4
Chairman’s Letter
Dear Westwoodians,
This is my first
Newsletter
as
Chair of the West-
woodians’ Com-
mittee and I would
like to start by
thanking Margaret
Hope, our former
Chair, for all her
hard work. I am
really
enjoying
getting involved in
everything Ivana
(our Secretary)
does and I’ve
realised how im-
portant this Newsletter, Committee and School
are to so many people. This was confirmed to me
recently when Wendy Snape from Australia sent
us A$20 to cover postal costs, along with a plea
to keep sending her the Newsletter – I found this
very moving indeed.
I would like to tell you about myself. Peterborough
High School (as it was to me) has always been a
very special part of my life. I arrived here in 1987
when I was 4 years old and I stayed until 2001,
when I was 18. Having to leave was a huge
shock! My mum had attended this School as
Angela Barber and was a PE teacher when I was
born and she remained a member of staff for
nearly 36 years. I have heard countless stories
from previous teachers of ski trips and gymnastics
lessons, about when she was expecting me and
how she was teaching tennis just a few hours
before I came into the world! When I left the
School and went to the University of Hull, my dad
joined the School and my parents became
Boarding House Parents, exchanging me for a
rather larger family. They remained at the
Boarding House for five years and they adored
every minute of it. I would come and visit on
occasional weekends, so the School once again
became my home. Although neither of my parents
now work at the School, it’s still special to me. I
got married at the School in 2012 celebrating a
wonderful ceremony in the Chapel and a party
afterwards in a marquee on the back pitch (the
party went on a little too long and I was
admonished by the Headmaster – it wasn’t the
first time I had been reprimanded by the Head of
Linda Willey, Carol Nicholson, Margaret Hope, Angie
Axe, Jane Swales and Patricia Reid at Appeals Day
This year’s Reunion was another great success
and there are a number of articles in the
Newsletter from groups who made a special effort
to meet up and join us. We will be celebrating
70 years since the Association was founded in
1947 at our next Reunion on
Saturday 1st July
2017
. We hope many of you will join us in our
Vicky Axe
PHS!) My baby boy was also christened in the
Chapel in 2015 and he has now started at the
Nursery. It’s a lovely feeling to be able to pull
into that tree lined drive again and be a part of
the Westwood/Peterborough High/Peterborough
School experience. Currently I am working for the
National Institute of Health and Care Excellence
as an Analyst in the Public Health team and I’m
due to finish my Masters in Public Health in
September 2017.
I have so many fond memories of my School and
now I am a part of the School Alumni I am able to
listen to everyone else’s wonderful memories too,
and there are many of those in this Newsletter.
I was invited to attend the Leavers’ Service
last term and it was a beautiful and emotional
ceremony. It reminded me so much of being that
age and of all the special relationships I had built
with friends and teachers. The Association now
funds a Leavers’ Book as a farewell gift and it was
my pleasure to present these at their service.
