Kennet School Thatcham

This week marked the fiftieth anniversary of the opening of Kennet School in Thatcham. I taught at the school in the 1970s for about six years. There was a reunion there last Tuesday. Both the school and the town (little more than a village in 1973) had changed almost out of all recognition. The motto had changed for the school from 'Courtesy Costs Nothing' to the one above - perhaps reflecting changes in education of which I know virtually nothing - or maybe a reflection of changes in society. I still have problems with with Year 10, Year 11 business. When and why did it change from 5th form, 3rd form? Two of the six houses have been abolished - including the ones dedicated to the patron saints of England and Scotland. A vast new building has gone up, mainly paid for out of money provided by the developers of a housing estate nearby. Ironically it was this very housing estate that flooded so disastrously in the recent bad weather. On the other hand the staff gathering - mainly if not exclusively composed of teachers I worked with - showed that people don't change a great deal. The weather was glorious, the pub lunch at the Spotted Dog in Cold Ash was pleasant, and it served to confirm that I was right to leave teaching more than twenty years ago!