St Thomas High School Class of 84

13th July 2024, Class of 84 Reunion.

We need a last big push to get the numbers we need to make this event happen, so tag people on this post or dig out your contact information on anyone from our school days and get pushing!!
We don't need a huge amount of additional people but we do need a few to make this a party.

Let any of us know if we can help in any way.

let's get this party started 💃 🕺

Harry, Martin and myself are meeting up tonight to discuss class of 84 reunion, anyone wanting to buy tickets or just want to come and say Hello, we will be in the Sawyers from 7.30 pm, come say hi! Alternatively Jabba aka Mark Patch will be in the Royal Oak on Sunday at 4pm for a couple of hours, you can buy tickets from the big man! See you all soon.

Our good friend Jabba AKA Mark Patch has agreed to help us sell Class of 84 reunion tickets (Wristbands) He will be in the Royal Oak, Okehampton street on Sunday 14th between 4pm to 6.30pm, I suspect he may stay later with a promise of a beer or two🍻 , (just a hunch) Thanks to anyone who has or intends to buy a ticket and a Massive thanks to our main man Jabb’s.
Let us know if you intend to meet him, so we can make sure he has enough wristbands on him, Thanks everyone

I recently got myself a hall pass and permission slip to visit Nurse Madge.

Brenda (Nurse Madge) retired around 20 years ago, she never got to work in that space age looking school that replaced our S.T.H, she did however get shown around when it first opened and like myself when my children went there, we both agreed that it was very impressive, even if (in our view) it didn't look like a real school.
I was fascinated as Brenda discussed what her duties were and how she changed them over the years. Before she arrived, the role was not much more than "the nit nurse" (Nitty Nora the head explorer) when she left the role she left a legacy, pupil health checks for new arrivals and leavers, she would consult with pupils and staff to understand individual needs. Someone we all could all turn to (teachers and pupils alike) if we needed help or advice.

Regardless if we as pupils thought about it or not, the idea, the professionalism and the person Nurse Madge, made us all feel a little safer in our school and I'm pretty sure not enough of us thanked her for that.

When she had her interview for the position of school nurse back in 1977, among the health and school professionals who were interviewing her, Mr Bill Ridley (Headmaster) lent forward and asked "what do you offer to my school" quietly and humbly she replied "Me, just me" he took a moment then replied "your hired" I like to think he saw the same as I do now, many years later: a trained Nurse who understands Children, who has Children and who cares for Children.

Husband John and Brenda are very proud of all their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, prouder still that so many have chosen to be part of the education system, I had so much fun chatting, what was meant to be 20 min ended up being 2 hours and still left me wanting more..

So, thank you for your selfless service, your caring compassion and dedication, for your protection and kindness and for making me a great cup of tea, from myself, the class of 84 and all the children who passed through the school gates.

Thank you, Nurse Madge.

Not all angels have wings, some have a little office near the sports hall.

Happy new year Class of 84,

Now it’s 2024 and for many a new start, all of us looking towards the future, we ask you to take a moment and get all retro and spare a thought for our reunion (13th July 2024).

We now need to start selling the tickets (wristbands) so get in contact with us anyway you can and we’ll get them to you, £10 each. Contact Harry Holman , Martin Frankum or Dave Commins, Mark Patch has also agreed to help sell some tickets.

We also want to give you an update on as many of the school teachers and staff as possible, so if you have any information that will help me get in contact with any of them, please let me know. I have time on my hands to write letters and emails etc or if possible I could visit them in person so I can invite them to join us, and/or get a few quotes about St Thomas High school and class of 84 in particular, rest assured, I will do all I can to avoid detention.

Finally, for now! We need PHOTOS, of form classes, of the school and classrooms, Teachers photos, the Football, Rugby teams, the netball team (Not for the same reason I might of wanted Netball team pics, back in the day).
We have made arrangements to have large prints made of all the photos we want to use on the reunion night, so we need to start collecting them now, most importantly we need all the form class photos, so have a rummage around in the cupboards rarely used and see if you can find yours, if you can send them via DM or email me [email protected]

Any help regardless of how small will help us put on something special for our 40th reunion.

“Don’t let aging get you down. It’s too hard to get back up.”

Chat Soon Classmates

Merry Christmas class of 84,

We hope you all have a fantastic, festive, feast of a time with your love ones and the people you hold dear to you.
We were going to play you a music mashup of all the Christmas 80’s number ones, as this would have included St Winifred's School Choir and Renee & Renato, we choose (Wisely) not to bother (You’re welcome). Instead we give you the xmas charts from 1980 to 1984, and yes we are aware that we had already left school by Dec 84 but if you can claim xmas 84 with hits from Band Aid, Wham and the Frog Chorus for the class of 84 well what’s the point, eh!

