Kettering High School Old Girls’ Association - Annual General Meeting Friday 4 October 2024

Chair’s Report

We currently have 223 members, 51 postal and 172 email. 133 in Northants, 88 throughout the UK, 2 overseas.

Fifty-seven old girls booked to attend last year’s (2023) AGM, but on the day only fifty-one were able to attend.

We have sent the minutes of last year’s (2023) AGM, this year’s chair’s report and treasurer’s accounts to all members, either by post or email. The committee feel it is important that all members are fully informed, whether or not they are able to attend our spring lunch, summer outing, AGM/annual lunch, and any other events that may be organised during the year.

We currently have 223 members, 51 postal and 172 email. 133 in Northants, 88 throughout the UK, 2 overseas.

Since last year’s AGM the committee has met four times to plan the spring lunch, summer outing and today’s AGM and lunch.

Forty-one old girls met and enjoyed a delicious spring lunch on Wednesday 24 April. Helen and the rugby ‘old boys’ did us proud once again.

Our President, four committee members and three husbands were pleased to attend The Old Cytringanians Annual Reunion Dinner on Saturday 4th May at Kettering Golf Club. It was a very enjoyable evening, with a delicious meal and an entertaining after-dinner speaker in Richard Barnwell, a local farmer and auctioneer. Some of you were also there of course, as wives of Old Cytringanians. We will be in discussion about a joint event during 2025.

On Wednesday 29 May seventeen old girls and seven family members and friends enjoyed a private tour of Titchmarsh House Gardens, courtesy of Sir Ewan and Lady Harper, followed by tea and cake.

We are relieved and delighted that the Memories of Kettering High School 1913-1976 book is at last available to order. It has been a labour of love: the culmination of so many anecdotes and memories rather than a history; and we hope the finished article meets with your approval. You can order a copy to collect at the AGM on Friday 4th October or to be posted to you. Please see the order form on the attached/enclosed comments reply form.

News of ‘old girls’:
We like to share news of significant achievements, birthdays and anniversaries.

PROVIDING our records are correct, the following ‘old girls’ this year achieve anniversaries ending with ‘5’ or ‘0’ of either starting or leaving Kettering High School. Maiden names given as that’s how we remember each other! Any errors or omissions, please let us know.
80 years since starting (1944): Dinah BOSWORTH, Glenys FOULDS.
75 years since leaving (1949): Maureen ABRAHAM, Joy TAILBY.
75 years since starting (1949): Carole ATTER, Anne BOSWORTH, Wendy BRIDGSTOCK, Gill COLES, Angela HARRIS, Belinda HUMFREY, Carol MILES, Barbara MUNTON, Judy RUSSELL, Judith SMITH, Mary THOMSON, Mary THORP.
70 years since leaving (1954): Eileen HOWE. 70 years since starting (1954): Dorothy CHAPMAN, Diane HARRIS.
70 years since starting (1953) and 65 years since leaving (1958): Jane WOOD.
65 years since leaving (1958): Margaret BARCLAY, Vivien PANTER, Gladys VENDY.
65 years since starting (1958): Priscilla BLOOMFIELD, Dorothy CARVER, Helen CHAPMAN, Patricia CHAPMAN, Ann (Anthea) CURCHIN, Pat HARRIS, Hilary MILLER, Janet, READ, Susan STURMAN, Yvonne TINGLE, Anne TOSELAND.
60 years since leaving (1963): Helen CHAPMAN, Patricia CHAPMAN, Carol GOOD, Pat HARRIS, Rosalyn HARROD, Marion HEGARTY, Marion OWENS, Yvonne TINGLE.
60 years since starting (1963): Annie WHITEMAN.
60 years since starting (1963) and 55 years since leaving (1968): Jill O’BRIEN.
55 years since starting (1968): Susan DIAPER, Lynne MABER.
50 years since leaving (1973): Hilary ANDREWS, Verna ARMSTRONG, Rita CABLE, Lynne DAVIS, Anne JACQUES, Christine LEWIS, Rani SINGH, Elizabeth SMART.

