Leach)

Now enjoying part-time work with a small group of opticians in Surrey – less responsibility but much happier and doing some locum work! My husband, Jonathan and I try to go down to our home in Cornwall as much as we can, but friends and family are still stopping us from making the move to the West Country permanently!

After working for 20 years in property, I trained as a Pilates teacher nine years ago and now enjoy teaching classes in Godalming, Mayford and Pirbright. I also take 1:1 clients at various physio practices in Surrey for rehab work. I remarried in 1990; my two step daughters have now graduated from university in Engineering and Meteorology. Husband is a still working as a film producer.

I continue to work part-time as a science technician and spend the rest of the week running my French language clubs for children – varied and interesting but not lucrative! In March 2012 my son, Thom married his Japanese fiancée, Naomi on a boat in Tokyo harbour. It was a beautiful ceremony and we had a great week’s holiday. I’m going to be a grandmother this summer when Thom and Naomi have their first baby. Thrilled and amazed! My daughter, Martha finished her degree in Structural Engineering and Architecture and is now living and working happily in London. Outside work, I enjoy my garden (trying to find an exercise routine that I can bear) and baking (hooray for Mrs Potts!). I regularly go to the County Show and regularly see Marilyn Holmested!

Suzannah Carver Have been living in Hereford since 2008 – a big change after 15 years in Belgium. Daughter, Natasha now enjoying university; my partner, Paul is an IT consultant and has been working in Copenhagen and I’ve been working on the support staff of a local secondary school until recently. We also have a house in Limousin, France. My mother (93+) is still managing to live alone in the family home in Woking.

Rosamunde Drew (née Clifford) Am living just outside Cranleigh. Trying to re-invent myself as a person and not just “Mum”. Have taken up golf-playing badly; lunch beforehand is probably the best bit! Joined a choir and doing lots of keep-fit classes whilst going through stuff with elderly parents who keep trying to get all my attention!

Sally Tattersall Living in Lee and have been in between jobs, so have had a lovely rest break in Eastbourne of all places, but it was lovely. Great to see everyone at Sally Clarke’s – a great place for a meal!

Jayne Mackenzie (née Atter) Have been busy planning our son, Tim and Lisa’s wedding which took place in April 2013. Our other son, Edward has graduated from Cambridge and is now working as a software engineer in Malvern. Phil (husband) and I just try and holiday as much as possible!

Cecilia Coleshaw Still living in Ealing, though now with a man (we met at the BBC in 1987, but it took us 18 years to get together!) At the moment, I run a support centre for carers in Ealing, employed by a local disability organisation, and do their PR. I’ve started up an amateur dramatics society for our clients, and have now written and directed a couple of Christmas shows, starring people with very mixed abilities! All good fun!

Bobby Crabtree (née Findlay) Life marches on... so a quick update. I’m still in training and development and have had a good few years with some interesting clients. Hubby is fine and I had a hip op. (ouch)! Daughter is now at uni.

Celia Gregory (née Strachan) Still living in Cobham, working part-time and playing some quite serious veteran tennis – our team managed to get to the final of a national competition, which also qualified us for a European event a few months later – so worth keeping fit!

Sarah Kerr (née Moss) Sixteen years of living in the West Country and four children; one child still in full-time education. The other children are beginning to have their own lives in London, Oxford and France. David (husband) and I love travelling and sharing our time between Somerset and Cornwall. I am a food planner for a small deli in Castle Cary and love it!

Old Girls’ News

Leavers of 1979 Reunion Polly Horwich (née Barnes) Am in the process of reinventing my future as a contemporary jewellery designer/maker exhibiting in London and with work in galleries in London and Seoul. Astounding and exciting stuff!

Sarah Shaw (née Shepley) At GHS 1973–1979 The leavers of 1979 met for lunch at The Boatman in Guildford on Saturday 15th June 2013. There were 19 of us, including Miss Holmested and Miss Dodds, and we had a great time.

Annelies Hiscock (née Doelly) Am enjoying working part-time doing a variety of jobs – admin at a large local secondary school, teaching French after school to children aged 5-10 years old most afternoons and doing some private GCSE/A Level French tutoring. Eldest daughter, Melissa (24) is enjoying working in a graduate post in HR with Schlumberger (oil engineering services co.) in Crawley after gaining her MSc in HR Management at the LSE end 2011. My younger daughter, Zoë (22) has just finished studying French and Economics at Exeter University and will hopefully take up a graduate trainee post to become a Chartered Accountant with Mazars, a large French accountancy firm. My son, Ross (20) is enjoying his first year studying PPE at Warwick University. Keith (husband) is very busy in The City. My sister, Heather is busy running various pain clinics having specialized in Chronic Pain Management. My brother had a baby daughter in May 2012 and my mother, now 91 has recovered well from a fractured hip last year.

