From the Archive

My Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Journey with OLCS and Beyond

By Mary Hopkins - OLCS Staff (1986-2009)

Ibecame involved with The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme (DofE) by accident.

I was a mum with three small children, just considering a return to teaching after an 8-year break. A young girl who lived in the village knocked on our door one evening and told a tale of woe. The Ranger group in the village (senior guides 16+) had lost their leader and, although they planned all their activities themselves, they needed a responsible adult to agree to lead them. I was considered such an adult, apparently, as I was a teacher and had been a Girl Guide many years before. To this day I don’t know what motivated me to agree to attend one of their meetings to talk to them. I must admit that they were a great group of girls who quickly made me welcome and so I agreed to help them out.

At the meeting the following week, they announced that they had all signed up to do their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award! This completely threw me as I was no walker, but on the positive side, I thought, at least I had a reasonable knowledge of map work. I went home that night and admitted to John what I’d let myself in for. “So you’ll have to help me,” I stated and, to his credit, he did. After all, he thoroughly enjoyed walking!

The dye was cast, we never looked back. We worked as a team attending training courses, seeking advice and training and encouraging young girls, and then boys, with the three levels of the Award, Bronze, Silver and Gold.

It wasn’t surprising when I applied for a post at Our Lady’s Convent School to teach Art and Art History that I included DofE on my CV and was asked about it at interview. Would I be willing to introduce the Award in the school alongside my teaching commitments? Little did I realise how eagerly my arrival at the school was anticipated by a group of girls, who in the very first lunch break of my first day at the school, arrived at the Art Room to ask when they could enrol with the Award scheme and when I would be calling a meeting. They were so enthusiastic, eager and persistent that I registered the school with the Award and had enrolled them all by the end of the year. This group took part in all the activities - Service, Physical and Skill - over the winter months and I was able to train them for their first expeditions in the Spring, both practice and qualifying. They were then able to continue to the Silver Award during the Summer term, completing both expeditions in one summer!

My First DofE Group

Kate Auty, Natasha Bambury, Julia Cake, Melissa Dunham, Katie Emmerson, Rebecca Fuller, Jane Harker, Natalie Howarth, Sarah Mudd and Sarah Mayo.

I’m sure I’ll have missed someone off this list!

Fortunately, I was lucky enough to quickly gain the support of other members of staff in those early years: Mrs Lindsay, Mrs Atkin and Mrs Wilcox followed by Mrs Alderson, Mr Leader, Miss Kirk, Mr Langham and Mr Sutch who were key to the scheme running so successfully for so long.

The Award and the girls who participated gave me so much pleasure and reward. I’ve logged 40 years working with the scheme, meeting young people from across the country, as an assessor and a trainer, and have also been lucky enough to meet with adults from all walks of life and all regions of the country who have achieved the same things as me.

I hope my work with the Award has given the girls and other young people memories which they will treasure, despite some of the difficulties they encountered on the way, and they will give back in some way the lessons they learnt either with their families or in the workplace... then I will feel my job was done.

Do you have any DofE memories or photos you would like to share? Please do get in touch as we gather together the history of DofE at the School for the archive.

DofE provision at Amherst Today

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the provision of the DofE program at Amherst has been challenging, although we managed to get the 2020-2021 Bronze cohort through their Award. We only had 13 participants, but they all demonstrated resilience and enthusiasm to complete their expedition section. We were unable to run our normal training day in March, but they all completed their practice expedition in May, which took place in Leicestershire and we camped at the Girl Guides campsite at Topstones, Cold Newton. We were one of the first schools to complete an overnight expedition at that time following COVID-19 restrictions. It was a great success - but absolutely freezing! Our final expedition took place in July in the Peak District and everyone passed with flying colours.

This year we have 31 participants at Bronze level, which is fantastic, and we will be offering a Silver Award for those interested from the previous year. We use an external provider to deliver Gold, offering a full DofE program. As you can see, the DofE program at the School continues to grow from strength to strength.

Mr Graham Sutch Current Staff

Uniform Through the Ages

The school uniform was always such an important part of life at Our Lady’s Convent School. Whether girls were trying to hide the grass stains on their summer uniform after playing leapfrog or turning up winter skirts at the waist because the parents had bought a skirt to ‘grow into’, the uniform represented togetherness and always created a wonderful sense of belonging. The uniform itself may have changed over the years but the importance of it and the sense of pride it gave to those who wore it seems not to have altered.

This article comprises reflections from our Committee members on their uniform experiences and illustrates how it changed over time. From boaters and berets to hockey socks, we explore the changes during our time at School and hope it will bring back some wonderful memories for you, our Alumni.

