The Class of 63 Reunion

What Happened on the Day

The reunion took place on the 11th October and was a great day. The weather was kind, which allowed people to walk between the Conservative Club and the School in pleasant weather, and allowed some people to sit outside on the picnic benches at times during the event, which was good, since we had over 90 people and it made it a little crowded at times.

The Special Raffle
The Prize	Ticket No	Prize Winner
The “Gunner” Dart Board	92	Courtney Finn
Digital Camera	142	Colin Skears
Bottle of Whisky	75	Julie Haycock
“Gunner” Coasters	128	Iain Page
Bottle of Wine	119	Sue Sharp
Golf Umbrella	106	Jenny Heard
Bottle of Wine	110	David Headland
Red Arrows 2002 Team	90	Janet Baucutt
Bottle of Wine	140	Sandy Coe
Golf Goodies	146	Tony Surridge
Bottle of Wine	102	Keith Gudgeon
Learn French CD-ROM	89	Richard Campbell

The day started with the tour of the school, which was excellent. Although almost all of the rooms were in use, the school staff had made sure that everywhere that could be open was available, and even the library was open to allow people to look in the school scrapbook. Some parts, like the Gym and the Changing Rooms, were exactly as people remembered them. Once people had finished their tour, they stood around in groups talking in the reception area reliving old memories and reluctant to leave. The Library was open and people gained a lot of nostalgia from the scrapbook. However, Janet Anderton tells me that Jane (the librarian) simply popped in to do some extra tasks and was descended upon by re-unioners eager to see archived material, but she did not mind at all.

Linda Hutchins (or Linda Robbins as she is now) volunteered to capture some of the thoughts of the people as they went around the old place. [Read her account by clicking here.]

At the Conservative Club, people quickly got into groups and the noise level became very high, and even the ceremonial playing of the "Goodbyee" theme tune did not quieten the room for the opening remarks.

The "Gunner" Themed Raffle was drawn at 3pm. Everyone had a free raffle ticket in their welcome pack, and the prizes brought a lot of laughter. Many people found time to look around the walls, and fill in the quiz, which had no prizes, but was another way of bringing back old memories. People brought an amazing collection of memorabilia from the schooldays, with hats, scarves, a gym vest, and a range of other items. More items will be added over the next three weeks or so.

Special Thanks

Ian Dow would like to express some special thanks to a number of people.

Firstly, I would like to the thank the two Johns, John Ingham and John Child. We organised this event together as a team, and although I undertook at the start to do most of the organising and produce the website, we worked well as a team in deciding how to set this thing up, and what to do on the day. John Ingham then organised the publicity in the local papers and appeared on Radio Northampton Drive Time. He also organised the quiz, and took care of the wall displays on the day. John Child did a magnificent job of obtaining the prizes and running the raffle. I would not have undertaken this task without them. Thanks to them both.

Secondly, I would like to thank the staff at Trinity High School who made it possible. Notably, Mr Vass, the Site Manager, who gave us the opportunity for a great school tour, and Janet Anderton (who was Janet Facer in the first year in 1963) who along with the rest of the administration team, gave us a lot of identifications on the school photo, a lot of memories and the ability for pupils to get their old record cards. That was a great touch.

Thirdly, I would like to thank Julie Rolfe and the staff at the Conservative Club (including her family) for providing us with an excellent buffet, good and friendly service and helping to make it a great day.

Linda Hutchins gave us a lot of help with publicity, and produced the write-up about the day. Judith Merriman gave us a great idea for a venue, which worked very well, and Susan Harris who helped us with ideas and with the rush at the welcome desk at the school. [All of the names have now been changed]

Thanks to the organising team of the Class of 76 Reunion who gave us tips on how to set up the reunion, and lent us their excellent banner which we had on the stairs at at the Conservative Club.

However, I would also like to thank everyone who came along for making it a great day, and everyone who has contributed memories and photographs to this website. If I have forgotten anyone, then I apologise. Numerous people have been sending me photos of the great day, and many of them now appear on the site.

The Reunion Finances

The very first invitations that went out to everyone about the reunion said that if we made a profit, then this would be donated to charity - well we did! Having finally found the time to work out the finances, we ended up with a surplus of £84.88, and so a donation of £85 has been made to the school charities on behalf of the Class of 63 Reunion.

When we initially set up the reunion, we thought that we might do well if we got 40 people, so we based our original estimates on 45, since costs like room hire, etc., are fixed irrespective of how many people come along. At an organising team meeting 10 days before the event, when bookings were pouring in, we decided that we no longer faced a loss, and could now afford to include the first drink free, which was done. We then got quite a few more last minute bookings so that we ended up with the £85 surplus.

A cheque was given to the finance officer on behalf of the Class of 63 Reunion on Friday 28th November. A week later the finance officer paid a total of £265 raised through the sale of record cards and the donation from the reunion to the McMillan Nurses.