IN MEMORY OF ROBIN BLIGH

Robin Bligh joined RGS in 1953 as a young Mathematics teacher, dedicating the next 40 years to helping boys experience a broad education, beyond their academic studies, through his leadership of the 16th Reigate Sea Scouts. Robin continued his relationship with RGS far beyond his retirement, regularly joining us for lunch at the school , attending school events and even celebrating his 90th birthday with a party in the Peter Masefield Hall . Robin inspired so many generations of Reigatians and he is remembered with great affection and respect.

Robin’s impact was enormous, passing on life skills and wisdom to thousands of RGS students and Scouts during his teaching career. He also generously left a legacy to the 1675 Bursary Fund in his Will. Through Robin’s kind gift, combined with the support of his former students and peers who donate to the Robin Bligh Fund, we are delighted to announce that we will have two Robin Bligh Scholars in perpetuity at the school.

Two deserving and talented children, who otherwise would not have the financial means, started their lifechanging journey at RGS in September 2022. We hope that, as well as the outstanding academic and pastoral support that they receive, that they will also take advantage of all of the extracurricular activities that RGS has to offer, teaching them the lessons in teamwork and leadership that Robin was so keen to impart on others.

Robin Bligh Bursary Fund

To honour this fine Reigatian, and to provide a lasting legacy in his name, the RGS Foundation, in collaboration with the Bligh family, has established the Robin Bligh Bursary Fund. This aims to provide a life-changing education at Reigate Grammar School to disadvantaged children from the local area. By joining others who have already pledged their generous support for the fund, you will help fund a Robin Bligh Scholar at RGS.

“Being a Scout was a large part of my life at the school. It gave me a wide range of the things to do and look at how to cope with them. This is something I wish to commemorate by giving my support to the Robin Bligh Bursary Fund.”

Ian Whiteman

(RGS 1953-1961)

Donate online using the QR code or via rgs.foundation/support-us/ robin-bligh-bursary-fund/ or by cheque (posted to the address on the back cover).

Reigate Grammar School has partnered with Morr & Co to provide legacy guidance. Contact Morr & Co for advice on writing a Will by calling 01737 854500 or go to morrlaw.com/wills-trusts-and-estate-administration/

Golden Anniversary Lunch 24 June

On Friday 24 June, former students from the Classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 (and partners) celebrated 50 years since leaving Reigate Grammar School.

For many, this was their first visit back to school since they left, and it provided a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with old classmates and take a trip down memory lane.

After two years of COVID disruption, it was an absolute joy to finally meet in person and we were particularly delighted to have three guests fly in from overseas: Jonathan Sakula (’70) from Canada, Terry Caloghiris (’71) from Switzerland and Malcolm Butcher (’72) from Australia. The icing on the cake was to have former teachers join us, Bob Harden (RGS staff 1961-1974) and Allan Sims (RGS staff 1964-2001), who still recognised many of their former charges!

Most guests opted to take a tour of the school and set off from reception with a volunteer guide from our Sixth Form. While some areas of the school have changed beyond recognition and a few new buildings and facilities have been added, the fabric of the school remains the same.

Tours ended with the Old Library (or the gym as it had been in the late 1960s, early 1970s), where one guest, Alan Soer (’72), was particularly happy to find the Mitchiner Cup board sporting his name, as well as his Seat of Learning!

Time For Lunch

Our party then moved down to the Headmaster’s garden, where talented musicians, Juliet C-W, Omar A and Megan T charmed guests with a mixture of classical music and their take on a few rock pieces. Everyone enjoyed catching up, looking at displays of old photographs, flicking through old copies of The Pilgrim, and sharing photographs that they had brought with them.

Headmaster, Shaun Fenton, provided an overview of recent awards and successes, before delivering the following message, “Undoubtedly Reigate Grammar School is a great school, and offers both in and out of the classroom a first-class education to its students and an invigorating and helpful atmosphere… It has been both a delight and an encouragement to me to discover the strength of the loyalty and sense of comradeship in the school.” This was actually taken from HM Ballance in the spring 1969 edition of The Pilgrim, but is a sentiment that still rings true today!

He explained that, as the school approaches its own anniversary in 2025, the ethos of philanthropy, on which the school was founded, is still going strong. He proudly announced that in recent weeks, we have offered a bursary place to a Ukrainian child, with another place hopefully going to an Afghan refugee.

