The birthday is over but the 150th anniversary celebrations continue!
We have had the most incredible couple of weeks here at NGHS culminating in a beautiful Service of Thanks at St Mary’s Church in the Lace Market on Sunday 14 September, the actual date of our birthday 150 years ago.
There are so many ways in which we could celebrate our school 150th anniversary, each one highlighting the many things that are great about our community. Months of planning and hard work have resulted in some truly memorable events and we’d like to thank everybody who joined us and supported us in our celebrations.
So many ways to celebrate our 150th Anniversary.
We began with our 150 Relay Walk, an Outdoor Learning challenge to walk the length of Nottinghamshire, bit by bit, in groups of intrepid students, parents and staff, to raise money for our Her Future Your Gift bursary campaign. Meticulous planning, bags of enthusiasm and a whole load of resilience saw us come together, walking in groups through the day AND night starting at 11am and finishing at 4pm the following day. What a massive achievement! Well done to everybody who took part, and particularly to Miss Furness and Mr Clarke who walked the entire northern leg of the route, that’s a whopping 92km. Tired legs but high spirits arrived at school on Saturday at 4pm for our next celebratory event, a fun and fabulous party.
Children, families, friends and staff joined us on the school field to indulge in pizza and ice cream, music and dancing, bouncy slides and castles, face painting, circus skills and of course, birthday cake. It was a tremendous afternoon and a fitting end to a weekend of walking.
The following weekend saw the biggest alumnae reunion we have ever held at school as over 200 alumnae and former staff were excited to celebrate this milestone with us. Classes from 1955 to 2015 enjoyed tours of the school led by our Sixth Form, seeking out their old classrooms, common rooms, spooky dungeons and familiar corridors. It was a brilliant day full of lively chatter, laughter, reconnection and sharing of memories of school days long gone but not forgotten.
A beautiful performance by members of our Year 6 Vocalise Choir brought a tear to the eye, and an inspirational talk by our Head, Mrs Keller, reminded everybody just how important and significant an education at NGHS is, has always been and must always continue to be. Lives have been changed, opportunities taken and futures secured through the confidence and self-belief instilled here. Lunch of course was delicious as usual, thanks to the dedicated catering staff who never disappoint. The hardest part of the day was getting people to leave! They all had the best time, as you can see in the album below:
Music took centre stage on Saturday evening with possibly the most spectacular concert we’ve ever held at the Squire Performing Arts Centre. Introduced by Dame Rosemary Squire herself, who paid tribute to Dame Stella Rimington who died earlier this year, both NGHS alumnae were instrumental in the conception and construction of the theatre. Rosemary introduced performances by alumnae from 2005, 2010, 2015, 2021 and 2022 who were all happy to return to school and perform alongside our current students. It really was the most amazing array of diverse music and singing accompanied by the brilliant and versatile Mrs Clarke on the piano, who incidentally taught every one of the returning alumnae! They all heaped praises on her teaching and the school’s music provision in general which provided the springboard for many of their future musical endeavours.
Then there was Sunday, our actual birthday, and a wonderful coming together of the school community, past and present. In a service led by alumna The Reverend Jo Tatum, we celebrated and gave thanks for all the different faiths and backgrounds in our diverse school community. Heartfelt readings by students and staff, and beautiful performances by our choirs and ensembles rounded off a truly special weekend.
Not only have these events been a celebration of our 150th anniversary, they have also shown the strength of our school community, always willing to come back and support us, and the generosity of our donors and supporters who have helped us raise a phenomenal amount of money for our bursary campaign. And there’s more to come with further events on the horizon and official merchandise which you can purchase by clicking the image below. Watch this space as we celebrate throughout the year.
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