WHSU Newsletter 2024

WHSU

Newsletter 2024

A message from the WHSU Committee

Welcome to our latest WHSU newsletter which we do hope you find interesting.

We are always delighted to get such kind and positive feedback from you and the 2023 newsletter was no exception, inspiring memories which are lovely to hear and share.

With members of all ages living all over the world with such interesting tales to tell, we always love to hear from you, so please just get in touch. Stories and memories are kept in the WHS archives and play an important part of documenting the history of the school.

The WHSU Committee meets regularly and our meetings are now held in the Private Dining Room in the Hastings building, named after Edith Hastings the first headmistress of the school, and refurbished as part of the incredible development programme under the name of Project Ex Humilibus. Hastings Dining Hall is on the site of what many will remember as Avon House. I recall the excitement when this house was purchased in the 1970s as it had an outside swimming pool, a rare thing for a city school to have then. However excitement diminished pretty quickly when we discovered that from April until July we had to jump into the unheated water for weekly swimming lessons with no dithering and threats of detentions for screaming which was considered most unladylike. However despite that, Avon House was generally considered a place

of calm where the less academic side of education was enjoyed such as sewing, pottery and music lessons.

In June, I was delighted to be invited to the 2023 Speech Day for Years 9-11 held in the amazing new Auditorium - the perfect venue for events such as reunions, concerts, gym and dance displays and parents evenings. At Speech Day the girls put on an impressive demonstration of their skills with speech, dancing and singing which were all excellent. Among the many awards made was this year’s WHSU annual prize, won by Tabby White. Becky McKinlay, the Chair of Governors made an inspiring speech and I felt proud to be involved with such an incredible school.

At our latest committee meeting we discussed some necessary changes that we, as a Union, must make over the next few years. The funds of the Union

have been dwindling as we no longer charge for membership and we have no income as such apart from donations and a small amount from the sale of souvenirs. The largest costs we incur relate to the production and distribution of this Newsletter and the Annual WHSU lunch. With reserves low we therefore plan to send future newsletters by email folding it in with the main school Alumnae mailing. We ask all those who would like to continue to receive the newsletter to please sign up on the enclosed form. If you cannot receive an e-mail version, please let us know via the form and we will send you a printed version. You may wish to print off your own copy at home. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated and will help make the sharing of WHSU news and activities more sustainable – both financially and environmentally - going forward.

We are also very aware that over the last few years the numbers joining us for the annual WHSU lunch in the spring have fallen and so we have decided to merge this lunch into the WHS Birthday Reunion lunch in November. This will be subsidised for WHSU members. Last November’s lunch was very well attended with a mix of old girls from across the years who enjoyed the tours around the school. Your invitation to the next lunch which is on Saturday 16 November 2024 in enclosedwe would really love to see you there.

Best wishes to you all from Sarah Mitchell and the WHSU Committee.

Do we have your email address?

Sign up for future newsletters on the enclosed reply card.

Editor’s Note:

Apologies to Claire Strong née Munby whose surname was misspelt in the last newsletter.

news

School memories

I was a scholarship girl in 1949 and joining WHS was a huge adventure for me.

I remember going to Buckingham Palace Road to Kinch and Lack (which we called Pinch and Smack, of course) to buy our school uniform which consisted of square neck cream Viyella blouses, a button over tunic, a blazer and a velour hat (panama in the summer). We also had a leather purse over our shoulder which contained 1d or 2d for a currant bun at break time. When I passed my scholarship exam my grandparents bought me a leather satchel which was almost as big as me.

Miss Marguerite Burke joined the same month as us as headmistress and she always used to say we were new girls together. I joined U3B and my class teacher was Miss Judge who taught history. We shopped at Fielders where the “in” thing was to own a roll top pencil box and I was thrilled to receive one as a Christmas present. I was overawed by the huge hall where we had prayers every morning.

Class of 1963 lunch

The words of the school song were pasted in our Hymn book and we had a school prayer book as well. In this book there was also a list of previous owners which meant a lot of bargaining and swapping so that we could use the book that had been used by the senior girl that we had a “crush” on. What innocent days they were!

In 1950/51 a teacher at the school, Professor Agnes Headlam Morley was ward to a 12 year old German girl, Ilma Bessenberger, who was taught at the school. My friend Pam and I were

On 10 June 2023, a warm and sunny day, the Class of ‘63 gathered in the senior hall for a reunion.

