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Old Coventrians’ Classes of ’97
and ’98 Reunion Day

For some reason I had been really looking forward to
the school reunion for a few years. Although I visit my
parents who still live in Coventry quite frequently, I
had not re-entered the school grounds since the day
that I left, back in 2005. So when I got the invite, I
could not say no.

What is there not to like about good food, wine and
company? The evening meal gave me more time to
catch up with friends and teachers that I had lost touch
with (other than the updates via Facebook).
Surprisingly, it was like going back to 2005, everyone
still looked the same, no one looked 5 years older let
alone 10 years older (even the teachers), and
personalities hadn’t changed either. It’s a shame more
people didn’t attend, there were some people that I
would love to have reconnected with. The evening
dinner was full of more memories. It was nice to
remember our loved and lost ones – Ben Parkes (’98)
The day started with a tour of the school in the
afternoon, with the Class of ’98 being led by Mr and Mike Whetstone (’98) with moving tributes from
Thomas (even though it has been 10 years since I left Ruth Findlay (’98) and Emily Le Cornu (’98 ). We then
school, I still can’t get used to calling the teachers by
their first names!) One of the first stops was the
swimming pool – how nice is that? It’s a shame the
pool didn’t come into fruition when we were still at
school, even though it was promised to us back in Year
7. There was also a new addition to the back of the
library; it was nice to see some of the history of the
school even before my time. The netball/tennis courts
were gone, but the ‘green houses’ were still there! The
rest of the school didn’t seem to change too much, but
the memories came flooding back. I’m not going to
divulge all of these memories, because I think some of
them are best kept between the Classes of ‘97 and’98,
but the chemistry lab still smells the same. I don’t
really know what gives it that distinct smell, as being a
chemist I’ve worked in many labs since school, none heard from the Head Boy of ‘97 - Fraser Godfrey ,
with quite the same ‘aroma’. Head Girl of ‘98 - Anna Brooke and the current head
boy –Rahid Dewani. They lifted everyone’s spirits and
had us all laughing with stories from school days. I
have to say the current head boy is quite ‘cheeky’, I’m
not sure if I would have attempted to get away with
some of the stuff he said! The evening was merry and
everyone seemed to have a great time, many going on
until the early hours of the morning. I will definitely be
in touch with more people as a result of this event.
It was a privilege to go to Henry’s and to have made
the friends that I did, some of whom are my still my
best friends. Bhavnita Patel (’98)

Classes of the ‘90s London