Sadly, the following members and old girls have passed away:
Gwen AUSTIN Johnson, 1944-51, November 2023.
Pat PARKER Wildman, 1945-50, died 21 March 2024.

We still hope to re-establish contact with Ruth BRADLEY McLeod, 1961-68, (Coventry), Aileen ROWE, 1966-73, (Redditch), and Jacky WAGSTAFF Marchant 1970-74-76, (Barton Seagrave, but has moved). If you know of their whereabouts, or of any other friends who have moved and may not have updated their contact details with us, please let us know or ask them to get in touch with us.

I would like to thank our President, Margaret ORAM Wright, Vice-Presidents Nelia TEBBUTT Eaton and Barbara LEWIS, and my fellow committee members for their loyalty and commitment to and support of the Association during the last year.

May our Kettering High School Old Girls’ Association continue to flourish for many more years to come, and, in the words of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ school songs, may we always be ‘Glad hearts adventuring’ and ‘Members, one of another’.

Kathleen Dawson Haigh (1964-71)

Minutes Of Kettering High School Old Girls’ Association Annual General Meeting 12 Noon, Friday, 6 October 2023 At Kettering Rugby Club

Agenda items	Comments / Suggestions / Actions
1. President’s Welcome and Apologies for absence	The Chair, Kathleen DAWSON Haigh, welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies received from: Linda BAILEY, Judy CHILDS Smith, Nola CULLEN McGarritty, Glynis HILL, Merle JOHNSON Tshiamalenge, Tricia LILLEY Hallam, Janet MABELSON Hughes, Barbara MUNTON Hendry, Jill O’BRIEN, Helen ROOTHAM Darnes, Jane SHARP Boutchier, Jackie TAYLOR Brookes, Carol WRIGHTING Petersen, Gladys VENDY.
2. Minutes of last AGM held on 7 October 2022 and matters arising	Read. Proposed by Lynne DAVIS Franklin and seconded by Betty BURT West, as an accurate record, so motion agreed and minutes signed. No matters arising.
3. Chair’s report	Please see attached. News of ‘Old Girls’ The Chair made special mention of Mima SMITH Bolton, for whom this year marks 80 years since she started at Kettering High School. Congratulations to all those members mentioned in our ‘Roll of Honour’ - those celebrating ‘5’ or ‘0’ anniversaries of starting or leaving KHS. We have been informed that the following old girls and members have sadly passed away: Rita MOORE Portwood (1942-49), on 16 August 2022. Catherine PASCOE Gillott (1967-69), on 22 September 2023.
4. Treasurer’s Report	Please see attached. No questions arising. Due to the rising cost of postage, if any member who currently receives Association communication by mail is able to receive it by email please let Kathy Haigh have your email address.
5. The Election of Officers	Anne SMITH proposed and Elaine LINNELL Taylor seconded that Kathleen DAWSON Haigh and Glenys GREEN Reid continue as chair and treasurer respectively. Motion carried. Elaine LINNELL Taylor proposed and Elaine COLEMAN McPartland seconded that Margaret ORAM Wright be elected as President of the Association, and that Nelia TEBBUTT Eaton and Barbara LEWIS be elected as Vice Presidents of the Association. Motion carried.
6. The Election of the Committee	No other nominations having been received Hilary ANDREWS Winfield proposed and Glenys GREEN Reid seconded that Lynne MABER Wildman and Linda BRADLEY Love should be elected Committee members. Motion carried. Linda Bailey and Caroline Cross will continue as Associate members of the Committee. There are still two vacancies on the Committee.
7. Any other business	Raffle: Half the proceeds to go to Kettering Food Banks and half to the Association funds. The Cytringanians (Kettering Grammar School Old Boys) are keen to invite Dame Sarah Gilbert to speak at their AGM and would like to do so in conjunction with Kettering High School Old Girls' Association. Members present were overwhelmingly in favour of pursuing the possibility of a joint occasion. An invitation will be extended to Dame Sarah and if a positive response is received further information will be notified in due course. Date and Time of next year’s AGM and lunch: Friday, 4th October 2024 at Kettering Rugby Club.