We had met previously on significant birthdays in people’s houses when some were reluctant to return to the school, but as it was now 60 years since we had left we clearly needed a bigger celebration. When the school said they would be delighted to host us we jumped at the chance, eager to see all the changes that had been made. We had sadly lost some members and others were less able to make the journey but sixteen of us gathered for lunch and much reminiscing.

Anthea Richardson (née Fry)

Class of 1963

chosen to befriend Ilma and help her with her English. Eventually she went back to Germany but I remember her well, a little red haired girl who hardly spoke any English when she arrived. We kept in touch after she returned to Germany.

I liked to tell people that because of the Careers Department at the school I got a job in the Accounts section of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in Moorgate which later became BP. I married Jim and had four children and after they left school I worked for twenty six years in a local firm in charge of the Accounts, I always worked with numbers!

In 2023 Jim and I celebrated 65 years of marriage and received a wonderful card from the King and Queen. We have eight grandchildren and twelve great grandchildren and my husband and I enjoy taking them down to the beach. I have had two hip replacements but I am doing well. I went to the Wimbledon High School Reunion Lunch in 2023 which I enjoyed.

(Elizabeth) Anne Nash (née Fisher) 1949-1955

1960s

1970s

Following our successful trip to Seville in 2022 we wanted to have another holiday together.

This was to be a simpler scheme as Fiona Gunn generously offered to host us in her family’s house near Montgomery in mid Wales. Eight of us converged on Montgomery; Angela Dix, Alison Gill, Fiona Gunn, Jane Hicks, Sarah Mitchell, Anne Patrick, Alison Sanders and Rosemary Shepperd.

We were all very comfortably accommodated in Fi’s late grandparents’ farmhouse, a wonderfully characterful home which was and still is a dairy farm with cows in the barns alongside the house for the winter. The farm is still owned by the family who visit frequently but now farmed by their cousins. Fi told us about her grandparents and how they had made the farm the success it was and of the idyllic summer holidays she and her sisters had had there. We cooked our suppers on the Aga and spent the evening talking, eating, drinking and playing games of Who am I? with bits of paper stuck on our foreheads! Some of the group had been in frequent contact over the last 45 years since we left WHS, others reunited at a reunion in 2018, but we were never short of conversation!

Fi played the magnificent grand piano in the drawing room while we sat on the sweeping wooden staircase to listen without disturbing her. We talked to John Tanner who tends the greenhouses, producing all manner of fruits and vegetables. Still sprightly at 90, he sat and chatted at the kitchen table exactly as he has done for decades as had his

1980s

On a scorching hot day in June 2023, the Class of ‘83 had their second big reunion, following an extremely successful gathering in 2013.

The entire cohort, taking account of those who joined and left during our school years, comprised approximately 70 girls, of whom about 60 have been tracked down. Annual lunches take place for a smaller group, but in June over 40 gathered at Wimbledon for the 40 year reunion. Events commenced with a tour around the school, and we were all amazed at the incredible developments which had occurred over the intervening years. The old gym, with its memories of navy knickers, had been transformed, and the netball courts of Draxmont were now just a memory. The new STEM and sports facilities were much admired, and the Junior School was almost unrecognisable.

After the tour we made our way to the school hall, and we were instantly transported back to all those assemblies and hymns. Time had stood still, and, though we somehow felt like teenagers again, we also felt

The Class of 1978 trip to Wales

father before him. As Sarah said “It was an experience that seemed to come from another age”.

One day we explored the town of Montgomery with its old market hall, the church with the Herbert Memorial and the ruined castle with views over the surrounding countryside. On a gloriously sunny day we visited Powis Castle (National Trust and well worth a visit). Like Montgomery Castle it is a border castle dating from the 13th Century but Powis Castle is not ruined. Over the centuries and in the hands of various owners it evolved into a fine country house. We loved the glorious gardens and terraces, and the red sandstone castle looming over them. All too quickly our trip was over and we dispersed to our real lives with half-finished conversations rattling inside our heads. Needless to say we’ve planned another trip for 2024.

