FORMER pupils of a now closed girls grammar school in York got together for a big reunion and enjoyed an afternoon of laughter and reminiscing.

Thirty six of the self-proclaimed “old girls” who attended Queen Anne Grammar School in Queen Anne’s Road and left in 1985 met up at St Olave’s School, which now uses the site.

Liz Dawson, who helped organise the reunion, with Sarah O’Hara and Jo Poole, said memories “flooded back” for the Class of 1985 when St Olave’s headmaster Andy Falconer showed them around the school.

She said: “Although the school has been through different incarnations since we left back in 1985, most of the changes were relatively cosmetic and it was still identifiable as ‘our school’.”

After the tour, the group left for afternoon tea at The Grange Hotel in Clifton, where they were able to catch up and share their experiences of school life.

“The biggest thrill of the day was the reconnection with the old girls - some of whom had sustained smaller friendship groups, but as a large group we hadn’t met up since the mid-1980s,” Liz added.

“We approached the day with excitement and also trepidation having not seen each other for so long, and for some who maybe had a more difficult experience at school it was a daunting prospect to be back.

"But from the moment we all met, the afternoon was filled with laughter, love and reminiscence of our mutual experiences under Miss Whittaker and colleagues, and there was pride at how the experience has shaped our lives.

“This was summed up perfectly by Sarah afterwards as having made us the ‘successful, strong and confident women’ that we are and equipped us to have ‘forged our way through life with commitment, enthusiasm and a lot of humour’.”

The group hope to arrange further meet-ups in the future and are keen to hear from any other women who were part of the Class of 1985 that they have been unable to contact.

Queen Anne Grammar School for Girls opened as the Municipal Secondary School for Girls in 1906 in Brook Street and moved to the Clifton site in 1909, changing its name to Queen Anne in 1920.