Minutes of Kettering High School Old Girls’ Association Annual General Meeting 12 Noon, Friday, 7 October 2022 At Kettering Rugby Club

Agenda items	Comments / Suggestions / Actions
1. President’s Welcome and Apologies for absence	In the sad absence of the President, Marilyn WOOD, and Chair, Kathleen DAWSON Haigh, Treasurer Glenys GREEN Reid welcomed everyone to the meeting and informed everyone of the sad passing of our President Marilyn WOOD on 22 September. One minutes silence was held in respect of her as an old girl (49-56), Head Girl (55-56) and subsequent KHS English Teacher. Apologies received from: Committee Members: Linda BAILEY (64-71), Nelia TEBBUTT Eaton (39-48), Kathleen DAWSON Haigh (64-71), Rani SINGH (66)71-73). Members: Carol WRIGHTING Petersen (64-71), Gladys VENDY (51-58), Mary WALLIS Haynes (64-71), Barbara PENTLOW (61-68), Kathleen TAYLOR (61-68).
2. Minutes of last meeting held via Zoom on 2 October 2021 and matters arising	Read. Proposed by Yvonne TINGLE Robinson seconded by Elaine LINNELL Taylor as an accurate record, so motion agreed and minutes signed. No matters arising.
3. Chair’s report	The report was read by Hilary ANDREWS Winfield in the absence of our Chair. The report outlined the work of the committee during the previous twelve months. Since our online AGM on 2 October 2021 the committee has met face to face five times. Plans for a spring lunch and summer outing had to be changed to a summer lunch and September outing due to delays changing our bank account. Membership: 231, 60 postal; 171 email; 140 in Northants; 89 throughout the UK and 1 in The Netherlands. Summer outing: 19 members and friends attended the late summer outing to Deene Park on Tuesday 6 September. We enjoyed an excellent tour, culminating with a chat over a delicious cream tea. The committee has decided that it should rectify the lack of a written history of Kettering High School 1913 to 1976. Our story will be mostly pictorial, told through photographs with quotes and reminiscences from archive material and current old girls rather than explanatory text. We have plenty of archive material, all in black and white along with personal reminiscences and comments submitted for the centenary exhibition in 2013. We would appreciate copies of action rather than posed photographs from 1964 onwards, school magazines after 1965, information relating to sporting, musical, dramatic events, school visits etc. especially if in colour. Information from 1971-1976 is particularly thin on the ground. News of old girls: Congratulations to all those members mentioned in our ‘Roll of Honour’ - those celebrating ‘5’ or ‘0’ anniversaries of starting or leaving KHS, ranging from Maureen ABRAHAM, Dinah BOSWORTH, Doreen CHAPMAN, Betty MAYES and Rita MOORE who started 80 years ago in 1942, through to Caroline CROSS, our youngest member, who left 40 years ago in 1982. We have been informed that the following old girls and members have sadly passed away: Margaret YEOMANS (45-52, subsequent KHS French and Latin Teacher), on 4 October 2021, aged 87. Our President Lyn WOOD, Kathleen DAWSON Haigh (64-71) and Anne SMITH (64-71) attended her funeral on behalf of KHSOGA. Pat GLOVER Wells (35, Hillside-44) on 30 April 2022, aged 94; Sylvia BUSBY Billows (50-55, left 53) on 30 May 22, 2022, aged 83; Anne HARRIS Humphrey (45-50) on 12 July 2022, aged 88.
4. Treasurer’s Report	Treasurer Glenys GREEN Reid talked through the balance sheet for the last financial year from April 2021to March 2022. Our income comes from new member’s lifetime subscriptions, donations, half of the raffle money at the annual lunch plus any small surplus from the events we hold. We aim only to cover costs, not make a profit on events we hold. Our only income this year has been two new member subscriptions. Our office costs, in particular postage, are our biggest expense, but it is important that we keep all members, especially those who do not have access to electronic communication, fully informed.
5. The Election of Officers	Hilary ANDREWS Winfield proposed and June McCLEOD Meadows seconded that Kathleen DAWSON Haigh and Glenys GREEN Reid continue as chair and treasurer respectively. Motion carried.
6. The Election of the Committee	No other nominations having been received: Glenys GREEN Reid proposed and Anne TOSELAND Barrett seconded that Helen BARLOW Johnson, Rani SINGH and Merle JOHNSON Tshiamalenge should be re-elected until 2025. Motion carried. The committee currently comprises 8 members and 2 associate members co-opted in 2019 and 1 associate member co-opted in 2022. The committee reserves the right to co-opt members.
7. Proposed constitutional amendment re KHSOGA financial year	Glenys GREEN Reid proposed that the financial year run from 1 July to 30 June rather than 1 April to 31 March as at present. This would result in financial information being more up-to-date when reported at the AGM. Proposed: Hilary ANDREWS Winfield Seconded: Lois BARNES Beaumont Next accounts will, therefore, cover 15 months: 1 April 2022 to 30 June 2023.
8. Any other business	Raffle: Half of the proceeds to the local Women’s Refuge, half to KHOGA funds to support postage and office costs. Pam SISMEY Walden asked who remembered where they were when the death of King George VI was announced. Those who were at KHS were taking part in a Speech Day Rehearsal. Pam also commented that Julie CAVE Beech had an article on scooters published in the U3A magazine. Glenys GREEN Reid asked members for their opinion of the Rugby Club as a venue. She advised that it is only possible to use the Rugby Club on weekdays during the rugby season. Opinions to be given to any committee member.

