Back to school for old friends

Former Longridge students Rowan McAlpine, Roy Siu and Aman Nijjar still keep in touch and set up a return visit to re-connect with staff

THREE former students of Longridge Towers popped in this week to rekindle memories and keep building the legacy of the School.

Rowan McAlpine, Roy Siu and Aman Nijjar have all gone on to study in different parts of the UK, and are now moving into careers, but, keen to reconnect with their old teachers, they told us that after finishing school through the challenges of the Covid pandemic they have kept close ties with many of their peers.

“Longridge was a special place for us,” said Roy, who came to Longridge from Holy Trinity School and left to study mathematics and history at Warwick University, and is now planning a career in the RAF.

“I developed a lot of confidence from the school, and being in small classes. But it was a strange time for us because we were in Sixth Form as the Covid pandemic swept across the world, and it meant a lot of the leadership roles you take on at school didn’t apply because we were in lockdown, or having to keep a distance from each other.

“So, our end to the school was a bit different and that’s part of the reason for coming back now, when we are free from the pandemic and able to socialise properly, to see our former teachers and the school again.”

Former pupils from Dundee to Cornwall keep in touch

Rowan came to Longridge from Berwick Middle School – which will no longer be part of the English education system as it moves to primary and secondary schools – and she is now studying for a Masters in Creative Advertising at Edinburgh Napier University.

“I actually bumped into Roy at a Tesco, and he told me he wanted to come back to Longridge for a visit, and asked if I’d like to come,” she said. “I thought it was a great idea.

“I made great friends at Longridge and it is great that lots of us are still quite close, no matter where we have gone to after school. We have a WhatsApp group with people from Dundee down as far as Cornwall, and elsewhere in the world, and we keep in touch almost daily.”

No pressure to go to university

Rowan added: “That was one of the things about Longridge. Because the school has small classes, you really get to know each other pretty well, and you get to the know your teachers individually, and they know you properly. What I remember is the feeling that there was always someone there for you. Whether that was your peers, or teachers; it felt almost like a family, and if you had any problems there was always someone to talk to.

“The standard of education was also really good and it prepared me for the next stage, but what I liked was that there was no pressure to go to university. Teachers spoke about university but also apprenticeships and other routes into work, and there was always the feeling here that we were individuals, with different strengths and ideas. There was a sort of openness with teachers letting you know that if you didn’t want to go to university, that was okay. I ended up going to university but I liked the fact there wasn’t pressure.”

Mr Dodd welcomed the former students to Longridge this week and gave them a tour of their old school, first stopping to check out Roy’s name on the ‘Head Boy’ board.

A great small community

Aman was brought up in the village of Fenwick and came to Longridge from Prior Park First School in year four. She loved studying languages and went on to study History of French at the University of Nottingham, and as she met up again with Mr Dodd was quick to offer her services as a French teacher if ever required!

“It is really nice to come back to Longridge,” she said. “The school holds great memories for me.

“Like Rowan said, the smaller classes helped you to develop, as people and developing friendships with fellow students and teachers as much as in your studies. I remember that I had some problems in my Sixth Form and teachers found out about it and supported me through it. And we had one-to-one teaching at times which I don’t think we’d have got at other schools, which was a big help.

“Longridge is a great small community where everybody knows each other, and that’s why we were keen to come back. We knew we would be welcomed back and it’s great to be in the school again.

“I do feel that it prepared me for going on to university, and being able to choose what I wanted to do. I studied French and loved languages at Longridge, and I spent time in France in university, which was great, but I’m now doing a Law conversion course because I think I would like a career in Law. But I also like the idea of maybe teaching in the future – maybe at Longridge, who knows?”

As Mr Dodd returned to take the trio on their tour of old haunts, Roy added: “This place gave us confidence and it’s nice to be back, seeing it continue to do the same for many more pupils.”