Tavistock School Reunion Association is staging the evening of nostaglia, chat, laughter and cake at the Bedford Hotel in Tavistock on Saturday evening, May 14 from 7pm.
Organiser Sue Swanborough, who attended Tavistock Comprehensive School, as it was then, between 1962 and 1968, said: ‘It is a good place to meet up with old friends you haven’t seen for years. You know how it is, you still feel like you are 17. At the last one it was nice to have some teachers turn up as well. It is so lovely to see everyone, and everyone is welcome.’
The association has been organising reunions annually since 1986 - bar the last two years - and also has a thriving Facebook page.
Sue, who grew up in Chillaton and now lives in Bristol, has made contact with old friends from school as far afield as New Zealand and Australia through the association. She urged newcomers not to be shy about coming along to the reunion.
‘As soon as we meet up there is no stopping us. Women always chat of course, but at this even the men chat and are friendly. Everyone goes around from table to table. There’s a great atmosphere. The thing I want to push this time is that it isn’t just for us oldies. We want to encourage the younger ex-pupils – anyone who was at the school before 2012 – because we are not going to be around for ever. This is the 36th year we have done a reunion. They are very welcome.
‘When you arrive you sign in with your name and your maiden name, if that is necessary, and then you can see who is on the list that you remember, so people don’t need to be shy.’
She added: ‘People travel for our reunions. We have them coming from Cornwall and from the Reading area and I’m from Bristol. There are a lot of Tavistock people but there are also a lot of people who will travel and will stay overnight.
‘Even if people can’t make the reunion, then we will post photos on our Facebook page afterwards.’
Tavistock Comprehensive School was born in Tavistock in 1959, amalgamating two schools, Tavistock Secondary Modern School on Dolvin Road and Tavistock Grammar School.
The school reunion association treasurer Liz Cole was among the first intake in September 1959 at ‘The Comp’. Later it became simply Tavistock School and then Tavistock College. Liz, who lives in Tavistock, said she had got back in touch with an old friend through the reunions.
‘Philip was a year ahead of me. I have known him since we were both in the paddling pool down in The Meadows, our mothers met down there. I’m in the 1959-ers and he’s in the 1960s group. It is nice to meet face to face rather than just Facebook stuff, you get to catch up with people you haven’t seen in years.’
If you’d like to come along to the reunion, email [email protected].