Kettering High School Old Girls’ Association - Annual General Meeting Friday 7 October 2022 - Chair’s Report

I am so pleased we are able to hold this meeting face to face for the first time since 2019, after two years of online AGM meetings via Zoom.

Again, we have sent last year’s AGM minutes, this chair’s report, current accounts and treasurer’s report, to all members, either by post or email. The committee feel it is important that all members are fully informed, whether or not they are able to attend our summer outing, AGM/annual lunch, and other events.

We currently have 231 members, 60 postal and 171 email. 140 in Northants, 89 throughout the UK, 1 in France and 1 in The Netherlands.

Last year’s AGM was the second online AGM meeting for us. Twenty-one members attended, three more than our 2020 online meeting. Fortunately, the twelve members outnumbered the President Marilyn Wood, Vice-President Barbara Lewis, and seven committee members!
Obviously it is preferable to meet face to face, but online meetings have given us the opportunity to chat to a wider range of members than normally would be the case when seated at our mainly cohort based tables at our face to face AGMs, and perhaps this is something we should consider.
The AGM is a great opportunity to meet up with our contemporaries, but also an opportunity to compare our KHS school life experiences with those older and younger than ourselves.

Since our 2 October 2021 online AGM the committee has met face to face five times. Plans for a spring lunch and summer outing had to be changed to a summer lunch and September outing, due to the unexpectedly protracted process involved in switching our bank account. We were unable to organise events requiring financial transactions until all was complete. Our summer lunch in June was a lovely occasion. The Rugby Club worked very well as a new venue for us, and Helen and the rugby ‘old boys’ looked after us very well. By the time we meet for our AGM, some of us will have enjoyed a late summer outing to Deene Park.

A booklet was put together in 1986 compiling articles written by four old girls and two staff members over the years to mark the transition from Kettering High School to Southfield School in 1976, but there is no official written history of Kettering High School. The committee has decided, somewhat belatedly, that as a time limited organisation, we should rectify this and put together a book to commemorate the history of Kettering High School 1913-76.
It is not intended to be a text heavy tome on the lines of Kettering Grammar School’s ‘A Cytringanian Farewell’. We had only sixty three years of existence compared to their rich history of over four hundred years. However, KHS represents a milestone in the history of girls’ secondary education in Kettering which deserves to be recorded for posterity. Our story will be mostly pictorial, told through photographs with quotes and reminiscences from archive material and current old girls rather than explanatory text. We have a wealth of material in the archives but it’s all black and white! We also have many personal reminiscences and comments submitted for the centenary exhibition at the Manor House Museum in 2013. We would particularly appreciate copies of ‘action’ rather than ‘posed’ class or team photographs and other information from 1964 onwards, school magazines after 1965, information relating to sporting, musical, dramatic events, school visits etc, especially if in colour. We would also particularly appreciate any photographs and information for the years 1971-76, as this is very thin on the ground. If you have material you could loan us to copy, or are able to copy and email to us, please let us know.

