King’s gala raises £4k for bursary fund
NOSTALGIC King’s pupils returned to their old school for an extra special annual gala dinner.
For the first time the gala, organised by Former Pupils’ Association, was staged in the school’s Main Hall on Cumberland Street, with a record 140 former pupils taking up the opportunity to return to their old classrooms.
Derek Way, who came to King’s in 1944 , was among the pupils reflecting on his time at the school.
He said: “It wasn’t at all strict. We ran riot really and were lucky not to be thrown out, but it was such great fun and you knew if you were good enough to go to Oxford or Cambridge they would get you there; if you were good enough to play for England at rugby they’d get you there too.”
Sisi Jarvis, who was one of the first intake of girls after the school opened a Girls’ Division in 1993, added: “We had a great time and formed our own little group of 10 boys and two girls and yes, of course, we loved it.”
The guest speaker was former Scots international rugby player Bryan Redpath, whose sons all attended King’s.
King’s Headmaster Simon Hyde, who is also a former pupil, said: “It was a wonderful idea to open the doors to the school and the fact we had former pupils here from every decade from the 1940s to the Noughties shows you never forget where it all started and the great affection so many men and women still have for the blue blazer.”
The event raised £4,000 for the King’s School Bursary Fund, which provides part and full fee bursaries for families of limited means. The celebrations come as the King’s School was named first independent school in the UK to be awarded The Learning Organisation’s Silver Mark for its development of pupil learning habits.
Only five schools have won the Silver Award since The Learning Organisation instituted the award and now King’s is planning to become one of the first schools nationwide to win Gold.
Affiliated to the University of Winchester, TLO’s senior educationalists provide a rigorous inspection service with objective reporting on classroom culture.