To celebrate the Schools 137th Birthday we were delighted to welcome over seventy alumni to the Old Girls Drinks Reception on 1st March. Having demonstrated their resilience (instilled from their time at FHS!) by braving the freezing conditions of Storm Emma, our former pupils, staff and friends enjoyed a wonderful evening in the school hall.
Guests represented all decades from the 1950s up to our most recent leavers in 2017 and it was great to see all our alumni sharing memories from their years at Francis Holland with new-found friends.
The highlight of the evening was the unveiling of a portrait of Canon Holland and its accompanying plaque. The portrait was kindly donated by Canon Hollands great-granddaughter, Anthea Warde, and restored thanks to the generosity of the Old Girls Society, and so it was fitting to have its formal opening at the Old Girls annual party. We were even honoured to have two of Canon Hollands direct descendants (and alumni) as guests for the evening! The portrait will hang in the main stairwell and all are welcome to take a look on their next visit.
Other guests attending included reunion groups celebrating their 20th and 30th anniversaries of leaving FHS, as well as former Headmistress, Stephanie Pattenden. Many alumni had not been back to FHS for many years and so it was a pleasure to be able to welcome them once again. It was especially heart-warming to hear stories from those who had flown in from Europe and America to join us for the evening.
Additional entertainment included a fun photo booth, archival documents and photos from the schools records which were on display. We were also pleased to launch our Career Champion project to encourage alumni to join us as mentors to our Sixth Form girls; several alumni were so enthused by the idea that they signed up at the party! We would welcome any others who may be interested to get in touch.
Many thanks to all those who came and we look forward to inviting alumni to future events soon.
A short gallery of photos is available below, with additional photos to be added next week.
