Bremond College

I was Anne Whitmore back in the 60's and also went to Bremond College. Remember well Madame Marash and Sir, and of course Mrs Daniels who always had it in for those of us that had come from Africa, Valerie Banks, and Lucretia Jeronides. All these memories take you back!!! Anne

From what I remember Ann Gould was the head girl at the time - she went on I believe to become an MP!

Madam Marash was German but I seem to remember she managed to put me off French very successfully. How on earth did I land up living in France!! Anne

Responding to Anne Hills. I went to Bremond in the late 50s early 60s but only for about 2 years. My name then was Hilary Collins. The story I was told about Madam and Sir was; she was one of the daughters of the Bass Beer group and eloped with Sir, who was Austrian and the family bought the school for her before the war. I can remember one music class, when someone clipped a piece of string with a lighted!! piece of paper to the skirt of the music teacher!! It certainly was a bizarre place.

Some snippets from years gone by Coventry Evening Telegraph - Thursday 30 March 1939 BREMOND COLLEGE SPEECH DAY Miss S. W. Michell on Risk of Mechanised Thinking Miss S. W. Michell, headmistress of Stoke Park Secondary School, presented the prizes and certificates at Bremond College's fifth annual speech day yesterday. Councillor J. Holt, presiding, stressed the necessity for the right atmosphere in a school and also spoke of the fine work which was being done for higher education in Coventry. In her report, the Principal (Mrs. J. G. Marsh) [sic] described the rapid growth of the school and asked for greater co-operation. She emphasised the importance of keeping girls at school until they had at least taken the School Certificate. Indiscriminate use of wireless, newspapers, and cinemas, said Miss Michell, could only lead to mechanised thinking and a lessening of appreciation for the beautiful. Girls at school were trained to think and appreciate beauty. ________________________________________________________ Coventry Evening Telegraph - Saturday 26 August 1939 BREMOND COLLEGE EVACUATION Bremond College (for Girls) will, in the event of war, move to HILL TOP COURT, PENMAENMAWR, NORTH WALES. For particulars apply the Principal: (Mrs.) J. G. MARASH, M.A. 'Phone Cov. 67224 ________________________________________________________ Coventry Evening Telegraph - Saturday 2 December 1939 BREMOND COLLEGE BREMOND COLLEGE IS RE-OPENING IN COVENTRY Spring Term Starts 18th January, 1940. Full particulars from The Principal, Bremond College, Glyn Garth Palace, Garth, Anglesey, North Wales. ________________________________________________________ Coventry Evening Telegraph - Monday 3 April 1944 Bremond College Speech Day "When we had cleared up after November 14-15 we had seven children left. To-day we have a full school of 130 children and a long waiting list," said the Principal (Mrs. J. G. Marash) reviewing the progress of Bremond College at the first wartime speech day held at Coventry Technical College on Saturday afternoon. The school has just celebrated its tenth anniversary. Last year its first pupil passed the Northern Joint Board higher school certificate, and its first pupil entered an honours degree course at Birmingham University.

Hello all, I don't know if this forum is still active. I was a working pupil at Bremond College about 1968/60. I was only 16 and it was my first time away from home. There were two other girls there, Sue and Susan, Wendy Walker was in charge of the stables. Lippizaners Erga and Nautika and I remember Wanda, Harwin, Mushka, Kreisler, Sunset a Shetland pony and I still have some of their horseshoes in my home today. I shared one of the rooms in the stable yard and it was freezing cold. We worked all hours for £2 a week I think and the food was awful! I felt sorry for Sir, and Madam was scary. There was a couple who helped in the house and gardens, Sheila and Gary. I felt sorry for Sheila, she had a hard time. and I felt sorry for all the girls at the school, their lives were miserable. I learnt a lot in the short time I was there. A life changing experience for me and one I wouldn't have missed for the world. Jean.

Hi Jean, welcome to the forum. The topics are open but it takes time for people to fill them with information and memories. Thanks for yours.

I was at Bremond for a couple of years from 1956. My parents and two younger brothers went to Tanzania in 1953, and as secondary schools were few and far between in Tanzania at that time, parents decided to send me back to UK for schooling. I lived with relatives in Balsall Common wile attending Bremond. I have to say, for the most part, I enjoyed my time there, and much of the things I was taught there remain with me to this day. I discovered a love for foreign languages and studied French, German, Latin and Greek while there, which laid a foundation for the rest of my life. I was also horse mad, so had quite a bit in common with Madame Marash and she was always very kind to me. I remember Pluto Erga very well, also a beautiful black horse called Jet, which would run free in the indoor school and Madame would give him instructions from the gallery. I had the dubious privilege of walking her dachshunds during lunch break, they were called Waldi and Fritz. I also remember the dance classes run by Hazel Hathaway, a professional ballroom dancer. It was quite a surprise when I first saw her there as I had attended her Dance School at the age of 3, before we went off to Tanzania. Yes, the uniform was a little unusual, mortar boards for example. I was at Bremond for a couple of years after which time I returned to Tanzania to finish my education. A new secondary modern boarding school had been built in the south of the country - St Michael's and St George's, Iringa.

I recall being on the lower deck on the number 17 Fenside bus travelling back into Broadgate after visiting my grandmother with my younger brother who was only 6-7 years old and stopping outside Bremond College to pick up some pupils. My brother and I were seated on the front two seats on the left hand side when several of the pupils sat opposite us on the long bench with the back facing away from the driver looking down the bus. My brother took one look at the girls dressed in their uniforms complete with mortar boards and fell into uncontrollable fits of laughter all the way into town. We've all experienced moments when we've been in the company of someone laughing aloud and yes, you've guessed, inevitably most of the other passengers were reduced to tears of laughter. So I'd just like to apologise if it was anyone on this forum that was on that bus in the early 60s who was subjected to my brothers fit of laughter. Sorry.

Hi all ex Bremoaners (well, as far as I can remember, there was plenty to moan about). To say the least, Madam Marash was a "handful". How do I know? My late wife-to-be taught Speech and Drama there for just a year in somewhere between 1962 and 1966. She was Heather Davidson and taught at the time of Hazel Lynes (Lines?) and Maureen Daniels. We used to visit with Maureen and her husband Ivan and two sons, one I remember named Denzil. She had a bunch of senior pupils (all of them I know were a handful in the nicest possible way). One I know was Anne and another Philippa Dunnit. I`ve previously put much of this on in page 1 of this thread but heard nothing, but I would be interested to know if there is anybody still around who knew Heather in those days. If anybody outside Bremond is reading this, Heather also worked at WH Jones and PW & L Thompson. She also started an employment bureau, "Heather Heath".