Alumnae spanning eight decades toured the School

We were delighted to welcome eight Old Girls to our Tour and Tea afternoon on Friday 25 September. Astonishingly, our guests spanned eight decades at St Helen’s, with the oldest alumna having joined the School in 1946, and the youngest having left in 2010.  

The event started with a tour of the school site, beginning with a walk around the original main school building. We stopped off at the Chapel, Old School Hall, and the former dormitories, which subsequently became art rooms, and peeked into several classrooms that had once been the visitors’ form rooms. The tour took in some of the more recent additions such as the Science Building, the Sports Centre, the Benedict Building (Sixth Form Centre) and the Jean Duffield Library, which was new to some, but not all the Old Girls. The different spaces brought back memories and anecdotes from the past. One alumna shared that, despite the many changes to the site, it still felt very familiar and a little like returning home. 

In the Archives located in the library, we had on display photos and magazines from the alumnae’s years at St Helen’s. One of our alumnae was reminded of her role in a netball team in the 1940s, following a reference to it in a school magazine, whilst two Old Girls were reacquainted with the 2008 magazine, for which they had been editors. The visitors compared their different experiences of school life and even discovered that despite being separated by over thirty years, they had been taught by the same teacher, Mr Ireland. 

After a trip down memory lane in the library, the guests were guided to the Refectory for much needed tea and cakes. The alumnae were introduced to a few sixth formers, who were able to talk about the School today. We hope our guests enjoyed the nostalgic trip and thank them for returning to St Helen’s. For anyone who would like to attend a future Tour and Tea afternoon, please check the events page for upcoming dates.