At a special assembly School Officers at Burgess Hill School for Girls, led by the Head Girl Vicky Raymond, presented every member of the school community with a Centenary Gift. A delicate silver charm, which depicts the school’s emblem of a lark rising with the centenary dates carefully incorporated into the wings, was given to the girls and female staff. Male members of staff received a whisky tumbler engraved with the same emblem. The Centenary design was created by ­­­Cassie Manser, a former pupil (1984 – 1993) and member of the Old Girls’ Association Committee. The charm was made especially for us by William Knight Jewellers in Horsham. Staff and students were clearly delighted with their gifts.

To celebrate its first 100 years Burgess Hill School there will be an extensive programme of events throughout the year. Festivities were officially launched on Friday 27^th January with a Thanksgiving Service at Chichester Cathedral which was swiftly followed by the school assembly, written and presented by students from the Sixth Form, which aimed to give a taste of every decade with music, costume and key events. The Junior School received their gifts at a similar event held on the same day.

The school was founded in 1906 by Beatrice Goode in response to local parents’ requests for a ‘qualified’ teacher to educate their children, and established on PNEU (Parents National Educational Union) principles, which were considered quite revolutionary in their time. The initial philosophy ‘Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life’ continues today with girls’ talents in art, drama, music and sport complementing strong academic performance. We are proud of the many and varied talents our students develop during their time at the school.

3/2/06

Centenary Gift