Winterfold Centenary
Centenary Week Celebrations at Winterfold – 20th to 26th May 2023
In May 2023, Winterfold School celebrated its 100th anniversary with a host of activities for current pupils, staff and Old Winterfoldians.
The Friends of Winterfold Centenary Ball took place in a grand marquee in front of the Main House. Parents enjoyed a wonderful evening of delicious food, marvellous entertainment including a DJ and live band.
The following day, we were blessed with the most perfect weather for the Winterfold Staff v Old Winterfoldians Centenary cricket match. Our grounds team produced an excellent wicket for the occasion and the outfield looked superb. It was wonderful to see former pupils playing at Winterfold once again, and the atmosphere, with a good crowd in support, was brilliant. Thank you to Mr Haynes for his excellent umpiring, and also to Mrs Miles and Miss Whitcombe for scoring throughout the afternoon. At the end of the match, Mrs Toms presented everyone with a Centenary cricket cap as a memento of the day.
After a delightful afternoon tea, the Gala Concert took place. Members of the Music Department, peri teachers, former pupils, the Girls’ Harmony Choir, as well as past and current members of the Groove Diggers, took to the stage to perform musical numbers including Counting Stars, Rolling In The Deep, Cantaloupe and a rousing rendition of With A Little Help From My Friends.
Over the following days, the children returned to each one of the Centenary trees, planted in March, to unveil a set of special plaques to commemorate the event. The School also launched their ‘100 years’ Art and CDT Exhibition. Highlights included a cross-stitch of Winterfold’s main house, photography showcasing some of the hidden gems around School, artwork from across the year groups and handcrafted CDT projects.
Former pupils attended a History of the School lecture with Mr Mitchell and Mr Dieppe who gave a fascinating account of Winterfold’s backstory and how the current School came into being. We also heard from former pupils Andrew Grant and Phil Page, and former pupil and Governor, John Flood, who shared their memories of the School.
The Prep School took part in a cross-curricular event where each class was allocated a randomly generated decade to research, as part of our Centenary celebrations. The children had to learn key events from their decade including fashion, arts, music, key inventions, films and television. They also used the School archives to find out about what was happening at Winterfold during their given decade.
To end the week-long celebrations, the School came together for a Centenary Whole School Mass in the marquee, and afterwards children and staff stood inside the giant number 100 on the School field to have an aerial photo taken. This special memento will form part of the Winterfold archive and will be treasured for years to come. To finish, the whole School enjoyed a Teddy Bear’s Picnic on the lawn.
