A group of former Henry Beaufort students have celebrated 25 years since leaving with a reunion event hosted at the school.
Around 35 alumni from the class of 2001 spent the afternoon catching up with old friends they hadn’t seen in decades and looking through old photos and items that had survived the passage of time – including theatre production programmes, the yearbook, an old school tie and even the lyrics of a song performed by teachers at one tutor group’s last assembly. All accompanied by a playlist of 90s and 00s hits to transport everyone back in time!
School Bursar, Ms Caplin led the guests on a tour around the school so they could see how it has changed. Several former students even took the opportunity to have photos taken sitting at their old desks.
Ms Caplin, The Henry Beaufort School Bursar, said:
“It was wonderful to show the class of 2001 around the school and hear so many happy memories. It was a real pleasure to welcome them back to HB and see the pride they still have in their school and the happiness of being back together again.”
The reunion was organised by Mr Andrew Godfrey-Collins, who said:
“Twenty-five years seemed like a perfect excuse to get everyone together and catch up on old times. It felt simultaneously strange and the most natural thing in the world to be walking around the school again and chatting with people I hadn’t seen in 25 years.”
Several former teachers also joined the reunion. Andrew’s old German teacher was particularly pleased to hear that he went on to study German and become a translator.
Former students have gone on to all sorts of careers, including a museum curator, animator, trainee chaplain, postman and several teachers, as well as people working in television, finance and computing, and someone who now runs their own cake business.
One person sadly unable to attend was former student Richard Thorpe, who passed away in 2024. The reunion raised £155 for the NSPCC in his memory.
Thank you to everyone who returned to HB and helped make the afternoon so special.