He mentioned the house system, explaining how and why the eight houses became none (it wasn’t deemed trendy in the noughties!), before four, having been reintroduced under his tenure. Indeed, the names of RGS’s current four houses –Bird, Cranston, Hodgson and Williamson – were chosen by students and are personal to the school, being the names of the first four Headmasters. He talked about the number of languages our First Formers learn – from French and Mandarin to Python and HTML (computing languages)!

Mr Fenton wrapped up by announcing that lunch was ready and guests helped themselves to a delicious cold buffet of salmon, chicken, quiche and an array of salads, followed by strawberries and cream. During lunch, everyone embraced the challenge of naming those pictured in a pack of old photographs from their school days. These – alongside copies of The Pilgrim magazine from 1961-1969 and messages from those who were unable to make the date (largely because of COVID and rail strikes) – formed part of a large display, evoking lots of fond memories.

Photo Opportunity

After lunch, guests made their way to the bottom lawn, where Head of Foundation, Sean Davey, emphasised just how special it was to be able to host the Golden Anniversary Lunch after a challenging couple of years, asking everyone to take a moment to remember those we have lost. He highlighted the role the RGS Foundation plays – both in keeping our Reigatian community connected through events such as this, and by raising money to provide bursary places to students.

He mentioned the incredible legacy left by former teacher, Robin Bligh (RGS staff 1953-1994), who had gifted his estate to the RGS Foundation (see p19), before thanking all those who currently support our work. Foundation Director Jonny Hylton then spoke, explaining that he left the school in 1999 and is proud to have been a student, but is even more proud of the work he does now. Such is his belief in the impact that an RGS education can have on deserving young children, he has pledged a gift to RGS in his Will and is currently the school’s youngest legator.

Guests were then asked to gather together for photos. It was amazing to see all the old school ties, badges and even a very small-looking school cap, donned (or should that be doffed?) by Nick Collyer (’70). All images from the day can be viewed in the Event Gallery on the website rgs.foundation

Living History Session

After tea, coffee and cake, Third Form History students arrived, eager to hear about growing up in Reigate and life at RGS in the 1960s. Guests had been reminded that these were impressionable young thirteen and fourteen-year-olds, so asked everyone to keep the more colourful stories to themselves! It turned out that their teachers had set them a challenge to discover the most shocking piece of information! In groups of two and three, students sat with guests, and chatted about how life at RGS in the swinging sixties compared to life at the school now. All parties found this experience absolutely fascinating, with older guests learning as much from the students as the students did from them.

After an action-packed day, 3pm came around quickly and it was time to bid everyone farewell, though guests were encouraged to come back and visit again soon.

NOSTALGIA TRIP TO RGS: 33 YEARS ON 6 MAY

the actual smell of exam-room nerves and empty single desks left over from some students exiting their GCSE, made us suddenly glad we were this side of 18.

We were also kindly allowed into the (currently) unmodernised Broadfield House. Though it is surpassed by the new buildings, Broadfield’s smells, sights and fixtures transported us back to the old Room C, as if the great Mr Carpmael was still to be found there spinning magic from the writing gods with a literary twinkle in his eye. Those who encountered the Lower Sixth enrichment of the ABC lessons may join us with flashbacks of being taught etiquette (no kidding), car maintenance, other cultures or photography – some of these are remembered now with more fondness than we had at the time… although not the etiquette sessions!

When Matthew Sears (RGS 19821989 and current parent) contacted us to say that a group of his old school friends were planning a reunion, we were delighted to add a tour of the school to their weekend of reminiscences. It was wonderful to welcome the Class of 1989 back to RGS.

“With curiosity, and some re-awoken Platform 9 ¾-ish butterflies, five 80s-era Reigatians gathered on a sunny afternoon to see the old place once more. After three years of planning (thanks to the tenacity and bonhomie of Matt Sears), we came from Norfolk, Yorkshire, Switzerland, Miami, and even from the deepest fringes of Reigate to stand together at RGS for the first time since 1989. Although we were now official grown-up visitors, with lanyards and reserved parking spaces, some deep part of our brains half expected to be told to comb our hair and put our caps on. The visit was of course, totally cap-free, a pleasure and an education!

