MORE than 50 former classmates of Marlwood School have come together for a big reunion to coincide with their 50th birthdays.

Members of the class of 1979-1986, who are all hitting the landmark age this year, met up on Saturday, June 9 to catch up and reminisce on days gone by.

Visitors came from all over the country, including the Peak District, Cornwall and Milton Keynes, and from as far away as Saudi Arabia for the get together, with many greeting familiar faces they had not seen since they were 16-years-old.

But it wasn't just former pupils in attendance, as Thornbury Carnival founder and the class' chemistry teacher David Goldring also joined in the fun regaling everyone with stories of school throughout the evening.

Originally the reunion was meant to take place at the school, but after the attendance list begin to grow, it was moved to Alveston House Hotel, with the walled garden being put to good use in the wonderful sunshine.

Organiser Elspeth Taylor, who teamed up with fellow farmer Rich Cornock to bring their old year together, said that the main inspirations were because everyone was turning 50 and after having lived in Brighton for several years, on her return, she realised she had not kept in contact with her school friends for years.

“It was just great. People came from all over the country and even further away, a lot of beer was consumed,” she joked.

“It was lovely to find out what people were doing. We had farmers, press officers, businessmen and women, teachers, all walks of life.

“Half of those there have stayed local, while the rest are all over the place, but the majority of people hadn’t changed at all.

“People were straight back into all the nicknames they had and asking how families were. Everything came back as we all went down memory lane.

“Several of us had brought photos on their phones of us at Marlwood and even at primary school, it was really special.”

While a visit of the school had been considered, it was not needed as one of the attendees had taken a video of the school as it is today after being given a tour by the caretaker. The video was played on loop in the background, giving everyone an opportunity to see what modern-day Marlwood looks like.

Elspeth added that everyone had loved the experience and that there were plans to do a summer social at the White Hart in Littleton and potentially even another reunion in 10 years’ time.