We Hope you enjoy boring your love ones with these lists and shouting them out to Alexa or Siri, (it’s like the Future ain’t it) Warning do not ask them to play Holly & The Ivy, Christmas On 45 it will be your downfall and you will be banned from talking to the appliances over the festive period, you have been warned!!

Looking at the list, we learnt the following from 80’s music
The tide is high. It’s hard to be humble. The lunatics have taken over the asylum. There’s no one quite like grandma. It ain’t necessarily so.

Keep smiling, if only to prove you still have most of your teeth, if you haven’t, smile anyway, you’re gorgeous!!

Merry Christmas Classmates # # #

Tickets are now available for the St Thomas High School, class of 84 reunion (13th July 2024 St Thomas Social Club) £10 each.

These gorgeous wristbands will be our tickets, you can get them from any of the 3 of us (Harry Holman, Martin Frankum, Dave Commins) from now on, we promise to try and have a few wristbands on us at all times. After Christmas we will be looking for people to help us get in contact with as many people as we can.

4 reasons to buy a ticket (wristband)

1) You want to come to the reunion, meet up with old friends and Party like it’s 1984.
2) You haven’t made your mind but want to keep your options open.
3) You want to support our reunion, even if you are unlikely to attend.
4) These wristbands are cool! And if you buy one you are cool, cooler than the underside of a penguin’s nut sack, That Cool!

Let us know if you want to reserve any Wristbands or if you can help us in any way to put on an awesome Reunion.

Harry Holman

LISTEN UP Class of 84!!

Headmaster Bill Ridley here, or rather not here, just a dashing photograph of me from way back. Now I want you to listen to this scallywag, for once he’s talking some sense instead of having a mouth full of his normal yet implausible excuses. Carry on Boy!

Thanks Bill, I mean Sir, I mean Mr Ridley sir, can I take your cup back to the staff-room Headmaster sir…

As many of you will know we intend organise a reunion in 2024 to celebrate our 40th anniversary.
We are all of a certain age and not all of us are on f/b so we’re going to need a little help finding everyone. We first need everyone to share this post, our page and any upcoming post, we also would like you to click on the invite button (3 dots to the right of the following, message buttons, scroll down to invite, then click on any class of 84 people in your friends list and invite them, it should show if they have already been invited, we really don’t want anyone to miss out)
Because we are all Old-School (so old school they’ve knocked it down and built another one) we need to do this in a traditional old school way, the 80’s way, by word of mouth. So if you have class of 84 friends that aren’t on f/b keep them informed, if you have any contact details DM us or send a email to [email protected] and we will do our very best to contact them.
With your help we promise to do all we can to have a great 40th Anniversary event and bring as many of us together as we can, we will continue to update you on our progression on f/b.

Thanks everyone for any help you can give us.

RIP Bill Ridley 1932 – 2018 The Guv’nor

LISTEN UP Class of 84!!

Headmaster Bill Ridley here, or rather not here, just a dashing photograph of me from way back. Now I want you to listen to this scallywag, for once he’s talking some sense instead of having a mouth full of his normal yet implausible excuses. Carry on Boy!

Thanks Bill, I mean Sir, I mean Mr Ridley sir, can I take your cup back to the staff-room Headmaster sir…

As many of you will know we intend organise a reunion in 2024 to celebrate our 40th anniversary.
We are all of a certain age and not all of us are on f/b so we’re going to need a little help finding everyone. We first need everyone to share this post, our page and any upcoming post, we also would like you to click on the invite button (3 dots to the right of the following, message buttons, scroll down to invite, then click on any class of 84 people in your friends list and invite them, it should show if they have already been invited, we really don’t want anyone to miss out)
Because we are all Old-School (so old school they’ve knocked it down and built another one) we need to do this in a traditional old school way, the 80’s way, by word of mouth. So if you have class of 84 friends that aren’t on f/b keep them informed, if you have any contact details DM us or send a email to [email protected] and we will do our very best to contact them.
With your help we promise to do all we can to have a great 40th Anniversary event and bring as many of us together as we can, we will continue to update you on our progression on f/b.

Thanks everyone for any help you can give us.

RIP Bill Ridley 1932 – 2018 The Guv’nor