Natalie Savage (née Howarth)

Attended from 1982 to 1989

It was with nervous excitement in September 1982 that my sister and I started our journey at Our Lady’s Convent School, myself in the Juniors on Park Road/ Stanley Street and Melissa in the Infants. Our new uniforms were the same and we dressed in eagerness that first morning. I remember being so small and the winter uniform so big. A white shirt, striped tie (which always ended up in a rather tight knot), a dark navy pinafore dress with the beautiful pelican crest badge in the centre and a navy and gold sash, coupled with a navy woollen cardigan with a gold stripe around the edge and the notable OLCS blazer and tasselled beret. Easter came and we switched to our summer dresses, at that time comprising of a boater with the same blazer braiding and an orange and white ‘dog-tooth’ patterned dress with a zip down the back and piping and false buttons on the front - altogether less restrictive attire, if a little dated. I remember feeling immense pride in donning my new uniform; I now had joined and belonged somewhere very special.

Two years in and I entered the Senior School on Gray Street, following a couple of trips to Grahame Gardner School Outfitters in both Leicester and Nottingham to purchase all that I needed. The uniform had changed a little: gone was the pinafore, replaced by a pleated skirt, beige wool socks and navy V neck jumper, still with the same shirt and tightly knotted tie! Summer dresses were now blue and white striped, with buttons down the front and a belt which was generally used to hitch the dress up above the knee. This seemed to be the norm in the seniors with girls, out of sight of Mrs Hill, popping the blazer collar up, the beige socks down and perching the beret as far back on our heads as it would go without falling off. That said, I still loved the uniform and all it represented.

I was pleased, when my daughter started at the school in 2011, to see

Natalie and Melissa, 1982 Amber, 2011 that the senior uniform hadn’t changed much - although gone was the beret - and she too wore it with the same pride I had all those years earlier. That is, apart from the PE kit. Thankfully this had changed from our all-in-one, navy and gold chevroned, terry towelling slip, accompanied by a wrap-around PE skirt and long nylon hockey socks. I loved sport at school but did not enjoy wearing this most unflattering of outfits.

I can’t believe it is 30 years since I left and it was a pleasure to attend the recent Decades Reunion and meet up with school friends from both OLCS and Loughborough Grammar School. Touring the school and reminiscing about my time there is always a highlight.

Rachel Healey

Attended from 1988 to 1999

A new boater was introduced the year I started in Year 3. I was bought said new boater, but it was quickly realised, as they were covered with a new varnish, that they turned green in the rain. They were quickly phased out, but my Mum refused to buy me a new one the same as everyone else, so I stuck it out for four years!

I remember thinking dresses were highly impractical as we were practicing for a fire drill in Year 3. Our fire escape was through a large sash window onto Mrs Pollard’s strategically positioned chair just under the open window. The joys of the Stanley Street building!

It was very exciting when, in Year 6, we no longer had to wear the bib upper part of our dress and it could be worn as a skirt. The design of the skirt changed in the senior school and I remember plenty of girls used to roll them up to make them shorter.

I liked the summer dresses and always used to look forward to the announcement of the date we could start wearing them. They were light and breathable and helped keep us cool on hotter days. Then the added excitement in Year 11 that we could wear them with tights. No one ever wore the belt as a belt though, it was always buttoned at the back.

I also remember when the new jumpers were introduced with the pelican emblem on. There were so many issues with the first few which developed holes around the wrists where they were designed to be folded back on themselves.

Grace and Lucy-Ellen, 1990

Grace Hutchinson (née Smalley)

Attended from 1990 to 2005

I can remember my first day in Montessori. I was so excited to wear my wonderful uniform and be just like my big sister Lucy-Ellen. I felt so grown up wearing my tunic with the beautiful school crest badge in the middle with the navy and gold braided sash, a shirt, a proper tie, knee length navy socks and a jumper with arms which were so long I had to fold the ends over. The sleeves of that jumper were ruined within weeks, and I can remember my Mum having to sew up the holes on an almost weekly basis! I loved my uniform. It made me feel proud and like I belonged to something really special. With the winter uniform, we wore a beret. There were two styles, the old one had a long gold, white and navy tassel on the top and the new ones simply had a tiny piece of fabric sticking up in the middle which we all used to hold onto and use to twist them round between our fingers. The summer uniform was a blue and white pinstripe dress which had a belt.

