Remembering diamond days of Bridgnorth school
More than 50 former pupils of a Shropshire school will be gathering for a diamond anniversary reunion on September 6.
And its mission accomplished for organiser Mrs Maureen Fullwood after success in tracking down the original school badge for Bridgnorth's Oldbury Wells Secondary Modern School for Girls.
She has had the design printed up as bookmarks as a keepsake for those attending the reunion at the Down Hotel, near Bridgnorth, at 7pm for 7.30pm.
"We haven't had as many people come forward as we would like. It's about 55 at the moment," said Maureen, who says anyone wanting to come can contact her at donmorf@hotmail.co.uk by email or at 01746 761250.
"It will be a carvery, with a two course meal and coffee, and we shall be basically reminiscing. I have managed to borrow some boards and we have lots of photographs."
The girls' school opened on a Tuesday, September 8, 1959. A separate boys' modern school a stone's throw away had opened in January 1958. Eventually the schools would merge, straddling the road.
Maureen started at the brand new girls' school as a 14-year-old, and was only there for a year. She was back then the young Maureen Bentley, and lived at The Hookfield.
In advance of the reunion she had been frustrated by her inability to find the original school badge, but somebody since came forward with a badge in her sewing box that her mother had bought 60 years ago but never got round to sewing on the blazer.
However, Maureen says it is not as she remembered it.
"It's not what I had got in my head from 60 years ago, but it's got to be right," she added.
"There is a royal blue background and a gold shield, then there's a gold lion lying down at the top, like an emblem for Shropshire.
"Underneath it looks like the pyramids, but apparently it's the Oldbury well. There's a couple of waves underneath it representing water."
