A concert will mark the 90th birthday of former Oxfordshire teacher Jeffery Babb.

Many ex-pupils remember him fondly as music teacher at Wheatley Secondary School, a post he held from 1951 to 1962.

He and drama teacher Gerard Gould helped pupils produce a series of successful annual stage shows, which delighted audiences of parents, relatives and friends.

The concert will feature Bach’s Mass in B Minor and will take place at St Mary’s Church, Hay on Wye, near Hereford, where Mr Babb lives, on Saturday, January 30, 2016.

Meanwhile, he is seeking sponsors for the performance, to raise money for the St Mary’s Choral Foundation.

Mr Babb said tells me: “The project is to establish a capital sum to train boys and girls from the age of eight as choristers and for them to receive the benefits I was so fortunate to enjoy.”

If any former pupils would like to support Mr Babb’s initiative, send a cheque made payable to St Mary’s Church to treasurer Alan Rosethorne, 10 De Broes Court, Hay on Wye HR3 5DL.

The shows that Mr Babb and Mr Gould produced brought many memories from readers after pictures appeared in Memory Lane. Former pupil Chris Payne described Mr Babb and Mr Gould as the “Rodgers and Hammerstein of the school drama section”.