Bridget Hobson (née Main) Enjoying being a Granny and keeping busy volunteering for a couple of local charities and taking the dog for walks. David (husband) is still a very busy GP. Two of our four children are married.

Anne Hedley (née Rider) Still living near Washington DC, America where Dave (husband) works as an economist but also travels worldwide at regular intervals to write reports on the economies of emerging market countries. I’m enjoying working as an assistant Kindergarten teacher part-time, playing clarinet in a local community band, walking our yellow Labrador and pottering in the garden. Both daughters are at college (university) – Lucy majoring in Bio with environmental studies including field trips to South Africa and India; Emma’s interest is geology and the environment but also being part of the college ski and women’s rugby teams. My Dad sadly passed away in March 2011, but my Mum continues to enjoy living in Guildford.

The ‘old girls’ who attended the 1979 Reuinion included (maiden names are given here with married names in brackets): Juliet Brigstocke (Barker), Sue Bowers, Linda Jane Coffin, Jessica Goold, Cally Hollander (Tuthill), Sarah Higgins, Katherine Johnson (James), Kate Mallory (Sarama), Nikki Page (Mattei), Amanda Proud (Triggs), Jane Rule (Crowley), Sarah Shepley (Shaw), Sarah Steele (Smithies), Katharine Simonson (Shellswell), Kate Vosser (Kogdell), Sarah Waugh, Sarah Wright (Moberly).

A Message for Leavers of 1971 Dear Ladies/Friends, some of us who left Guildford High in 1971 have been in touch and think it would be fun to have a get together now we are 60, or about to be 60. We have earmarked the weekend of October 19th/20th to meet in Guildford for a meal and to stay a night too, probably. We are trying to get in touch with friends who left school in 1969 aged 16 or in 1971 aged 18. If you would like to be updated on a reunion please email either Mary Crockett (now Graham) at [email protected] or Susie Shewell (now Fry) at [email protected] It would be lovely to hear from you and, if you know anyone else from those days, please pass this message on to them. Best wishes from Mary and Susie.

Calling all Old Girls! The GHS OGA is a great network; it is fascinating to hear from former pupils and staff about their careers and lives after they leave GHS and we know that many friendships formed at GHS last for decades. We would like to expand the OGA committee and, with the 125th anniversary upon us, this is the ideal time to take a fresh look at how we can develop the OGA for the future. If you are interested in joining the committee or would like to know more about what it would entail, please get in touch with Philippa Crosthwaite ([email protected]). creative thinking • creative learning

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Old Girls’ News

Jane Allison I left GHS in 1975 to go to Charterhouse as one of their first girls and then went on to study painting at Chelsea School of Art and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Since then I have worked as a portrait painter and have a studio in my house in Guildford which I share with my husband, John, who is also an artist, our Staffordshire Bull Terrier and, occasionally, our 21 year old son, William, who is currently directing films in Prague. This year, aside from the usual family and corporate portraits, I have continued to paint various ecclesiastical paintings, including the Bishops of Dorking and Chichester and the wonderful head of the Greek Orthodox Church, Archbishop Gregorios. You can see examples of my work on my website: www.janeallisonportraits.co.uk

Kate Ive

Tanya Coulson (née van Dissel)

At GHS 1997–2004

Left GHS in 1985

I was a pupil at GHS between 1997 and 2004. Since leaving GHS I have attended Edinburgh College of Art gaining a degree in Sculpture and I am now working as an artist in Edinburgh. My latest bronze sculpture is being editioned by the British Art Medal Society (BAMS). The really exciting bit is that the British Museum bought the first of the edition for their collections! The edition is also currently on sale. The piece is called ‘Modern Pearl’ and is a bronze sculpture of chewing gum in its wrapper that imitates an oyster with a mother of pearl interior. You can find out more on the BAMS website: www.bams.org.uk/medal–detail. php?medal=223 and on my website www.kate-ive.co.uk

My husband, David, and I are Houseparents for 64 boys at Monkton Combe School in Bath. My husband is Head of Science at the school and I am the PA to the two Deputy Heads (I knew that St Aldates Secretarial Course which was advertised on the inside of the school magazine in the 80s would one day come in useful!). We have three kids of our own (aged 11,12,13). Still see Anna Keat, Lucinda Hall and Emma Henderson regularly. Greatest memories of school must be the train journey to and from West Byfleet where we copied each others homework, chatted up the RGS boys and played the oddest games in the old fashioned carriages... those who were there will remember these well... I still remember my maths lessons with my favourite teacher, Mrs Daphne Gardner, who I am still in contact with.

