Alumnae Newsletter
Your Updates
Celebrating 65 Years of Friendship
We recently caught up with Carol Fry, who told us all about the friendships she found during in her time here, at LGGS, between 1959 and 1966. Although they all went in their separate ways, the group (pictured, minus Carol, as she was taking the photograph!) kept in touch, with two of their friend group even becoming sisters-in-law!
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Though there are now spread across the country – and, indeed, the globe – with Carol in Bristol, Anne in Leeds, Lyn in Whitstable, Trish in Cambridge and Val in New Zealand, they still manage to meet up fairly often
“We met up every now and then at self-organised reunions, and also at the school's centenary,” Carol told us. “Three, four or five of us began to meet in London once a year, by the statue of Sir John Betjeman at St Pancras station, for coffee, followed by a long lunch, and maybe a visit to a museum or sightseeing.
“However, come covid and the restrictions that that placed on life, we went online like so many others, and thank goodness for Skype and Zoom! We now enjoy a Zoom every month, but still meet up in London once a year, and Val from New Zealand comes over every few years. Three of us have even been over to NZ to see her. The friendships formed at the age of 11 in Lancaster are now spread around the world after 65 years!”
Pottery Studio Success!
Rose Atherton, who attended LGGS between 2008 and 2015, has had some success with the pottery studio she runs in Lancaster with her partner!
“We have ten wheels which we use to teach throwing, and run an open studio program for 25+ people,” Rose told us. The studio will be moving this month to a larger premises in the town centre, on Moor Lane, and has also just finished a commission for Historic England.
◀ Left: Rose during her time at LGGS!
Lyn, Pat, Susan, Jackie, Val and Anne.
Lyn Keavey (nee Holt), Anne Phillips, and Val Scown (nee Knight)
News From LGGS
Chicago
“We have all loved every minute of rehearsals and show week! When we auditioned, we certainly didn't expect to create such a professional and entertaining piece of theatre. It didn't feel like a school play, it felt like something much bigger.
“The whole cast is so grateful for the opportunity to showcase our musical talents as a collective group, and we really bonded over our dedication and love for the show Everyone sacrificed so much of their time towards making this production; the dancers learned nine dances, ensemble members had to learn almost every song, and the leads had many, many lines to learn! There were times where we wondered if we would even have a musical by show week, with three months to produce a whole musical (and build the stage + props from scratch) is not a long time! Despite these moments of doubt, we pushed through and the result was well worth it Chicago will always have a special place in our hearts
nnell for making such an incredible apher), Ms Sumsion, and Zoe and Nicole, Y11
Junior Curling World Championships
“On Wednesday, 6th December I set off after school to Manchester airport, and early the following morning boarded a plane to Amsterdam with my mum for a transfer flight to Finland When we arrived at Helsinki airport, the Netherlands’ team and myself, who had flown together, discovered that our brooms were still on the plane! The curling brooms are essential to the sport as they sweep the ice in front of the stone
“The organised bus was about to leave and the Netherlands team ran to catch it, but my mum and I decided to miss the bus to ensure arrangements were made for the safe return of the brooms.
“Our first match against Ukraine was really good and a very close game Ukraine ended up stealing a 2 in the last 2 ends, meaning that they won 8-4 The next game was against New Zealand We lost a 3 in the first end, and although we challenged them, we couldn't quite pull it back, and New Zealand won 10-3
The next day we played Latvia and lost 6-3, after another close game. The next day we competed against Slovakia and were leading in the first half, but fell behind after the break. Slovakia won 8-4. We then competed against Hungary and this match was particularly difficult with our lead being ill and having to sub off halfway through the match. We kept positive, however, Hungary still won 12-1. We had 2-3 more days in Finland to watch all of the finals and to sightsee. We had great fun, sledging down a hill with teams from Brazil, Latvia, Slovakia, Germany and Austria.
“We wrote our countries’ names in the snow, hung flags up, and exchanged kit. It was an amazing experience, and our team smashed our target to challenge the other teams. We gained valuable experience of competing at a higher level and hope to get an opportunity to compete once again next year ”
What we have been up to...
Marianna, Y11
To keep abreast of the latest news and updates from our school, make sure to follow us on social media! We now have Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn.
Gymnastics Showcase French and Spanish Exchange Geography Field Trip to MorecambeWorld Book Day A. C. Grayling Philosopher Talk NCS Boss It in Devon Easter Egg Collection
Melissa Welliver Author Visit
Alumnae Involvement
Charlotte shared some insights into the journey through medical school, and her experiences as a junior doctor
Abi came in to talk about how she aced the UCAT exam at he ills
our students, virtually or in person, periences beyond LGGS, and the rtunities that are available to our e to hear from you!
1959-1966 Year Group Reunion
Ann Tunley has organised a reunion in Lancaster for her year group, who started at LGGS in 1959 and finished fifth form in 1964, and sixth form in 1966. In the morning of 4th July, the group will be visiting LGGS for a short tour around the school. Later that afternoon - 2pm - they will be having afternoon tea together at the Holiday Inn Lancaster. Please contact the alumnae team if you are interested and would like to be forwarded on to the organisers.
Your Alumnae Team
Sarah Sandra
Thank you to all who have gotten in touch! It’s been lovely hearing from you, and learning what you have been up to since leaving us
If you have any further queries, or if you would like to share any life updates or stories from your time at LGGS in anticipation of the next newsletter, please don’t hesitate to email alumnae@lggs.lancs.sch.uk.