The summer uniform brought with it the boater which was a straw like hat similar to the one Dick Van Dyke wore in Mary Poppins! The worst thing about those was they had an elastic strap which went under your chin so if you fell in the playground, it didn’t come off, it stayed put and made a very nasty mark on your forehead! Everyone’s boater had chips out of the edge and their structural integrity was severely compromised if worn in the rain!

When I was in Year 4 the school introduced bowler hats to replace the berets and boaters. This was a welcome change for most but did bring the added challenge of trying not to cave the top of the hat in when carrying it! Moving into the juniors, the old-style winter tunic with the crest and sash was phased out and Years 3 to 5 wore a plain tunic. In Year 6 we were allowed to take the top of the tunic off and just wear the skirt. That was such an exciting day for all involved. It made you feel so important and grown up as everyone knew you were in Year 6 and the oldest in the Juniors. I feel so lucky to have worn the uniform with pride for my entire school life and cherish the memories I made wearing it.

Isabel Tilson (née Wilkie)

Attended from 1998 to 2005

Joining the Convent in Year 7, I needed completely kitting out head to toe! My mum took me to Grahame Gardner. We were there for hours and throughout my years, the same ladies remembered us and would always convince my mum to buy me the longest possible skirt and the biggest blazer as ‘she’ll always grow into it’. I’ll always remember before I started being told that Mrs Hill would line you up to check the length of your skirt and the height of your shoes - I wasn’t sure if I believed that…! When I started in 1998, our uniform was the navy-blue skirt, navy jumper, white blouse with the gold, navy and white stripe tie, that matched the trim on the blazer. We had the pelican emblem with the school moto, before the later version appeared after we had finished. I remember being so excited about having a House tracksuit with my designated colour - I was in Peter so wore my red shoulders proudly, although the tracksuit joggers were the most unflattering material! After a few years, the yellow sports top was replaced by House coloured polo shirts; the gold hockey socks were replaced for navy ones with bands of house colour at the top; and we were allowed to wear the navy ‘OLCS’ fleece for sports. I remember the huge pile of initial embroidery my mum had to do on all my kit when it all arrived!! I always loved our uniform and wore it proudly; it gave me a sense of belonging that I had never felt before.

Stephanie Henshaw

Attended from 2012 to 2019

I remember clearly being taken in the summer of 2012 by my dad to the uniform shop to collect my uniform before the start of term. This signified an exciting new chapter for me and the start of the Senior School life. The summer uniform consisted of a blue and white striped summer dress (resembling an old-fashioned nurse’s uniform) with a belt made of the same material and pattern, as well as the jumper with the pelican badge on it. The winter uniform, which was my favourite, was a white shirt, a dark blue skirt, tie and the jumper. The blazer made of wool was very uncomfortable when it rained and often hinted at the smell of wet dog. The only change in the uniform I can recall was the addition of the OLCS lettering on the jumper and blazer. Once I entered the Sixth Form, we were allowed to wear a black suit with our own choice of shirt/blouse (very exciting to be able to choose our own suit and shirts to wear!).

We hope you’ve enjoyed our reflections of the uniform and now we’d love to hear from you.

Can you see yourself in one of these photos? Do you recognise the uniforms the girls are wearing?

Go to the OLCS Group on Loughburians Live to see the photos in more detail.

Please do get in touch with us via email olcs.alumni@lsf.org or by calling 01509 638920.

We would really like to build a timeline of the uniform over the years and it would be lovely to hear your stories and reflections and receive your photographs to help us achieve this.

GALA DINNER

23 April 2022

We are delighted to host our Gala Dinner at Plaisterers’ Hall, London, on 23 April 2022 at 18:30. Originally planned for November 2020 to celebrate the 525 anniversary of Thomas Burton’s legacy, the Gala Dinner has been reimagined to appeal to all alumni across our family of four Schools.

If you haven’t attended one of our London events before, this could be the one for you. Partners are very welcome and we’re aiming to make this the largest alumni gathering in living memory.

Come along to celebrate all that is great about our community, reconnect with old friends and hear about how you can get involved in the Schools today.

Tickets: £90 each - Tables: £800 for a table of 10

Why not get together your year group to form a table? For more details visit Loughburians Live. Book your tickets now by calling the Development Office on 01509 638920.

With special thanks to our friends at The Worshipful Company of Plaisterers, particularly Prof Hubert Lacey (LGS Class of 1963) who was instrumental in securing this prestigious venue.

We hope you have enjoyed reading this edition of The Pelican – the magazine of the OLCS Alumni Association.

We would welcome any contact or contribution that you wish to make. Please contact the Development Office on 01509 638920 or olcs.alumni@lsf.org