Susie Darnton at GHS At GHS 1968–1979 I have a solo exhibition at ‘The Pie Factory’ Margate August 23rd-28th 2013. ‘Barber’s son/Hairdresser’s daughter’ will include around 30 paintings, 20 etchings and several small installation pieces which combine together to suggest stories without words. http://piefactorymargate. co.uk/exhibition/barbers –son–hairdressers–daughter

Image courtesy of the British Museum

Old Girls’ News

Hannah Shanks (known professionally as Rebecca)

Zip Colley (née Jila)

Left GHS 2001

I married Mark Colley on 12th July 2012 at St John’s College Chapel, Cambridge. St John’s College is a special place for both of us because it is where we met as undergraduate students. My bridesmaids were Jemma Smith and Kate Bland, both of whom I have known and loved since Lower Transition in the Junior School!

I am currently touring the UK with the Olivier Award winning production of La Boheme, following our three month run in the West End. I also sing with The Ruby Dolls – recently heard on Woman’s Hour (Radio 4), and who will be coming to the West End in July. When not performing I live in a beautiful little house by the River Thames in Fulham.

At GHS 1989–2002

Suzie Lambert (née Ashe) At GHS 2000–2007

Anne Harcourt Brown (née Whittingdale) Left GHS in 2010 I am an extremely old girl as I left when I was 11! After years marketing and selling wine in the UK I now live and work in Amsterdam with my husband Patrick. We married in Canterbury Cathedral crypt last August.

I left GHS in 2007 and headed straight to Oxford to do a Classics degree. Before I left GHS however, I was lucky enough to re-meet Ollie Lambert (we’d known each other briefly about eight years previously), who was at RGS at the time. After a gap year, he went to Cambridge to do Engineering so we spent many hours on the X5 bus between the two universities before settling in Cambridge for the last year of his degree. While there I started work with Michael Page, recruiting accountants in East Anglia. This summer we got married at Norwich Cathedral, with a beautiful reception in the Bishop’s garden, and after a fantastic honeymoon in Turkey we left Cambridge and moved back to Guildford. My company has let me transfer to their Guildford office so I now walk past GHS most days on my way to work, and Ollie works at Detica as a software developer.

Pippa Mackie (formerly Hare, née McDonald) I am still working for the CAB – despite all the funding cuts, we are continuing with our valuable free legal advice service for local people. Simon has retired early and is running our holiday cottage rentals business (18th Century smugglers cottage in Deal, Kent www.dragoncottage.me.uk). Not quite sure how we have fetched up with three dogs – but there you go! The latest is a delightful labrador/collie/spaniel cross who was born at the local Hospice – heartwarming story of a young owner who was dying at the time his dog was due to whelp so the hospice said bring the dog in and she can have the pups here; she did. Darling daughter has just had 25th birthday – where did the time go? All the ‘steps’ are doing well – from the 41 year old featuring in a production at the National at the moment, through the 39 year old running a blues jam evening at the Alley Cat each week, to the 36 year old working in an artists’ studio to the 26 year old working in insurance in the City and the 22 year old doing part time library work while his band gets established and finishing up with the 15 year old twins who are going to Africa this summer to work with children orphaned through the AIDs epidemic. Not bored yet, but am getting tired. It has been lovely to be back in touch with Bobby (Findlay) who is doing some Executive Coaching for our team – I highly recommend her excellent work.

