Former John Mansfield pupils celebrate 50-year school reunion

Former pupils of the John Mansfield secondary modern school gathered together for a landmark reunion last week.

20 ladies met up at Burghley House for an extra-special afternoon tea on Thursday September 21 to celebrate 50 years since leaving the former Dogsthorpe school.

The emotional gathering was organised by Paulinà Forde (former Head Girl) and Joy White. Both ladies wanted to make the celebration a special event and so a grand afternoon tea at Burghley was deemed to be just the ticket.

Joy said she and Paulina were “delighted” with the turnout, with one former pupil flying in from the United States to reunite with her former classmates.

“It is a testimony to our lasting friendship that so many of us attended this afternoon tea celebration,” she said.

Joy explained that the bond of friendship did not end when the former pupils left school and went their separate ways in the early 1970s.

Against all odds, the ladies managed to maintain a close connection over the intervening half-century, holding annual get-togethers which only stopped briefly during Covid.

“It is a continuance of our enduring bond which has never been broken throughout the years,” Joy told the Peterborough Telegraph.

“We are now officially the ‘Golden Girls’.”

The John Mansfield School was opened first in 1957, the same year most of the ladies were born. It was an all-girls’ school until 1981 then finally closed in 2007, when it merged with Thomas Deacon Academy.

While the occasion was a delightfully upbeat affair with much reminiscing, there were moments when the group reflected upon those who had long since passed. The ‘girls’ were particularly keen to share memories of their much-admired former headteacher.

“Miss Newborn was our headteacher when we were at school,” Joy explained. “I am sure she would have been extremely proud of her pupils for maintaining such a strong friendship throughout the years.”

For anyone interested in getting back in touch with their former classmates, there is a John Mansfield School Reunion Group Facebook page for any former pupils looking to reconnect with former pupils.