THROUGH the medium of this newspaper, could I please publicly thank the organisers of the Hereward School student reunion of the Class of ’77, for being prepared to put their heads above the parapet and take on the organisation of such an event.

Not every year group does it, and it is testimony to those who made the necessary arrangements that at least 50 former students attended and enjoyed an excellent evening.

As the lone former teacher present, I did not feel like an alien species. On the contrary, I was made to feel extremely welcome.

Having remained in March since I taught at Hereward, I have been fortunate to keep contact with many former students through sport, socially and commercially, particularly when I was chasing work-experience placements for students on the ‘Trident’ scheme.

All these contacts have for me represented the meaning and value of a secondary education - the long-term values that five years at the Hereward School helped to instill, rather than the current thinking that seems to measure success solely in the short-term as just the number of A*-C GCSE Grades achieved at the age of 16.

Saturday evening was a tremendous event, I hardly bought a drink all night! It was interesting to listen to conversations about ‘favourite’ teachers; Cowlan! Bradbury! Bottrell!, Ma Peters!, These are genuine quotes.

DJ Vernon Harley did interrupt proceedings for a poignant moment when he read out a thankfully short list of those who were unable to attend, having departed this life. It helped to put into context our current concerns about the cost of living etc.

The stamina of a 60+-year-old was flagging by 1am, although many of the mere 50-somethings were still keen to prolong the event and went searching for fresh pastures.

I look forward to the next instalment of the saga of Year 77; it can’t be in more than five years, if you leave it 10 you’ll only have a couple before everyone arrives on little scooters or pushing zimmers.

What about other years? Are the other year-groups from the 70s and 80s not keen to relive old times? If your year could match Saturday’s turnout I’m sure you would have an excellent evening.

Big thanks once again to Vernon and Debbie and everyone else who helped to bring the event together.

CHRIS HILL

Hereward School 1973-1983

Via e-mail