On Saturday 25 February we were delighted to welcome back nearly 40 former students of one of our two founding schools, The Royal School for Daughter of Officers of the Army. We were joined by a wide range of generations from those that attended The Royal School in 1950s to those who were at the School at the time of the merger with Bath High School in 1998 to create RHSB as it is today.

After many journeys had been made from far and wide to return to Bath and a restorative coffee or two, the alumnae explored their old haunts and shared stories about their exploits from their time at school ably guided by some of our current boarders who acted as tour guides. The route included highlights such as the former Gymnasium, Chapel, Freer Building, Memorial Hall and the old boarding houses of Havelock ad Clive (now School House) and Lawrence and Marlborough where current students were fascinated to hear all about boarding life at the Royal School over past generations with stories of the Summit, Shadey, Newland, Laggan and the Centenary Library.

Part of the tour also included dropping in on a coding workshop which saw a group of boarders working in the Media Suite (old Top New B.) with CodeBrave, a tech education charity founded by former RHSB student Clemmie Brown that works with 12-18 year old children from disadvantaged areas in Lebanon. The girls were learning how to programme microbits to create a ‘tug of war’ game as well as how to create a pedometer.

The alumnae guests then returned to the former Dining Hall Annex, now Rebecca Barrell Room, for more reminiscing over drinks and a vibrant array of dainty deli sandwiches and fruit, thanks to inhouse caterers Holroyd Howe, whilst browsing copies of the RS magazine and a trophy display from the archives, and dipping into the Royal School’s digital archive via provided laptops.

Some tears were shed in memory of absent friends, but much laughter was enjoyed by all, and we look forward to staying in touch.

More photos of our celebration are here on Flickr.

To access the Royal School’s online archive visit The Royal School Bath | Digital Archives (theroyalschoolbatharchives.org.uk).