Can you help solve another school mystery…
Does this story ring any bells? Does anyone recall there being a bell at West Heath? Not a hand-held one, but a large bell which would have been hanging somewhere. Laurence Corper has contacted WHOGA to ask if anyone remembers…
Old girls clear up confusion over Miss Elliott’s accident
The confusion surrounding the location of the accident that caused the death of former West Heath headmistress Miss Phyllis Elliott, has finally been cleared up thanks to memories provided by former pupils. Previously, stories circulated that she drowned in January…
Where did ‘tragic mischance’ involving West Heath headmistress take place?
Miss Phyllis Elliot, the West Heath headmistress who made the bold decision to move the school from Ham Common to Sevenoaks in the 1930s, sadly drowned in a swimming pool accident in 1967, two years after her retirement. Miss Elliott…
Gail takes us back to West Heath during the 1950s in words and photographs
Gail Lynch (nee Malcolm) was a pupil at West Heath from 1955 to 1960. Here, with aid of her own photographs from that era, she describes some delightful memories of her time at the school and has helped bring some…
Photographic memory
Flash, bang, wallop, what a picture… By Frank ‘Scoop’ Baldwin When the receivers held an auction after West Heath closed its doors in 1997, it seemed anything and everything connected to the school went under the hammer. Even items like…
Ruth Rudge remembers when it was so cold in bed she had to wrap herself in newspaper!
The story of how Ruth Rudge (pictured) found herself teaching Latin at West Heath in the mid-1950s, before she became headmistress (1965 – 1988), was told in her own words in an old school magazine (see full account below). It…
Ski trip film stars
Who do you recognise in this month’s film footage? It is from a school ski trip in the late 80s (or possibly early 90s). The first ski trip was to Les Arcs, and this was followed by Les Deux Alpes,…
Caught on camera… in the old gym
Take a look at this video film of a games lesson in the old gym, which also doubled as a dance studio. It was also used for the occasional play performed on a stage made of large boxes. There are…
Memories of West Heath from the 1940s
by Frank ‘Scoop’ Baldwin Griselda Gifford (nee Willoughby) became a pupil at West Heath just after the second world war. Here, Griselda takes us back to her schooldays when she remembers, among other things, sneaking into Sevenoaks to watch a…
Christmas – a time of excitement
Here is a delightful photo of former headmistress Ruth Rudge during one of the West Heath Christmas lunches held just before the end of term when you could feel the excitement as pupils and staff prepared to head home to…