Alison Harrison (née Sanders)

Class of 1978

The Class of 1983 Reunion

terribly old. We were reminded of our comparative youth, however, when we discovered that the Class of ‘63 were holding a reunion on the same day. We joined them for a very rousing rendition of the School Song, sung without looking at the words in some cases (see photo opposite). I’m glad that they are seared in my memory, as I would have failed miserably to read them, struggling bravely to hold back the tears! It was a wonderful moment, and testament to the great memories and friendships that we have carried with us for four decades. After the tour we gathered in the evening (for an even larger reunion!) at a restaurant up in Wimbledon Village, catching up on news and being acutely aware of those words “Making new friends, ne’er losing those we love”. Our annual lunches will continue and we look forward to 2033 and our next “big one”. If any members of our year group have managed to escape detection, and would like to join us in our future reunions, we would be delighted to hear from them: whsucommittee@ gmail.com

Louisa McKenna (née Thomas) Class of 1983

Obituaries

Kathleen K M Peyton

2 Aug 1929 - 19 Dec 2023

(WHS 1938 -1947)

Successful author and fascinating WHS alumna, Kathleen Peyton (known as K M Peyton) died on 19 December, 2023, at the age of 94.

Kathleen was a renowned British author of fiction for children and young adults. She began writing at the age of nine and was first published when she was fifteen. Peyton wrote more than fifty novels, including the much-loved ‘Flambards’ series. She won both the 1969 Carnegie Medal from the Library Association and the 1970 Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize. In 1979 the trilogy was adapted by Yorkshire Television into a popular 13-part series. Former librarian and WHS voluntary archivist Kelly Jones reflects on her life and her connection to Wimbledon High:

“I was so sad to hear that K M Peyton had died not long before Christmas. It was one of the privileges of my life to get to know her in recent years, and thrilling to find myself the recipient of many emails signed off ‘Love Kathy’. Kathleen was actually born in Birmingham on 4 August 1929, but her parents moved to Berrylands, Surbiton, where she attended Manor House Convent School until April 1938. According to school records, she started at WHS on 9 May 1938. By the time she left the school in late July 1946, a year after brilliant results in her GCSEs of the time, she had had poems and artwork published in school magazines, and even had her first book ‘Sabre: The Horse from the Sea’ published. I think she credited the Head of Art, Miss Grace Matthews, with expediting this. Art was ‘my dearest favourite subject with darling Matty and glamorous Miss Shaw’ - they were both exhibiting artists. So no wonder that when her family moved away to Marple in Cheshire in 1946, Kathy went on to attend Manchester Art School, where she met her husband Mike Peyton.

As WHS Librarian, and involved with Wimbledon BookFest in its early days, I hesitantly made first contact with Kathy by post in March 2008, asking whether she could be tempted back to Wimbledon in October to take part in a BookFest event. Although living far away on the Essex coast, and claiming to no longer do literary events, she almost jumped at the chance to come, and I invited Julia Eccleshare, the Guardian’s Children’s Book Editor, to come and interview her. The event (pictured above) took place in the School Library on the afternoon of 8th October, and the audience consisted of a handful of girls, some parents and assorted others, including members of the Pony Club! It was an incredible success, so much laughter, enjoyed by all, the telling of

stories and stirring of memories triggered the writing of what was to be published as ‘When the Sirens Sounded’ in 2012. This is an autobiographical story (with fiction thrown in for dramatic effect!), covering her schooldays at WHS, and life as a young teenager living locally during the Second World War. Because I had first suggested the book and later helped to find a local publisher, a former parent, she started referring to it as my book, which ironically led to me taking on all the unsold copies, and giving them away at school reunions. So Kathy made a visit to the school archive in December 2011, while researching for the book, and then returned for another BookFest event, coincidentally also on 8 October, four years later, but this time at Cannizaro House Hotel, to launch ‘When the Sirens Sounded’. All I really remember about that occasion is that Kathy invited me to dinner afterwards at the Fox and Grapes, along with one of her daughters, one of her publishers, David Fickling, and several others, which was a marvellous evening. My correspondence with Kathy continued. In March 2014 she sent me photos from the Palace of her MBE presentation by Prince William, as he was then. In August 2019 I was invited to trek out to the wilds of Essex for lunch, a few days after Kathy’s 90th birthday. Here I found her in her element, coming along the country lane with her dogs to greet me off the train (two trains) from London. We had a lovely ‘chinwag’, (her word) over a bottle of wine, and sat in the garden overlooking the pond, and that was the last time I saw her. She was a remarkable woman, but so down to earth and incredibly modest with it.”

Kelly Jones

The rest is well documented in the many well-deserved tributes to her which you can read on our website here: https:// www.wimbledonhigh.gdst.net/news/202401-14/remembering-author-and-alumna-km-peyton-a-whs-perspective.