creative thinking • creative learning

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Old Girls’ News

Obituaries Elizabeth Joan Mackinder (née Humpleby),

Annabel Tollman

4th May 1920–9th May 2013 Elizabeth was always known as Betty and attended GHS, then a single building on the London Road, from about 1924/5 to 1936. For a long time she would walk home to lunch the ¾ mile each way to her home on Pewley Hill and back. No wonder she later avoided walking, although she blamed it on compulsory Sunday walks on Pewley Down. By her own account she was an average scholar, though in Form III she received a Certificate for Very Good Work in Religious Knowledge, English, History, French and Needlework and her Schools Certificate shows she followed a course of study in Scripture Geography Elementary Latin Arithmetic, and elementary mathematics, drawing and class singing, and passed the General School Examination with Credit in English History, French and elementary science. There was a school trip to France which formed a highlight of one of her senior years. On the sports field she displayed all the sporting talent that has descended to her daughter and granddaughters (which is to say none!). Once at a school dance she was partnered by the gym mistress who commented with surprise, “So you can dance!” In fact she loved dancing, and later took up ice dancing at Queensway and Scottish dancing. Among her school friends were Pat Ross, Pat Hall, and Ellen Davie and the Sykes sisters, including Jean and Rita. After her Schools Certificate Betty spent a year at home “helping mother with the flowers” which apparently was the precursor of the Gap Year if a girl was not going to Finishing School. She went to Pitman College and learnt typing and shorthand attaining a Certificate for the First Class for the Bank of England with a typing speed of 37 words per minute. She would use her shorthand “outlines” occasionally and was amused to see my daughter learnt shorthand at journalism postgrad. We are a little uncertain about the timeline, but certainly at the outbreak of the War she was working for the Bank of England, in Finsbury Circus, in the Dividend Preparation section. She gave us the impression of a strictly controlled workplace with a genteel dress code. The Bank was a reserved occupation but were evacuated en masse to Hampshire, and billeted in a farmhouse in Overton. Betty gained notoriety for her ability to get dressed in the morning without taking her cigarette out of her mouth. She told stories about walking six miles in heels to get to a dance and about a choir being formed to sing the Mozart Requiem which she vividly recalled when Tring Choral Society sang it a few summers back. She spent the rest of the war as a VAD nurse at the Royal Surrey County hospital in Guildford. She did not talk much about the nursing side, but a little about the privations and disciplines of the nurses home and being “carpeted” by Matron for setting a bad example to the younger girls by staying out late in the pubs of Guildford. Canadian officers were also mentioned. She also met up again with Jean Sykes who became a lifelong friend. At the end of the war she declined the chance to take exams to qualify as a nurse which would have meant signing up for an extended contract and she returned to the Bank of England, and then she left to work for her father a ship-broker. Almost “on the shelf” at 29, her father was co-trustee with solicitor Kelly Mackinder, his cousin Ethel’s son. Kelly had been in Singapore with the RAF and was captured by the Japanese in early 1942, and released in 1945. Betty invited herself along to a meeting over dinner. Kelly had tickets, most improbably, for an ice-skating show, and the consequence was a happy 23 years of marriage, a son and daughter and six grandchildren. My father’s health was probably irretrievably damaged by his wartime experiences and he died at only 64 in 1976. Kindly contributed by Penny Mackinder (Betty’s daughter)

Annabel Tollman passed away June 2013

Annabel Tollman, one of the class of 1992, sadly passed away aged 39 on 5th June 2013. Annabel was a talented, successful and highly respected Fashion Stylist in America who was well-known for her work with A-List Hollywood stars. In 2010 Annabel was voted one of the 50 most stylish New Yorkers by Stylecaster and the following year The Hollywood Reporter named her one of the 25 most powerful stylists in Hollywood. Her work appeared in The New York Times, Vogue UK, The Daily Telegraph, Marie Claire and she appeared on television shows in America. She has received many heartfelt tributes in the media, from colleagues and friends, who have reflected on both her professional talent and her lovely nature. In an industry renowned for being competitive and tough, Annabel’s genuine warmth and humour was regarded as a breath of fresh air. Her funeral was held in New York in June.

Jane Pear Doreen Mary Pear (known as Jane) died on 13th December 2012. She remained single all her life, as well as being the third and last generation of her family in the same cottage since 1921. A cardboard cylinder addressed to Miss DM Pear contained evidence of an impressive education which included, among many qualifications and certificates, details of A Levels in Pure Mathematics and Chemistry and Applied Maths at University of Oxford during the early 1950s. Jane’s love of education continued and she went on to study Zoology, Botany and Chemistry in the 1960s. She had great intellect, combined with a sharp wit.

Former Staff News

Former Staff News Nickie Croese (née Jackson)

Edna Mercer I am still a very keen Christian and believe that God loves us all the time. I am now 101 years old, with many friends.

Jean Davy 1957–1967 After another year in the Nursing Home, my husband died suddenly at the beginning of April. His funeral was a wonderful occasion when folk came long distances to pay tribute to him. He is now at peace and with the Lord he loved and served so faithfully.

