The school hosted a wonderful group of former pupils on Saturday 28th September to spectate a rugby match, have lunch in the Karslake Hall and tour the school campus, followed by dinner and speeches in the evening.

The WBS 1st XV were on fighting form but sadly lost to a very strong Exeter School 1st XV: 38-19. It was a treat to watch the two Fijian Rugby Scholars show off their skills.

On the tour of the campus, memories came flooding back. In the (unchanged) Chemistry lab, still smelling of sulphur, several members were able to recite the mnemonic taught by Chemistry master Cecil Lawrence “acids we said turns blue litmus red, alkali we knew turns red litmus blue”, while in the Biology lab, no one was surprised that the foetus in a bottle has long-since been removed! Everyone enjoyed seeing the length of Jonathan Edwards’s world record triple jump outside the impressive sports facility named after our most famous sporting OWB.

A display from the archive of whole school photos and team photos from the era delighted all but photo albums from Mark (Sam) Wightman, Nick Adams and Wally Dale brought the most joy. Confidential files of old reports and letters from the then Headmaster, Leslie Stephens, brought mixed responses. He was no doubt a very hard taskmaster. Having lunch in the Karslake on the top table brought a few giggles, as did being able to walk in front of what used to be the Headmaster’s house.

In the evening we gathered at the Imperial Hotel, thanks to the Brend family, and were joined by more WB80’s. There was much laughter and merriment and it’s unsurprising that house rivalry was in great evidence.

Thank you to Sam Wightman and Mike Hannaford for coming up with the idea for this reunion. It was the perfect format and will be remembered for many years to come. Roll on WB90!