The school has just celebrated its 124th birthday, and with that launched a project to celebrate the 125th anniversary, in January 2026.
The school intends to mark the occasion by assembling a gallery of “faces of Bournemouth School”. All former students and staff are encouraged to participate. The hope is that there will be an online gallery of faces representative of all those who have passed through the school’s doors in the last 125 years. By clicking on an image, you will then reveal a short biography of that individual and read the memories that they have of their time at the school.
The school is encouraging as many as possible to submit their photographs, biographies and memories. Families of former students and staff who are no longer with us may also wish to make submissions on their behalf.
Anyone wishing to contribute to the project is warmly invited to visit the school’s BS125 project.
The School P.E. Department recently got in touch following this year’s Sports Day at Kings Park.
They are interested in trying to reach out to some of the school’s Record Holders amongst the alumni community. There are plenty of records from the 90’s and 00’s still standing, and one from as far back as 1985.
Can anyone help make contact with the names below?
David Taylor, who left our Sixth Form in 1991, has persuaded some other Old Bournemouthians (along with six other friends) to undertake a mammoth Challenge in May this year, all in support of the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Ukraine Appeal.
They will be cycling from Sandbanks to St Tropez between the 18 and 27 May’22 – a distance of 1300 km!
Further details of the challenge and about how to make a donation may be found at:
On Friday, 7th January, the School wished Alan Phillimore a long and happy retirement after almost 16 years of exemplary service to the school as the Catering Manager, and purveyor of such wonders as the Spicy Beast.
He has been a wonderful colleague and will be greatly missed!
There must have been a time in late 1981 when I decided: “I’m not going to read this thing, but I’ll put it away in case I have time in future”. And here we are, 39 years later, and I’ve dusted it down and taken a look. Even the adverts are interesting!
Sarah Coles has got in touch to speak to some OB’s about their experiences of Bournemouth School. She writes:
I am a mature History Undergraduate at Bournemouth University and, as part of a community history project, am looking into the educational and linked social opportunities available in Bournemouth throughout the years. This is a group project and I have been tasked with researching the grammar schools.
I would be very interested to hear from anybody who would like to tell me their tales of grammar school life in Bournemouth. This could be through a telephone conversation, e-mail or face to face meeting. Please email me in the first instance with your preferred method of contact and I will get back to you in person.
Thank you for your time and I hope to hear your tales soon. Sarah 😀.
About the book: Bournemouth Heroes tells the story of the British Army on the Western Front in Belgium and France, 1914-18. The narrative integrates the experiences of Bournemouthians who took part in these campaigns from the initial battles of August 1914 to the Armistice of 1918 and the occupation of Germany in 1919, and sets out to assess the contribution made by a small and newly-founded boys’ grammar school to the course of the war. As the author reveals, Bournemouth School members were involved in every major battle fought by the British Army on the Western Front. There, they were involved in all of the many developments of the war, including the first use of poison gas, of flamethrowers, and of tanks. These included boys who managed to serve despite being under-age, with some paying the ultimate price for their bravery.
Having established the membership of the
school from its foundation in 1901, the author began eighteen years of research
using school records; a range of local newspapers from the period; files held
at the National Archives, and elsewhere; information offered by contacts made
through the school and through on-line forums; and through on-line archives
from various Commonwealth countries. He identified 1,125 members of the school
to investigate, and 674 members of the school who served, though by no means
only on the Western Front. Over one hundred of them were killed, and many more
wounded.
The book will be of interest not only to military historians, but also to anyone with an interest in Bournemouth, Bournemouth School, and the families from Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Dorset whose lives were changed so dramatically by participation in the events of the war.
The School has now secured the funds to begin refurbishment and expansion in order to accommodate a rise from 150 to 180 students per yeargroup. Read the full Daily Echo article here.