Pamela Leatherland 1963–1968 Little has changed over the last year, and I feel very lucky to be able to continue with my art and some stained glass. However 2013 brought excitement as my son married in April. A swallow greeted the couple in church, obviously a good omen, as the sun shone and we all enjoyed the perfect day. Nickie Croese (née Jackson) passed away May 2013

Margaret Henwood

Nicholas (known as Nickie), a pupil at GHS from 1948–61, died on 6th May 2013 aged 69 after a long illness bravely fought, attended GHS from Kindergarten in 1948 to Upper VI in 1961. She never knew her father, who was shot down over Sicily in 1943 one month before Nickie was born. So she grew up at her maternal grandfather’s home, Weylea Farm in Burpham. She was an excellent linguist whose career took her to Holland and Brazil until she returned to look after her mother in Merrow. From 1979 to the mid 1980s she was secretary to the Bishop of Guildford. In 1989 Nickie married her old friend Peter Croese, and moved to Amsterdam where she worked at the Tropical Museum. During their 24 year marriage they divided their time between Holland and their cabin at Aviemore, always available with strong and sympathetic support for their families and many friends. Nickie’s Dutch epitaph “Zij leefde tot het laast voor anderen, maar had geen kracht meer voor zichzelf te leven” was a fitting tribute to a very good friend who lived her whole life by the GHS motto “As One that Serveth.” Nickie’s contemporaries Anne Maddock (née Lamdin) Eleanor Ing (née Scoullar) Kate Toynbee (née Muchart) and Judy Buckley (née Cobb) attended the funeral.

1943–1978

Jean Rist (née Humphrey) Jean, who attended GHS from 1947–1953, died peacefully on 22nd November 2012 in Chichester, where she and her husband lived.

Still here! I am thankful to be still in my own home and for the kindness and help of friends who support me. I am not very mobile, but rely on zimmers, which are a wonderful invention! I greatly appreciate letters and cards from Old Girls and Staff, which keep me in touch. Thank you all.

Judy Gorrie 1974–1979 I had a wonderful trip to Nepal in October/November of last year. I still ski, though I haven’t been this year, and often think back to GHS trips! I’m 60 this year and hope to catch up with ex-colleagues at some point.

Jane Hill (née Prosser) 1977–1984 Following 30 very happy years I lost Ken in June last year. The family chose to have a Christian service followed by a woodland burial. I am fortunate to have many friends close by, and am starting to travel abroad again – first stop Lille by Eurostar!

Petal O’Hea Now 93, I’m never idle – tutoring Junior and Senior (!) pupils, every week afternoon, to write sentences and learn simple Maths! Recently published a book, “Why Not Turn The First Leaf” – O.T. in a nutshell and N.T. ‘Tasters’ to encourage mostly young Christians, who’ve left their faith for a variety of reasons, to reopen their Bibles (www.melrosebooks.co.uk). All profits are being donated to starving indigenous people in Durban, S.Africa where I was born. Happily, old girls still arrive in Hereford to say hello! God bless.

‘This is my limousine now! My poodle, Toby, is at my feet!’

creative thinking • creative learning

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Former Staff News

Marilyn Holmested 1960–1990 Last year was a mix of holidays, trying to catch up at home and failing to finalise essential paperwork! Since then I’ve attended another woodcraft course, hiked on an HF holiday to Keswick followed by a visit to Mary Lauder, watched the Olympic cycle road race, spent a week in Brittany, including visiting Carnac and had a few days away in GRIFF. A few ex staff, readers may remember, enjoyed a mini Christmas Social. The following former GHS staff got together for a mini Christmas Social: Karin Robinshaw (German), Jean Rider (Maths), Noni King (Needlework), Jane Nussey (Home Economics), Lynette Newman (Music), Marilyn Holmested (P.E.), Isabelle Lowe (German), Monica Hubner (Languages), Priscilla Dobbs (Classics), Anne Fuller (Languages), Margaret Sale (Deputy Head), Daphne Patteson (Maths), Lyn McKay (Languages), Joan Dutton (Head), Jane Lee (Art & Design) Bottom left: Marilyn Holmested and Monica Hubner at the Olympic Cycling

Camilla Zeyssolff (née Preston)

Keeping in Touch

Teacher of French and German between 1995 and 2000

If you would like to get in touch with someone featured in this newsletter, you can send in your contact details to [email protected] (or by post to GHS, London Road, Guildford GU1 1SJ) and I will forward your messages to put you into direct contact.

Since having had children in 2003 and 2006, I have become quite heavily involved in my daughters’ school which is a bilingual British/French school in Kentish Town. It started off as a tiny primary school in the same area but with the influx of French to London, a need was established to create a school taking pupils up to age 15. I was elected to the board of governors in 2010 and so was involved in the creation of this school with responsibility for recruitment. CFBL (www.cfbl.org.uk) opened in September 2011 and by October 2012 I was teaching German three hours a week to Year 10 – not much but enough to realise how different the teaching is in the French system from the British! Teaching mainly French pupils means I’m operating in three languages – but discipline is always in English!

If you wish to amend / update your own contact details, please use the Keeping in Touch form on the Alumnae page of the GHS website (www.guildfordhigh.co.uk)