Professor Lynne McArthur Reid

12 November 1923 – 5 April 2021 (Class of 1945)

Dr Lynne McArthur Reid served as a professor of pathology at Harvard Medical School and pathologist-in-chief emeritus at Children’s Hospital in Boston.

Lynne was born in Australia in 1923, and first arrived in Wimbledon at the age of 12 in 1936. She showed many talents and was awarded the first Trust Scholarship in 1939-41 and the ‘Mary Gurney Exhibition’ but her family left London abruptly in 1940, eventually returning to Australia.

Valerie Kippax

29 September 1929 - 23 March 2023

(Class of 1949 - at WHS 1941-1947)

Valerie’s life was one of travel and adventures. She was one of eight girls to win a scholarship to Wimbledon High School 1941 and at school she enjoyed dance, singing and drama although wished she had learned guitar or violin. After an enjoyable year in the Sixth Form, Valerie did a secretarial course and went out to work as a secretary in the film industry before moving to Paris and ultimately working for NATO.

After graduating in Medicine at the University of Melbourne and starting her career, she became the first pathologist to receive a grant from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization. Lynne was a huge supporter of women working in medicine, and of the Harvard Scholars in Medicine program, a much - loved and distinguished teacher and trail-blazing pathologist.

The school was honoured when Professor Reid formally opened the new Science Block on the School’s 95th Birthday in November 1974.

Lynne left a very generous gift to Wimbledon High School in her will. To honour her legacy, the school has created the Lynne Reid Innovation in Science Award which will be given to its inaugural recipient in 2024.

This led to over a decade living in Manhattan working for the United Nations. Being at the diplomatic centre of so much drama and many international events fascinated her.

Valerie felt girls had a marked advantage if they were well educated at a ‘good school’ before launching forth, and she remained a lifelong supporter of her school attending the Old-Girls’ Reunions.

Valerie left a very generous gift to Wimbledon High School in her will. Her donation will allow the school to invest in the library (particularly the art history section), the theatre and grow the bursary programme ensuring future generations of Wimbledonians are able to benefit from a WHS education.

Archive News

Were you part of the opera “King Arthur” by Purcell which was performed by the ENTIRE Senior School under Miss Reynell on Draxmont Lawns in 1954?

Thanks to Mr Michael King, we can now share a rare piece of 1950’s cine film footage of the spectacle with you. Michael tells us his twin sisters (Edith Clare née King and Elizabeth Diana née King and his wife Chrystabel June née Tobin) all performed in it! June would have been 13 years old and the twins 16 in 1954.

View the film here https://www.wimbledonhigh.gdst.net/ news/2024-05-02/from-the-archive-kingarthur-invades-draxmont

Find out more on the WHS online archive here http://wimbledonhighschool.daisy.websds.net/

Obituaries

Margaret Murrant

27 May 1929 – 3 March 2023

WHS 1937 -47 (Class of 1947)

Margaret (Meg) was born in Manchester, the eldest of the three daughters of Alfred and Mary Murrant. The family moved to New Malden in the 1930s and became members of the New Malden Baptist Church. Meg joined the Girls Brigade at a young age but always wanted to be a nurse and changed to be a St Johns Ambulance Cadet. All three daughters, Meg, Hilary and Eve attended Wimbledon High School and Meg was in charge of getting her sisters and two other WHS girls who lived locally to the school by train each day. During the war their journey was sometimes interrupted as the air raid sirens and they would have to leave the train and find an air raid shelter, an excellent excuse for being late for school!

Meg did well at school where she was a prefect and gained her School Certificate with Matriculation and in 1948 she started her nursing career at Middlesex Hospital, later training to be a midwife at Epsom Hospital delivering local babies and just like ‘Call the Midwife’ she used a bicycle called the Green Goddess. She worked in some of the poorest parts of Epsom delivering babies sometimes in very difficult circumstances. She then became a District Midwife back in New Malden delivering three of her own nieces. Meg went on to train as a health visitor and then a midwife tutor in Kingston and her first appointment as a tutor was at St James Hospital in Leeds where she met Alison, also a midwife, who became her lifelong partner. They moved back to Epsom to be nearer their parents and Meg worked as a midwifery tutor at St Helier Hospital later becoming senior clinical midwifery manager at Epsom District Hospital.

Remembering Helen Handescombe Mills

5 June 1924 – 1 May 2023

We were so sorry to hear of the death of Helen Mills just a month short of her 100th birthday. Helen has contributed to the Newsletter previously telling her story of her incredible life; her childhood in Weybridge, her days at WHS, her service during the war with the WAAF, the years she spent teaching after the war and her many interests. You can read a full account on the WHS Archive website.