Ignoring the varying grey hair/no hair amongst the lads in our group (there was unaltered charm among the ladies, of course), time rolled back as we revived a cascade of memories. Materially, things have of course changed for the better. Anyone who remembers the prefab-era rooms: W1, W2, CW3, CW4… well, these have vanished. By contrast, the wonders that are the new Sixth Form centre and Music block defy definition.

Beautiful as the new facilities are, it was of course the old stomping grounds that triggered the group’s memories. In particular, the Concert Hall where Rob Shearman (RGS 1980-1988), fresh from a posting as Dr Who scriptwriter, climbed up onto the stage upon whose boards some drama seeds were sown… there was a glistening eye. (In fact, I hope he’ll write a play about our RGS reunion – I’d like you to cast David Tennant to play me please Rob!).

Outside the former dining hall, where some of us had our last-ever chat with the legendary Aubs, there was the board where Aubs’ handwritten sign-up sheet for ‘Youth and Music’ was constantly pinned. Much excitement here! However good RGS Sixth Form students have it now, they’ll never have the thrill of a risk-assessment-free, no-seatbelts ride to London, to squint from nose-bleed-high seats at some bit of high culture, followed by totally legal drinks in the interval. There followed a far more entertaining second half, then walking the 10 yards to Aubs’ impossibly exquisite parking, to play minibus-seat bingo all the way back. No wonder that the noticeboard outside the dining hall stirs the memories.

The Old Library and stairwell were pleasingly eternal in their resistance to time, and the very same metal banisters complete with studs to prevent any sliding stuntwork were stoically still in place –the stairwell, library, all still the same but somehow much smaller! In the Sports Hall,

A big thank you to the school. We could not have been more excellently welcomed by our hosts, who happily listened to misty-eyed moments, and of course some less misty-eyed 80s-era tales of “This is where Mr X … and I fainted” or “This is where Mr X … but the boy stopped screaming fairly soon” … moments that would have given Roald Dahl some promising material. But both the decades and the school have changed impressively. I was pleased to be able to meet Mr Fenton in person, and (as a teacher myself) to thank him for leading education in a more modern and human direction, that leaves students in a stronger position to handle school life and the life that follows in the widest sense of those terms. I’d also like to take this chance to thank the school on a personal note – when COVID hit, RGS said ‘Can we help?’ and meant it, and the difference it made to my family was huge.

One thing that stood out was the enormous power of the influence of the special, kind, interested, dedicated, teachers, and also how lucky we are in our friendships, first forged among those RGS rooms, corridors and minibus seats. Thank you RGS – we re-lived some old memories and gained some new ones.”

Steve Bishop (RGS 1981-1989)

Class Of 1977 School Tour

27 MAY

After two years of COVID-induced lockdowns and many Zoom meetings, on Friday 27 May, Ash Priddle, Allan Lambert, Andy Brown, Simon Brisk and Tim Atkin finally met up!

Ash, Simon and I used to catch the 424 bus to school from Horley. We were pleased to discover it was still running, so we decided that this would be our first trip down memory lane. The bus bore no resemblance to the old double decker we were used to, and bus passes were superseded by contactless card payments. Very little of the original route was covered, giving us our first clue that times had changed!

Having arrived in Reigate Town Centre, we retraced our steps along the old lane leading past St Mary’s Church. We were pleased to see that had changed very little, if at all. We met Andy at the school and were soon greeted by Nikki Burch, the then Reigatian Community Officer, who gave us a guided tour of the school.

It was pleasing to see the front of the main building hadn’t changed, although the stonework looked a lot cleaner than we remembered. Inside too, the layout and distinctive school smell appeared largely unchanged. The classroom doors were also reminiscent of the good old days, with all of us remembering how Howard Ballance, the Headmaster, was just tall enough to peer through the windows, ready to catch any schoolboys who were misbehaving during lessons! Most of us had fallen foul of his surveillance and could recall being led out of the class to line up outside his study, halfway up the stairs leading to the old assembly hall. The traffic light system just above the door merely added to the trepidation of the reprimand to come!

We were shown the new Headmaster’s office on the ground floor overlooking the rear playground. A warm welcome was given to us by Mr Fenton. The whole atmosphere here appeared far less foreboding and there was no overwhelming sense of doom!

The playground appeared to have shrunk in that there were many more outbuildings occupying its space. We all remembered how we used to play football using a tennis ball during break times, although the rear wooden fencing, used as goals, had been replaced with taller metal fencing and secure gates.

