From the Mayfield Archives

Pupils of St. Leonards-Mayfield School in the 1960s, wearing their unique cloaks.

Juniors of St. Leonards-Mayfield School in 1886. Note the distinctive frilled bonnets.

We have very much enjoyed perusing these historic photos of St. Leonards, Mayfield School uniforms in times gone by in ‘Blazers, Badges and Boaters – A Pictorial History of School Uniform’ by Alexander Davidson. We imagine our current students are very happy that their uniform has been updated!

The pinafore worn at St. LeonardsMayfield School in the early 1900’s. Note the striped stockings.

Lockdown – a year we will never forget

Ashley Briody (Class of 2020)

I remember packing my bags as school closed, but not all of them as I was sure to be back. Then online learning began which was fun at first, but I remember the feeling of uncertainty about our A Levels and what would happen - would we go back? We all adapted to our situation very quickly, and my teachers were working hard not only to teach us the content, but to also keep us calm and motivated (in the midst of a pandemic), in the best way they could via computer screens. It was a challenge and we were all trying to navigate through the storm.

We then finished school, and, after eagerly awaiting our results, I received the grades I needed to become a student at The University of Manchester. I went for a week, then left! I just knew that being locked down in student accommodation wasn’t for me (and those who knew me at Mayfield will know that too!) so I registered myself with the university as ‘working from home’ and carried on with my lectures remotely. In the summer between Years 12 and 13, I achieved my first professional diving qualification and was eager to continue working myself up the professional rankings towards my goal of owning my own scuba diving centre. When I arrived home from Manchester, I contacted all the important people I had met in the scuba diving industry, and a month later, I was on a 14 hour flight across the world to Mauritius where I began a 14 day quarantine in one of the local hotels.

Now I am in Mauritius, working towards my higher professional certifications with the aim of running my own centre and teaching people of all ages how to scuba dive on a coronavirus-free island, while studying for my Bachelors degree in International Management (no, I’m not joking, and no, I don’t sleep!). Since arriving here in October, I have achieved professional certifications as an Emergency First Response Instructor, Assistant Scuba Instructor, Emergency O2 Instructor, Underwater Photography Instructor and Wreck Penetration Instructor, with many more to come.

It’s important to find the pathways in life that matter to you and to ensure that your goals are waiting for you at the end of that path. Walk towards them every day and enjoy the journey! Life has taught us all many different lessons over the last 12 months, and perhaps changed our perspectives. One of the many important changes for me has been trying to make the most of every moment and finding the positives. It takes courage to stand out from the crowd and pursue your dreams!

Genevieve Badia-Aylin (Class of 2020)

This last year has been, if we’re going to put it mildly, incredibly strange. Leaving Mayfield seemed like something out of the Twilight Zone (unnerving government announcements, girls being hurried home, the empty echo of hallways that, just a few days earlier, had been bustling with students…), and the Summer that followed, in its restless, siren-punctuated glory, an especially worrying version of Groundhog Day. By the autumn, I couldn’t wait to pack up my bags, order a matriculation gown, and get to university.

University has also been bizarre. Knowing that I’m more than halfway through my first year at Cambridge, where I’m studying Modern Languages at St Catharine’s College, and yet barely know most of my classmates or professors, is surreal (although thankfully I don’t have to get up extra early for 9am lectures). Luckily, the people I’ve been living with are all in the same boat, and so we’ve grown closer than most do in normal years. My friends from Mayfield have also played a part in keeping me sane, as we communicate across the airwaves with late night FaceTime calls and movie marathons, and we keep our fingers crossed and wonder about the next time that we’ll see each other.

The manic pace of life has also been a welcome break from the sun-beaten lethargy of the summer. Classes have kept me more than occupied, and now, sandwiched as I am between Spanish picaresque novels, Sardinian linguistics and Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’, the world outside seems, thankfully, a little less apocalyptic than it did before. On top of this, I’ve acted in drama productions, joined a radio show writing team (for all self-endorsing purposes, it’s on Spotify) and written self-indulgent newspaper articles about my favourite musicals. And when, last term, we were yet again sent into isolation, one of the college fellows even managed to get Ian McKellen (himself an alumnus of our esteemed accommodation block) to send us his autograph, which was possibly one of the greatest moments of my life.

Now that I’m working from home again, it feels strange to think that this has been my university experience. But I’m glad that I’ve had the opportunity to have it, and not just because it gives me something to do. The world seems a little clearer now – something I think everyone is searching for at the moment. I’m excited for what the future holds.

Mary Whitlock (Class of 2020)

Now, almost a year since the first lockdown started, it feels strange to think that my last term ‘at Mayfield’ was actually spent online at home. School feels like a million years ago and yet it also doesn’t really feel like we ever left. Despite online leavers' events, there wasn’t much of a feeling of closure and I am actually surprisingly grateful for this. It wasn’t easy leaving my home of the last five years - best friends who used to live one step from my bedroom door were propelled to the other side of the world and not seen for another nine months or more.

