AN urgent appeal is being made to old boys and girls of Marlborough schools for funds to pay for memorials to mark anniversaries being celebrated by a reunion in September.
Former students from all over the world, who went to the town's grammar and secondary modern schools and St John's, say they will attend the reunion day on September 30.
Dennis Lavis, who attended Marlborough Grammar School between 1945-51 is helping organise the event and said he knew of former students now living in New Zealand and America who have promised to attend.
The grammar school was founded 450 years ago in The Parade on the site of St Peter's Junior School. The junior school took over the building when the new grammar school, now the St John's upper school, was built in Orchard Road in the early 1960s.
This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the merging of the former grammar and secondary modern schools to become St John's School taking the name of the hospital which stood on The Parade site where the first grammar school was built.
The most important anniversary is that the grammar school was founded 450 years ago in 1550 and by coincidence it's 25 years since it ceased to be a grammar school and became a comprehensive, said Mr Lavis.
September 30 will see five separate reunions: for the students at the original grammar school in The Parade; those who attended the new grammar school in Orchard Road; students of the secondary modern when it was housed in the former US military hospital on The Common from 1947-64; those who went to the secondary modern in Chopping Knife Lane and students of St John's after the grammar and secondary schools merged.
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