Visit from Former Students
On the 17th September, Emily and I toured three lovely ladies around Kendrick who had attended the school in the 1940s. Vivienne, Hilary and Miriam Stock, as they were known when they attended Kendrick, had come back to visit whilst Miriam, who now lives in Sydney, was in the UK.
As we showed them around, we learnt that some aspects of Kendrick had changed whilst others had remained the same. Thankfully, there are no longer any air raid shelters where the car park and tennis courts now are. The sisters were also surprised to see that the inside of the main school, ‘the quad’ as it used to be known, was now enclosed where it had used to be open to the elements. Luckily for the students, it seems attitudes to school uniform have relaxed somewhat. Hilary told us an amusing story about the time she had worn a scarf of a Reading Boy whom she had met at a ball and was subsequently threatened with expulsion. I think it is fair to say such measures are not taken nowadays.
However, a lot about Kendrick has remained the same. The Physics labs remain unchanged and John Kendrick continues to grace the hall with his presence. Though our school motto has changed from ‘dum spiro spero’ - while I breathe, I hope, to ‘lead, inspire and make a difference’, the message of empowerment and education of young women remains clear.
It was a wonderful experience to learn how Kendrick has shaped lives, both far and near, and how it continues to do so to this day.
Mia (Year 13)