West Heath Old Girls Association

A few years ago, towards the end of the summer, several former pupils, staff members, and their families gathered at West Heath for an annual croquet match and picnic on the rose garden lawn outside the senior common room.

The croquet provided a delightful excuse for former West Heath people to gather for a trip down Memory Lane with a nostalgic tour of the school and its grounds while reliving old memories.

Covid brought an unwelcome interruption to the annual get together but the organisers are keen to know if people who have played before and those who would like to participate in the future are keen for the Croquet get together to be rekindled.

Please let us know at the end of this article.

However, are you aware of the story behind this popular get together.

The seed was sown when Victoria Furneaux decided to bid for one of the school’s croquet sets at the auction held at the school on 30 March 1998 following the announcement the previous year that West Heath was closing.

Victoria takes up the story. “I was keen to get one of the croquet sets as I can remember how much I enjoyed playing in the Rose Garden, mostly with Biddy Jones, during my schooldays at West Heath.

“I went to the auction and found myself in a three-way bidding war with Jan Guy and someone on the phone at the edge of the hall – all very nail-biting stuff.

“Mrs Guy graciously dropped out, leaving me and phone person to battle it out, and I eventually made the winning bid.

“Someone then came up with the idea of me holding a reunion when we would play croquet and it sounded like a splendid idea.

“At that time no one knew what was going to happen to the school estate but as my parents were then living in the East Sussex village of Hartfield, this seemed sufficiently near to Sevenoaks to be a place to gather.

“As well as my year, I invited the teachers I was still in touch with such as Mr and Mrs Baldwin, Mr and Mrs Miller, Mr and Mrs Guy, Miss Fairhead, and Miss Rudge, who one year brought along Mrs Froggett (retired head teacher of Granville), which was a lovely cross over of old schools.

“The hoops were set up on my parents small back lawn and many balls had to be retrieved from a ditch under a yew hedge that bordered the playing area!

“My parents moved to a new home in Herefordshire which was not so convenient to get to, so I made contact with the new school, who were happy for us to hold the reunion there.

“It was in this way that I met the then principal, Christina Wells, who was keen to nurture links with the old school, and I became a trustee there for a few years.

“After I moved away from the area, it was impossible to continue with this, and I handed the trustee baton to Marina Housley (Horwood) who kindly agreed to take over the role.

“With Christina putting the West Heath gardens at our disposal, it seemed an ideal time to open up the event to more years and more teachers.

“We enjoyed about three years at West Heath and former pupils were encouraged to bring their own children to show them where they went to school.

“The event was fast becoming a popular social get together until the pandemic caused it to lose momentum. Plus, I have now moved to mid Wales which makes organising something in Sevenoaks quite difficult.

“However, if there is enough appetite and support to re-introduce this annual get together I am sure it would be possible, and I suspect the latest new head would be very open to our return – not least because we used it as a fundraising opportunity to support the splendid work.

“For me personally, this is my 50^th year, and I intend to hold a garden party at my home in Wales when the croquet hoops will be set up.”