As part of Blue Coat Day, the school hosted a dinner for past-pupil couples (married or long-term). This biennial event was originally planned for 2021 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of co-education but had to be postponed due to the pandemic.
We invited more than 80 couples and we’re told that there are even more such couples. Some met and fell in love while at school; others much later. Many of the couples have sent their children to the school and some of the younger couples are planning to do likewise.
Prior to the dinner, some of the guests took part in the activities on a glorious sunny afternoon before going on a short tour led by students. The dinner was attended by couples from the 1970s, the 1980s, the 1990s, and the 2000s as well as by retired teachers who similarly fell in love as members of the school community. Two of the couples were in school when our co-educational campus at Brooklawn opened in January 1971. Roy Elmes and Linda Abbott left in 1971 and they subsequently sent their sons to the school. Roy’s father was educated at Blackhall Place. Trevor Kellett left in 1972 and Anna Lazenby in 1973. They were married in the school chapel by Trevor’s uncle G.S. Magahy, the school’s then headmaster and chaplain. A special mention to Andrew Gill and Valerie Moynan for traveling from England for the occasion.
We look forward to welcoming these couples back to the school for the next dinner in May 2025 along with others who couldn’t make it this time.
