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Dunnery Returns for Wyndham Farewell

 

What better way of marking the end of a brilliant school than to invite one of its most famous sons to make a stunning contribution to an end of term concert for each of the year groups? Introduced by Mrs Glaister as the lad she had warned that he would never make anything of his life if he did not pay more attention to his Maths and stop playing the guitar and listening to records, Francis Dunnery held the theatre spellbound as he sang 'Hometown', remembering from New York, the city of sad millionaires, Murphy's meat pies and the lamb that cried freedom on Sca Fell Pike. The songwriter who made Gulley Flatts Boys famous in Japan, the rock star who founded chart topping 'It Bites' and still draws fans to Egremont from all over the world just to hear him play in his hometown, struck just the right note on Wyndham's last day, remembering a school whose spirit will live on in West Lakes Academy when it opens in September but which will never be quite the same again.

A little later the school flag, which had been flying all morning in the rain, was lowered to the notes of the Last Post played by Stuart Humphrys before the silent assembly of teachers and students in the yard, and hundreds of balloons were released into the clouds.
A group of Wyndham's young journalists were busy all morning interviewing staff and fellow pupils. Jolene Haig and Kira Thompson found that Mrs Hinde would miss Wyndham and wished the weather was nicer to let the balloons go, but she liked the idea of a refurbished technology block with a bigger staff room store cupboard.

They found mixed views about the coming change. Paige was looking forward to the Academy's opening in September, but was reserved about the new uniform. "Nice, but I think the tank top is horrible."
Other children were looking forward to the holidays as a time for sleeping off all their hard work.
Jack Carver told them that he felt excited and happy about next year and the changes what are going on but Abigail Draper was unhappy that Wyndham School was closing and Scott Fowler declared that he didn’t like changes.

How can you find the words on occasions like this? The editor is deeply sorry for having caused distress to former colleagues in last month’s article, "Taking a hard look at ourselves," but he did so with words of Francis Dunnery ringing in his ears: "That’s Peter Watson, my English teacher, and at last I’ve got him to listen to me." For not listening carefully enough, early enough to Frankie and all his other other pupils he is even more deeply sorry.

   

 

 

   
   

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