Happy Birthday Sir!

%image(15643004, type="article-full", alt="Second Opinion's final gig at Acle Social Club, which ended a 40-year career.")

More than half a century after they left the school where he taught, pupils from Heigham House in Norwich took their favourite teacher out for a celebration lunch.

It was a wonderful gesture which illustrates so well how we never forget our teachers and the role they play in developing our lives.

Peter Ward taught these 'girls' between 1958 and 1961 when they left Heigham House. He also taught at St Thomas More RC school and will be remembered with affection by all those who attended the schools over the years.

'We all decided to take him out for lunch to celebrate his 90th birthday. He was an excellent and popular teacher and is still very bright,' said Janet Metcalfe (McCabe) who was joined by Jill Stolworthy (Pelham), Pat Crisp (Mallett), Sheila Goodwin (Chittock), Pat Knights (Dyer) and Margaret Wilkins (Murray).

%image(15643007, type="article-full", alt=""More!": Some of the enthusiastic crowd at Second Opinion's final gig at Acle Social Club.")

They had made contact with Mr Ward again after organising reunions for Willow Lane, Heigham House and St Thomas More schools which have rekindled so many friendships.

The three Roman Catholic schools in Norwich were linked over the years, educating thousands of boys and girl.

Heigham House operated from the West Pottergate home of the first Lord Mayor of Norwich Dr Ernest Blyth, who was a man who devoted much of his life to improving education standards in the city.

It opened in 1939 and developed into a secondary modern school for boys and girls. It became known as St Thomas More and a new school opened.

'We had about 200 pupils and I believe they were the best behaved children in the whole of Norwich. They always respected other people,' said Mr Ward.

It was St Thomas More headmaster Jack Rudden who hit the headlines in 1960 when he asked parents not to allow their children to arrive at school in 'jerseys dedicated to pop singers, high-heeled shoes, ballerina skirts and other teenage aberrations.'

Then eight years later headmistress Miss P B Delahan said: 'May I suggest that dads should see their sons get value for money at the barbers and that mothers should notice the length, or lack of length, of their daughters' skirts.'