50 Year Reunion

– Easter at Ackworth 2023

Easter at Ackworth is a regular fixture in my diary – what better place to spend a few days catching up with friends young and old? The sun was shining on our arrival and the magnolia on the terrace just beginning to bloom. The youngest visitor was just four months old and the eldest well into their 80s. Coincidentally the two of the youngest were not children of Old Scholars, but children of a number of young people who come every Easter, having met because their parents are Old Scholars, came at Easter Gathering as children and have been attending ever since! This year, my year group was celebrating 50 years since leaving school – some of us had left earlier but have kept in touch through the joys of the internet. This year 18 of us and some partners met over the weekend, some attending for the whole weekend, some overnight and some just for our reunion lunch on Easter Sunday. We were able to enjoy time together having our lunch in the Housekeeper’s Room with Champagne provided by one of our group! Some of our group who had attended previous reunions were unable to come this time, but others who had not been back since leaving were able to join us. After lunch, we enjoyed a tour of the school by Deputy Head Jeffrey Swales noting the many changes since our time at school – in particular the library now where our boys’ Sixth Form studies were, the Westwood Centre – previously our library, Coram House – opened in our second year as 1st and 2nd year boys’ dormitories, now a fabulous Music Centre equipped with Steinway pianos