News of ‘old girls’:
We like to share news of significant achievements, birthdays and anniversaries.

PROVIDING our records are correct, the following ‘old girls’ this year achieve anniversaries ending with ‘5’ or ‘0’ of either starting or leaving Kettering High School. Maiden names given as that’s how we remember each other! Any errors or omissions, please let us know.
80 years since starting (1942): Maureen ABRAHAM, Dinah BOSWORTH (Hillside), Doreen CHAPMAN, Betty MAYES, Rita MOORE.
75 years since leaving (1947): Nelia TEBBUTT. 75 years since starting (1947): Eileen HOWE, Audrey IRESON. 70 years since leaving (1952): Joan CALTON, Barbara SHORLEY. 70 years since starting (1952): Mary CHISHOLM, Isabel FREW, Janet GINNS, Vivien PANTER, Christine SKILLEN. 70 years since starting (1952) and 65 years since leaving (1957): Wendy (Kathleen) COLE, Nola CULLEN, Betty ENGLAND, Rita KENDALL, Patricia MASON, Ann McCLELLAND, Marilyn QUINCEY. 65 years since leaving (1957): Helen BARLOW, Belinda HUMFREY, Doreen STURGESS, Jackie TAYLOR, Anita YOUNG. 65 years since starting (1957): Glenis GONELLA, Kathleen (Margaret) TIBBETT 60 years since leaving (1962): Ruth DUNKLEY, Judith LEWIS, Jackie PENTLOW, Susan STURMAN, 60 years since starting (1962): Lynne ALLSOPP, Jean BASS, Sharon BUTLER, Rosalyn HARROD, Sue HEGARTY, Christine LAWRENCE, Carol PEPPER, Jane SHARP, Anne STIRMEY. 55 years since leaving (1967): Janet BRADING, Margaret Foreman, Rosemary LEWIS, Susan WIGGINS. 55 years since starting (1967): Rita CABLE. 50 years since leaving (1972): Jane ANDREW, Rita BROWN, Janet ERSTS, Alison FINDLAY, Elisabeth MABER, Sheila MANNING, Jennifer NORTON, Barbara PAINE, Margaret RUSSELL. 50 years since starting (1972): Linda CRICK. 50 years since starting (1972) and 45 years since leaving (1977): Joy WASHER. 45 years since leaving (1977): Valerie FLUDE. 40 years since leaving (1982): Caroline CROSS. September 1975 was the last intake of pupils as Kettering High School girls, so Caroline is our youngest member.

Sadly, the following old girls and members have passed away:
Margaret YEOMANS , 1945-1952, subsequent KHS French and Latin teacher, on 4 October 2021,aged 87. Our President, Lyn WOOD, Anne SMITH (64-71) and I attended her funeral on behalf of KHSOGA.
Pat GLOVER Wells, 1935 (Hillside) – 1944, on 30 April 2022, aged 94.
Sylvia BUSBY Billows, 1950-55 (left 53), on 30 May 2022, aged 83.
Anne HARRIS Humphrey, 1945-50, on 12 July 2022, aged 88.

We still hope to re-establish contact with Ruth BRADLEY McLeod, 1961-68, (Coventry) and Aileen ROWE, 1966-73, (Redditch). If you know of their whereabouts, or of any other friends who have moved and may not have updated their contact details with us, please let us know or ask them to get in touch with us.

I would like to thank our President, Lyn Wood, Vice-Presidents Barbara Lewis, Audrey Mitchell and Margaret Wright, and my fellow committee members for their loyalty and commitment to and support of the Association during the last year.

May our Kettering High School Old Girls’ Association continue to flourish for many more years to come, and, in the words of the ‘old’ and ‘new’ school songs, may we always be ‘Glad hearts adventuring’ and ‘Members, one of another’.

Kathleen Haigh (Dawson) 1964-71