I attended Helen’s funeral at the Clandon Wood Natural Burial Ground in Surrey. It was a glorious day and the wildflower meadow and woodlands were quite beautiful place and the perfect place for her, full of colour and

We are sad to learn of the deaths of the following WHS alumnae:

Lorna Walker MBE Class of 1948 died 24 October 2023 aged 94

Joan Honor Patricia (Pat) Briggs

After retiring Meg carried on nursing with family planning clinics and care at home and supported the local hospital for over 30 years with Friends of Epsom Hospital, raising money for them and working in their shop.

Meg had many other skills and talents, she had a lifelong love of music and took part in several musicals. She wrote amusing verse, pantomimes and plays including two operettas that were performed in local schools. In her late 60’s she taught herself to play the organ to help at the services at Epsom Baptist Church. She was an excellent cook and catered for many church and family functions, wedding and special occasion cakes being her forte. Helped by Alison she made hundreds of cakes over the years and every Christmas they made over 100 individual Christmas cakes.

Meg was also a gardener and talented flower arranger and won many trophies at the Banstead Horticultural Society and Church Festivals. She loved her dogs and had many throughout her life and although no player she was a keen tennis fan and enjoyed going to Wimbledon Tennis. She enjoyed Scottish country dancing and her highland flings and energetic reels belied her years. She regularly attended the Burns Night Supper at the Surbiton Caledonian Society and once as Chairman she did the address to the haggis in a broad Scottish accent causing much amusement.

Meg had a very full and happy life and her faith and family were paramount, she remained actively involved with the Epsom Baptist Church her entire life. Alison has been constantly at her side since 1971 and in 2006 they were able to cement their relationship with a Civil Partnership. Meg had a large family, she was an aunt, great aunt and great great aunt and was in regular contact with distant relatives, very much the Matriarch who kept the family together. Sadly her final few years were difficult as dementia set in but she never lost her Christian faith.

sunshine. The funeral was extremely well attended, the Pavilion Chapel, a glass building in the centre of the meadow was completely full with some standing outside to hear the many who wanted to speak about Helen. People from all areas of her life attended and spoke about her with respect, affection and with much humour. She would have been delighted.

Members of the Walton and Weybridge Operatic Society were there and sang a lively rendition of “Always look on the bright side of life”. Her family spoke movingly of her and how involved she was with their lives and of her many interests. I very much enjoyed Helen’s company and saw her quite regularly at her home in Weybridge. She attended the Union lunches many times and was very proud of being our Oldest Old Girl. She was always such good company and full of stories about her life and so many, including me, miss her. Sarah Mitchell

Class of 1950 died August 2023 aged 91

Aline Cumming (née Williams)

Class of 1952 died December 2023 aged 89

Claire Weiner (née Wheeler)

Class of 1967 died 7 December 2023 aged 74

Glenys Bowen (née Davies) (Class of 1967) died on 9 April 2024 aged 75

Recent Events

Our reunions are a wonderful opportunity to keep in touch with old friends and former staff.

The Birthday Reunion

On Saturday 4 November 2023, alumnae, former and current staff celebrated Wimbledon High’s 143rd Birthday in grand style with a lively reunion back at school.

We welcomed back over 85 guests for drinks in Cafe Sixth followed by tours of the school and a delicious buffet

The Class of 1974 Reunion

Saturday 16 March’s reunion was a great success, thanks to the sterling efforts of alumnae Sara Nathan and Trish Reeves who marshalled a lively crowd of 1974 leavers through the Wimbledon High gates once more.

By special request, guests of honour were former staff Averil Burgess, Second Mistress and Head of History at Wimbledon from 1969 – 1974, before going on to be Head at South Hampstead High School and receiving an OBE for services to Education in 1994 and veritable WHS institution, Enid ThorntonSmith, former Head of Prep, who was at Wimbledon from 1960-1993 and taught the Class of 1974 soon after they arrived at WHS. Whilst many guests have remained in regular contact, partly thanks to previous reunions, it was wonderful to see several new faces, some of whom had attended the school since the age of four and had great fun identifying themselves as youngsters in old school photos such as Karen Lunau pictured here (below left).