This was made even harder by the suddenness of our leaving and the last few days were quite an emotional rollercoaster. Yet because of this, I still feel like a Mayfield girl, as though when Coronavirus ceases to control our lives, we will simply move back in, as if nothing had changed. Of course a lot has changed, but things were definitely made easier by Teams lessons, prefect meetings, and walks later on in the Spring. Even though we couldn’t go on the various travelling and inter-railing trips we had planned, my summer was good fun. I became an assistant in an art gallery, which was an amazing experience. Writing, talking about and selling art all day made me realise just how much I love it, and hopefully, when things open up more, I can go back there. Creating my own art was also a big part of my lockdown and summer, and still is. My passion for oil painting started at GCSE in Mayfield and has been furthered by a number of projects, including a series of portraits which I’m documenting on instagram. More recently, I’ve created an art studio at home which has kept me very busy, particularly as I haven’t been able to go back to uni this term.

In September I started studying art history at St Andrews University. The experience has of course not been the same as it would normally be but I’ve still had an incredible time so far. I feel very privileged to be studying in such a sunny and picturesque town. With three beaches, beautiful buildings and very friendly students, I feel a little like I’ve moved to Mayfield-on-sea. Much has changed for us, and more so for many others. But I feel that the foundation Mayfield has given me is strong enough to support me through these times, and further into the future.

Isabelle Brattle (Class of 2020)

Despite only being a year ago, my memories of leaving Mayfield are all a haze. The transition from physically leaving Mayfield on a random Friday in March, to online learning, to study leave, will be a time I shall never forget. The feeling of community, support and love from staff, as well as peers, during that uncertain time of lockdown before, during and after our exams were cancelled, is a warmth I’ll never forget. I have fond memories of taking my online classes outside in the sun, maybe not so much talking about our subjects in breakout rooms, but all the same having a sense of trust that everything would work out somehow. One memory that will always stick with me was our online leavers' prize giving. Listening to everyone’s achievements and farewells simply showed what incredible peers I had, all of whom will go off to do amazing things.

The passage into Summer 2020 was equally an unique experience, I think for everyone. Being allowed to celebrate Results Day in August with friends, after months of not seeing each other, was extremely special, showing enduring and long lasting friendships. However, before then, after being rather bored, I took a Harvard online course called ‘Ebola, preparing for the next Pandemic’. The similarities between this course and reality truly took me by surprise, and I especially found it interesting to compare mistakes and lessons learnt from the Ebola outbreak to the pandemic I was, and am still, living in.

Currently, I am studying History at the University of York and having the time of my life! All credit to Mayfield, I have found the jump between A Levels and my degree manageable, despite always having a mountain of reading. Additionally, online learning at Mayfield earlier on in the year prepared me well for the bulk of my university course similarly being online. Moreover, joining hockey and netball, as well as casual tennis, at University, means the love of sport that I developed at Mayfield, continues to be a big part of my life. I have also joined the Cheese and Wine society (the most important part of my university experience!) as well as the Model United Nations. As Cornelia said, “A Mayfield girl is a busy girl!”

I still have plans to convert to law after my History degree and am excited as to what the future may hold. Alongside my degree I am taking another Harvard online course about contract law to aid and assist me into my future conversion. However one constant in my life and future will forever be the cherished memories that I have of Mayfield.

The Society of St Augustine of Canterbury

The Society of St Augustine of Canterbury was founded in 1822 to promote and advance the Roman Catholic religion in England and Wales.

The Society’s principal objective is to support the Archbishop of Westminster by contributing financially towards the funds needed for the conservation, maintenance and improvement of Archbishop’s House which adjoins Westminster Cathedral.

Archbishop’s House was designed by John Francis Bentley who is considered to be the most influential 19th century Roman Catholic architect in Britain after AWN Pugin. The House was completed in 1903 and serves as the residence of the Archbishop of Westminster. The building, which is Grade II listed, provides the Archbishop and the wider Catholic Church in England and Wales with a suitable venue for national and international meetings, to receive His Holiness on Papal Visit and to host receptions for Catholic organisations.

The Society through its membership and sound investment policy has been able to assist the Archdiocese of Westminster by taking responsibility for a substantial part of the annual maintenance costs.

Each year, we are able to make a significant donation at a private reception given by the Archbishop in the Throne Room. Members may bring a guest to these special events when there is the opportunity to meet the Archbishop and listen to a talk being given by His Grace.

In 2022 the Society will celebrate its Centenary. Please join us and help support the work of the Archbishop and, through our other initiatives, to further the aims of the Roman Catholic religion in England and Wales.

Mary M Goodwin, Chairman

For further information or to request a membership form, please contact: Claudia Jasper, Membership Secretary, 2a Overhill Way, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 6SW. Tel: 07885 385 584.