It was very special to have four former headteachers as well as Mrs Haslam, our current Headmistress, present at the Emily Simon Legacy Lunch held recently at school. We were delighted to welcome Miss Hulme, Mrs Kenyon, Mrs Pickering and Mrs Marks and made sure that we captured the moment of having five WGS Headmistresses together for posterity.

We were also pleased to welcome alumnae, former staff and friends to the lunch, an event to thank those who have pledged to leave a gift in their will to the School.

Guests arrived in time for a drinks reception where they had the opportunity to meet our Sixth Form Bursary Ambassadors who talked about their experiences at Withington and the difference that bursary support had made to their education and to their lives.

Following this, two members of The Gambia team and Miss Browning gave a presentation of highlights from their recent trip and demonstrating the impact that our ongoing relationship with organisations in The Gambia, especially the Mama Tamba Nursery, makes to the children there.

Over lunch Mrs Haslam addressed guests, saying that it was particularly appropriate to be holding the lunch one hundred years after one of Withington’s founders, Emily Simon, bequeathed the playing fields to the school, benefitting thousands of pupils through the generations.