Rolling back the years at Portsmouth High reunion

Up to seventy years since they had left Portsmouth High School, alumnae from the Classes of 1946, 1956, 1966, 1976, 1986, 1996 and 2006 returned for lunch and tours of the Senior and Junior school. The tours were led by the current Head Girl team and Senior Prefects.

The ladies rekindled old friendships and reminisced about the times they had spent at school.

Debi Garrod, from the Class of 1976, said:

‘It is so important to be able to understand your purpose and values and use them as a guide to live by. This journey started here and Portsmouth High School enabled me to be who I am and gave me the confidence to take on the world.’

‘I remembered flicking prunes from my plate onto my neighbours plate in the dining room,’ said Sharron le Roy from the Class of 1976. ‘We had to eat them but I managed to pass them on to the girl next door who then returned the stones to my plate so it looked like I had eaten them all.’

‘I remember Mrs Baugardis who taught Art,’ added Jo Pottle from the same year.

‘She had a match box full of bumblebees to draw. This inspired me to go to Art Collect and then became a graphic designer for fourteen years before going on to teach art.’

‘There have been so many wonderful and hilarious memories rekindled today,’ added Laura Hill from the Class of 1996. ‘I remember dissecting a mouse bladder in biology and the contents squirting in my face!’

The oldest alumna to visit the school was Dr Thelma Wield, 88, who left the school in 1946. ‘It was a very great pleasure to come to the reunion on Saturday. I enjoyed it so much and it was good to talk to some other “not so old girls” during the day.

Mrs Jane Prescott, Headmistress of Portsmouth High School, said:

‘It was wonderful to have this group of alumnae back in school. They bring with them a host of memories and stories and have rekindled friendships.  The ethos of the school remains the same today; to educate and inform but have much fun on that journey too.’