More than 10,000 pupils and members of staff have passed through Headington School’s gates since they opened in 1915.

Luckily, though, staff didn’t have to cram them all in for a party to celebrate the school’s 100th year yesterday.

The oldest former pupil to join celebrations was Lady Anne Badenoch, 92.

She joined the school back in 1935 and despite the many changes, felt she was back at home.

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Lady Badenoch, who lives in Woodstock Road, Oxford, said: “I have a very close bond with the school and have kept close links with it.

“After all these years the feeling around the school and the girls here is exactly the same but it’s so much grander. When I arrived in 1935 there were 120 of us in the entire school.”

The school was founded by a group of Anglican Church members to provide an education for girls aimed to fit them for the demands and opportunities likely to arise after war.

When the school opened in 1915, its initial intake was 16 local children.

Now the girls’ school has over 1,000 pupils with more than 30 different nationalities represented.

Corinne Petford worked at the school from 1957 to 1993, joining as a teacher and then becoming a deputy head.

She said: “When I arrived in 1957, there was no-one from overseas, the closest we had to an overseas student was a Scottish girl. We’ve seen so much change but they’ve succeeded in keeping the school as one. It’s an entirely different set-up but at the same time it’s exactly the same.”

Elizabeth Tucker, 78, was headmistress at the school from 1982 to 1996.

She said: “The growth and transformation of the school has been amazing, but what has remained is that each girl feels that they matter and are known within the school and that’s always been the case whether there were 18 pupils or 1,000 here.

“It was lovely to come back and see all these girls of all ages together all linked by one place.”

Current headmistress Caroline Jordan caught up with her predecessors at the momentous occasion.

“The girls have a real desire to do well and achieve in everything they do and that ethos was there in 1915 and there in Corinne’s day in 1957. It’s about the education of the whole girl, which is what we are celebrating today.

“When the school first opened its gates it would still be three years before any woman would even be allowed to cast her vote.

“It is humbling to think how the school has grown and consider the many thousands of Headington girls that have fulfilled a vital and valuable role in our world.”

Notable former pupils include actress Emma Watson, Comic Relief founder Jane Tewson and former Leader of the House of Lords Baroness Young.

 

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