We were very fortunate to welcome two Old Girls back to TWGGS recently. Dr Ridley and Mrs Grace visited independently, and it was a wonderful surprise to us to discover that they were here at the same time, albeit at different ends of the school. We gave a tour to each of them to see the changes to the site since they were here, and they have generously taken the time to send us their memories of their time here.
Dr Jane Ridley 1963-1969 My first day at TWGGS was in February 1963. The ground was covered in deep snow, as it had been since Boxing Day in 1962, and it was to remain so until late March. My family had just moved in a new house in Pembury, which was just a small village at that time. My mother took me to meet my new headmistress, Miss Hazell, who appeared very regal and remote. She called my form mistress, Miss Wilcox, who took me to meet my form, Lower 3W, where we resided in the huts situated just to the right of the hall where you now have lovely new buildings. The huts had been 'temporary' for many years and remained so for years after I had left school in 1969. They were absolutely freezing in winter and boiling in the summer and they were to be my form rooms for the next two years. I was quite scared, as the school seemed huge, and everyone else in the class had started the previous September. The first year at TWGGS was called the Lower Third, and the second year was the Upper Third, the third year were the Fourths, then Lower Fifth and Upper Fifth. All rather bizarre and confusing but I was told that the school had previously had a Junior School and that the naming of the years for the Senior School had remained. Our uniforms at that time were navy blue tunics for the Upper and Lower Thirds, then navy skirts with white blouses and navy and gold striped ties. We had navy blazers with gold braid stitched around the margins, and most important of all, our hats. Navy blue felt in the winter, and panamas in the summer. If you were seen on your way to school or going home not wearing your hat, it was a hanging offence! We all ate school lunch, no sandwiches or choice in those days. The food was really quite good, all cooked at school. Our favourite was fish and chips on Fridays and the favourite pudding was gypsy tart, a gorgeous sticky sweet goo in a pastry case. Everyone always wanted seconds. Our least favourite was sago pudding with cold pink blancmange which always had an inch of 'rubber' on the top. On days when the weather was too bad to go outside during the lunch break, the slide notice boards during morning assembly would display which version of the Lord's Prayer we were to sing, then underneath would be 'DANCING'. During the break the Sixth Form girls would play the songs that were popular at the time. The Beatles, The Kinks and many other pop groups who were about to become famous were just getting started. So the hall would be full of girls whirling around, doing the dances which were then becoming popular. This continued until the bell sounded for the end of the lunchtime break. However, I don't remember many Rolling Stones songs being played! It took me a while to settle in but all of my class was friendly and helpful. Many of the teachers were quite scary, and strict. Very few were married. At that time, women were expected to give up work as soon as they married, and quite a few of the teachers had lost partners or potential partners in the Second World War which had ended relatively recently. Miss Hazell was a formidable lady who commanded huge respect. She would visit our class every half term for the dreaded 'Mark Reading'. She entered the room and we all stood, as we did whenever a member of staff entered. Then we all sat waiting for our names to be called. One by one, in alphabetical order, you had to stand up and Miss Hazell would read out the marks given to you for every subject. I would stand, shaking, and hear, 'English, C, could do better, Geography, B, reasonable, History, C, fair, French, D, must work harder, Maths, D, dreadful' and so on. The only subject I got As for was needlework. Then you would be praised or admonished as appropriate. Some girls were all smiles with their As, and some in tears with Ds and Es. We all sighed in relief when she left. I was always in the middle, not brilliant but not too bad which was a great relief. Music was always very strong and important at school. We had four choirs and two or maybe three orchestras. Every year the school entered many classes in the Tunbridge Wells Music Festival, competing with other choirs and music groups. We usually won our classes. Miss Tyson held elocution lessons which many girls took, and the festival also had classes for recitations and sketches. Every summer we had a Shakespeare Festival at school where everyone in the class was involved in acting, directing or costumes. Performed in front of an external judges, the performances were always competitive. Speech Day, as it is now, was also a very important occasion with a junior one and a senior one. Listening to many speeches we tried our best to look interested and not bored. I was never one of the brightest and best, but the school nurtured every pupil and did its utmost to help all girls reach their potential. TWGGS enabled me to go on to achieve my dream of studying Medicine which I absolutely loved. It wasn't always easy, but the grounding I received helped me to persevere. I was extremely sad, on the afternoon of my last school assembly, to sing for the last time, 'Keep the watchword, give your best.' Mrs Wendy Grace (Winnie Brown) 1959-1964
I remember the culture shock of entering the hall on my first day, to be met with the vision of 700 females all in navy blue, no boys, no men. The strict rules to get to know: arrive, outdoor coat and shoes off, indoor shoes on. Shoe bag, with your name on, and games kit on your own numbered peg. Everything labelled with Cash’s woven name tapes. Walk on the left, no talking after the bell. 'I must not forget my shower towel' written out a hundred times. The first two years we were gently eased into the rhythm of school life. Our beginners’ uniform was a gymslip with our name tapes sewn along the shoulder seam on the outside, with a square neck blouse underneath. I was sent to school in the winter with a ‘Liberty Bodice’ over my vest with boilable buttons down the front and hand-sewn on suspenders below to hold up my lisle stockings. Tights only came in a couple of years later. Velour brimmed hats in winter, panama or boater in the summer, never to be outside in uniform without your hat. All through my time at TWGGS I longed to achieve a ‘Posture Stripe’ later termed a ‘Deportment Badge’ which were awarded to those deemed to have shown strict adherence to the uniform standards, and to have not shown any deviant behaviour. Somehow this was something I seemed to fall short on! The teachers held such influence. All entitled ‘Miss’, they appeared to us as elderly, but all very different in their ways of relating to us.
Miss Judson, my form tutor and English teacher left me with a lifelong affinity for poetry, language, literature and tweed skirts. Miss Moss taught me never to clump about corridors in heavy shoes as I can remember her approaching footsteps to this day! Miss Leach, all five foot or less of her taught Music and Elocution whilst standing on an orange box in yet another of the outside huts. There I learnt to love the Planet Suite. Miss Geronimo was a most inspirational teacher. She taught Geography and took us on day trips to Seaford to study the rock formations, but she was also our librarian. She encouraged us to read widely, which I still do. Miss Golden, our French mistress, made French lessons meaningful and interactive through role play, and I still enjoy French conversation today.
Mr Billings, bless him, was our first male teacher. He managed to kindle in me the beginnings of an understanding of Mathematics (Miss Hazell’s subject) but it was too late, this subject is a lost cause to me. Dr Coates was our second male teacher, taking us for science. A fascinating scholarly man, who told us he insisted his wife cleaned the bath with ‘Daz’ as it was simply a detergent and why buy a variety of them if you just needed to break the surface tension! There was a mix of positives and negatives. My art classes then were a disaster, as was my final cookery exam, yet today I do art regularly and have even sold paintings, plus my family have survived years of my cooking!
I remember the school motto as ‘Give Your Best’, and I did try, but to no avail. I was better at sport, played in the hockey team as goalie, loved those big knickers we wore plus I was in the tennis team that played in the Aberdare Cup at Wimbledon. Judith Wade, Virginia’s sister was Head Girl at the time, and Virginia was obviously good at tennis! I was certainly not the most distinguished scholar, but despite my shortcomings at school, I have flourished since. I went on to gain reward and recognition in hairdressing, then in nursing and midwifery, and finally as an Associate Lecturer at De Montfort University, where I mentored registered nurses newly appointed to general practice across the East Midlands, coaching them as they completed their Specialist Practice degrees. I’m sure despite my lapses, the sound education I received from TWGGS has stood me in very good stead, and I will be forever grateful. Thank you.