New facilities offered by the Harrison Centre, music block and the Ballance Building were amazing and we all wondered how we would have fared if we had had these at our disposal. The indoor swimming pool looked so much more inviting than the cold outdoor offering we were greeted with!

One building which did not appear to have changed was the old Sixth Form centre (Broadfield House). As we gazed on the oak-panelled walls of one of the classrooms, we were reminded of an April Fool’s Day incident instigated by Allan. It involved Richard Stather, a History teacher at the time. The lads used to listen to Capital Radio during the 10-minute morning break, and at the end of it, Richard Stather would stride in and mark his territory by turning it off. So, one April Fool’s day we put a transistor radio inside the casing of the radio, so when Mr Stather tried to turn it off, it was still merrily blaring away. He tried again, then turned the switch off at the wall. Still it played its music, so he pulled out the plug, yet the music continued. Now totally exasperated, he took the whole thing out onto the lawn, and left it there to entertain everyone else sitting in class at Broadfield. Nice one Allan!

After a very tasty buffet lunch, our tour came to an end, and we proceeded into Reigate to avail ourselves of some alcoholic beverages in the local pubs. Pilgrim Brewery was particularly nice and in the traditional manner, we concluded our day with a curry. More school memories were mulled over before we finally parted, and we all vowed not to leave it so long until the next time.

Tim Atkin (RGS 1970-1977)

It was pleasing to see the front of the main building hadn’t changed, although the stonework looked a lot cleaner than we remembered. Inside too, the layout and distinctive school smell appeared largely unchanged. The classroom doors were also reminiscent of the good old days, with all of us remembering how Howard Ballance, the Headmaster, was just tall enough to peer through the windows, ready to catch any schoolboys who were misbehaving during lessons!

GRADUATION BRUNCH: CLASS OF 2018

On Saturday 3 September, the Class of 2018 (along with current and former RGS staff) returned to school for their Graduation Brunch.

Just a few days into the new school term, we were delighted to welcome back more than 70 guests from the Class of 2018 to celebrate their recent successes and hear their future plans.

Meeting in their old Sixth Form common room in what was then the newly-opened Harrison Centre, guests enjoyed tea, coffee and a sumptuous spread of croissants, sausage baguettes, pains au chocolat, fruit, cakes and other treats. Everyone found the display of old photographs quite funny (it’s fair to say that our guests had changed somewhat

10 YEARS ON: CLASS OF 2012

30 NOVEMBER since First Form) and enjoyed catching up with their old Form Tutors and other members of RGS staff.

After picking up a glass of bucks fizz, we headed out to the terrace for speeches. Headmaster, Shaun Fenton, began by welcoming everyone back, highlighting that they were such an impressive year group that we built a whole Sixth Form building for them!

He then ran through some of the exciting changes that have happened in recent years, including the improvements made to pastoral support and plans to build a new sports centre. He explained the value of the RGS International programme, with music students travelling from Reigate to Hanoi and plans for gap-year students to teach in RGS schools overseas.

Finally, he raised a toast to the Class of 2018, wishing them the very best for the future and reminding them that they will always be Reigatians, before handing over to RGS Foundation Director, Jonny Hylton (’99).

As a former student himself, Jonny mentioned that, however old you are, it will always feel a little bit naughty to address your teachers by their first name! He then spoke about the value of keeping in touch and engaging with the wider Reigatian community through the RGS Professionals group.

It was time for us to say goodbye, and for guests to head into Reigate to continue catching up. We look forward to seeing them again in 2028 for their 10 Years On reunion – if not before!

We were delighted to see so many former students, from the Class of 2012, at the Founder’s Arms in London, Blackfriars, What a fantastic venue, both in terms of location and vibrant ambiance.

From the moment the first attendees arrived, conversation flowed effortlessly, punctuated with plenty of banter and laughter, with lots of happy faces all round. Those attending the event on the Southbank, with the stunning backdrop of an illuminated St Paul’s Cathedral, reminisced about school days and caught up on a decade of life experience, including university, work, new homes, new relationships and more besides.

The Foundation team are always happy to arrange these special anniversary events, knowing how important it is to keep friendships and connections going throughout the years. We would always encourage former students to sign up to our RGS Professionals group too, so they can benefit from the vast network of expertise from our expanding Reigatian community. With lots of Foundation events ahead, there will be ample opportunity to stay in touch before the next reunion!