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Former Brighouse Girls' Grammar pupils celebrate school's centenary
SOME claimed it would be a white elephant – after all, why go to the expense and bother of creating a school purely for girls?
But others were more enlightened and forward thinking in their approach.
And as a result, tonight, a bunch of "old girls" will be celebrating a very special anniversary, as well as raising a glass to the man who made it possible.
This year marks the centenary of the imposing building, which still stands in Halifax Road, Brighouse, looking proudly over the town.
It opened on March 10, 1910 as the Secondary School for Girls, became Brighouse Girls' Grammar School in 1944 and then changed a third time in 1985 when, under the reorganisation of secondary education in Calderdale, it became Brighouse High School.
But the "schoolgirls" celebrating this evening, with a special dinner at The Auctioneer Restaurant, Brighouse, are all past pupils of Brighouse Girls' Grammar.
Each year they hold their reunion on the Thursday as close as possible to the original Founders' Day and among those marking the anniversary reunion organiser, Julia Wilby.
"The school may have changed its name over the years but essentially that building has been a school for 100 years and that is definitely something worth celebrating," she says.
Julia, who lives in Brighouse, can still recall her happy days as a pupil, as the young Julia Wyman, six decades ago. "I started in 1950 when the headmistress was Miss Scott and I can still remember the speech days and founders' day ceremonies.
"I was lucky enough to be able to stay on in the sixth form – which not a lot of girls did back then.
"It was only a small sixth form but one of the joys was being able to wear a white dress instead of our gymslips and on speech day we were allowed a red rose buttonhole," she laughs.
"It is wonderful that we are celebrating this anniversary though and we have a local MP to thank for that," adds Julia.
She explains that it was thanks to Elland MP Mr C.P. Trevelyan, Under Secretary to the Board of Education who put forward the case for a secondary school for girls.
At the opening of the school he spoke of the importance of "lengthened education available for all classes and for girls as much as boys."
To mark the centenary, former pupil Margaret Hulmes (nee Thompson) has put together a history of the school, which will be on sale at the dinner and which reveals how the new building was designed to accommodate up to 100 girls for "general education" during the day, along with practical classes for technical school students, as well as evening classes for adults.
She also refers to the tension over teaching academic and practically useful subjects.
Academic challenges were made available to the girls but domestic skills such as "plain needlework" would also "feature vigorously in the curriculum", new staff were determined.
She charts the school's past headmistresses - Miss C.H. Bannister, Miss Alice Fleming, Miss E. M. Scott, Miss S. Ford, Dr G. M. Owen, Miss Lorna Howarth and its last, Mrs Barbara Thompson, as well as the introduction of the four school "houses."
The houses were named after women of courage and character noted for their services to the community and were the doctor Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (blue), the mountaineering headmistress and educationist, Sophie Bryant (green), the prison reformer, Elizabeth Fry (red) and the local pioneer and benefactor, Mary Sugden (yellow.)
A special centenary cake will be decorated by the house colours as well as the school shield with its motto: the highest for the highest's sake.
Tonight's reunion will be tinged with sadness, however, as two former pupils will be missing. Jean Firth, nee Rayner and Rona Redfearn, nee Bottomley have died – Rona just days before the reunion.
"It is very sad that they won't be with us because they were both very special ladies. Jean was a former head girl and we are indebted to her for her collection of memorabilia which will go on display tonight," said Julia.
"Jean had kept some marvellous nostalgic pieces including photographs and speech day programmes – even her own hat ribbon.
"And it was thanks to Rona that the school reunion dinners began. We shall really miss them."
In keeping with previous reunions, former pupils – around 150 this year –- will sing the school song, Down The Years Our Song Shall Ring, written by Annie Sim, a pupil in the 1930s.
On March 24, the former pupils will take a trip down memory lane along their old corridors and into their classrooms when they visit the 100 year-old building, now used as Brighouse High School's sixth form centre.
They have been invited by head teacher Liz Cresswell and pupils will put on a special performance based on Founders' Day.
"Many of the girls have not been in the school since they left many years ago so it will be a wonderfully nostalgic day," says Julia. Owen, Miss Lorna Howarth and its last, Mrs Barbara Thompson, as well as the introduction of the four school “houses.”
The houses were named after women of courage and character noted for their services to the community and were the doctor Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (blue), the mountaineering headmistress and educationist, Sophie Bryant (green), the prison reformer, Elizabeth Fry (red) and the local pioneer and benefactor, Mary Sugden (yellow.)
A special centenary cake will be decorated by the house colours as well as the school shield with its motto: the highest for the highest’s sake.
Tonight’s reunion will be tinged with sadness, however, as two former pupils will be missing. Jean Firth, nee Rayner and Rona Redfearn, nee Bottomley have died – Rona just days before the reunion.
“It is very sad that they won’t be with us because they were both very special ladies. Jean was a former head girl and we are indebted to her for her collection of memorabilia which will go on display tonight,” said Julia.
“Jean had kept some marvellous nostalgic pieces including photographs and speech day programmes – even her own hat ribbon.
“And it was thanks to Rona that the school reunion dinners began. We shall really miss them.”
In keeping with previous reunions, former pupils – around 150 this year –- will sing the school song, Down The Years Our Song Shall Ring, written by Annie Sim, a pupil in the 1930s.
On March 24, the former pupils will take a trip down memory lane along their old corridors and into their classrooms when they visit the 100 year-old building, now used as Brighouse High School’s sixth form centre.
They have been invited by head teacher Liz Cresswell and pupils will put on a special performance based on Founders’ Day.
“Many of the girls have not been in the school since they left many years ago so it will be a wonderfully nostalgic day,” says Julia.
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