Nikola Hall

Alumnae and Communications Officer

lunch in the new Auditorium. A very enthusiastic rendition of the School Song was a particular highlight. Thank you to all for making it such a special occasion, in particular to Mr Will Ford for his piano accompaniment, Ms Kelly Jones our voluntary Archivist and our patient and unflappable Year 12 guides!

“Thank you for a memorable and delightful afternoon… It was so interesting to hear about peoples’ careers, the things they’ve done, and their families, and of course it was a special pleasure to be told how my lessons all those years ago were enjoyed! Wimbledon was, and clearly still is, a very special school. The transformation of the premises is astonishing, and we all marvelled at it - but the lovely girls who guided my group demonstrated that the essential ingredient, the girls, are still the same Trust pupils, confident, friendly, articulate, and very proud of their school, determined to show it off.”

Averil Burgess

“Most people say that they are not in touch with people in their year at school. The fact that I gave a lift to Mrs Thornton-Smith, my kindergarten teacher at age 4, (see photo of us together in class) is even more remarkable! What stability! It says a lot about community and friendship. It was a surprise to find we had the netball team present at the reunion and great that everyone looked as if they were still up for another match!”

Patricia (Trish) Reeves (née Ive)

A message from the Head

It was a pleasure to see many of you at the Birthday Reunion back in November. It is a testament to all involved that there is still the desire to keep a strong connection with the school and my thanks as always go to all those who actively keep in touch, in particular Sarah Mitchell for her commitment and the WHSU Committee.

It was also an absolute delight to spend time with former staff members Mrs Enid Thornton-Smith and Mrs Averil Burgess at the Class of 1974 Reunion in March. With the appointment of a permanent Alumnae Officer here at school (we were joined by Nikola Hall in this post back in September 2022) the school is committed to supporting these efforts further still and help them flourish.

What a whirlwind of a year it’s been so far, with the successful completion of our ISI inspection, the expansion of our Partnerships work - including its groundbreaking SHINE programme and public speaking initiative Speak Up Year 6 which held its final in April - musical and dramatic triumphs like ‘Antigone’ and our annual St John’s Smith Square concert, and numerous sporting successes, the girls have achieved a dazzling amount. And WHS continues to lead the way in all sorts of arena, whether that be in sustainability, AI leadership, or advocacy through inspiring events like the ‘Women in Law’ panel we hosted at Gray’s Inn in February. At WHS, our staff remain pivotal to the culture and success of the school, and this term we said goodbye to long-serving music teacher Clare Green, who retires after an amazing 22 years at WHS. In that time she has taught thousands of pupils, played millions of notes on the piano

and conducted hundreds of pieces with her close harmony choirs, and I know those of Christian faith have particularly appreciated her gentle, kind leadership.

We will also very sadly be saying goodbye at the end of this year to our brilliant Head of Juniors, Claire Boyd, who will be moving on to an exciting new venture, and we are in the throes of recruiting her successor. We welcome this term our first ever Head of Cricket, Dan Creasey, as well as three more new members of the PE department as we look to further develop our sporting provision, and former GB rower Alexandra Watson will be taking on the mantle of Head of Rowing.

We are also excited to further develop our Futures programme – what might formally have been known as ‘Careers’ –with the appointment of Fiona Lucas as Head of Employability, Entrepreneurship and Enterprise. With her background in industry, Fiona is very well-placed to lead our students as they become realworld-ready.

As Sarah mentions in her welcome, our attention at Wimbledon has shifted from physical transformation – literally ‘Building the Future’- to ‘Funding the Future’ and building a community reflective of our borough, ensuring we are inclusive and diverse in a way that benefits us all. To this end, we launched the 1880 Society at an inspiring event in April with bursary award holders, parents, and donors. Our goal is to harness the energy and talent of girls from a diversity of backgrounds, and we are committed to ensure that, as alumnae, all feel welcome and inspired to continue to be active participants in our wider WHS community.

Fionnuala Kennedy, Head

WHSU Committee:

Sarah Mitchell Class of 1978

Sue Davidson (née Huggins)

Class of 1972. Alison Raffan Class of 1982.

Anthea Richardson (née Fry) Class of 1962

Fiona Gunn Class of 1978.

Mandy Miller Class of 1976. whsucommittee@gmail.com

WHS Alumnae Officer: alumnae@wim.gdst.net

WHSU Tea Towels

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Refresh your memory of the School Song lyrics by owning a WHSU teatowel! Makes a lovely gift and all profit goes to the WHSU. See enclosed reply card for details on how to purchase.

Your invitation to the