On Friday, 5th May a group of 160 former Bishop Challoner Students were welcomed back to their old school for a reunion. The attendees, many of whom had not seen each other for over 35 years, were taken on tours of the school by current students. Alumnae and students compared school life then and now. The group sang the school song and joined together in prayer as a list of remembrance was read to call to mind those former classmates and teachers who are sadly no longer with us.
Many of the alumnae did so in uniform and all had a chance to meet students from Bishop Challoner Boys’ School (male pupils did not join the school until 2001). Current students loved the chance to hear first-hand about the history of their school. The reunion then continued over the road in St Mary and St Michael Church Hall where old friends reminisced and danced into the evening.
Caryl Harper, a former Bishop Challoner student and the organiser of the event explained that ‘the idea for the reunion came about because I wanted to know how my school friends were doing after over 35 years. Bringing the original Challoner family back together was key. The evening went off with a bang! The atmosphere was electric and now everyone wants this to be an annual event.’
Niamh Arnull, Executive Headteacher of Bishop Challoner Federation said: ‘We were delighted to welcome so many past students to our Federation. Current students and staff very much enjoyed meeting them, showing them our wonderful school facilities and having the opportunity to discuss how the boys' and girls' schools are evolving. We know that this will be the start of a series of such events and that our past students will play a significant role in our Federation's ongoing development and success.’
