THE YEAR 1964 was a memorable one. It saw the first broadcasts of Top of the Pops and Crossroads on TV, the trial of the Great Train Robbers, and a general election that brought Harold Wilson's Labour Party to power.

It was also especially memorable for more than 100 11-year-olds who arrived for their first day at Queen Elizabeth's grammar school in Crediton.

It was exactly half a century ago...which could explain why most of the former pupils are planning a sentimental journey back to the town, from all over the country and even abroad, to celebrate that 50th anniversary with a special School Reunion of The Class of '64.

Organisers of the reunion travelled from all over the country to attend a meeting at the school to discuss plans.

Former BBC political correspondent, Robert Orchard, was among those 11-year-olds and is now among those planning the reunion.

He explained: "The Class of '64 were the last generation of pupils to experience life in what were then two, separate, single-sex schools - the Girls' High School and QE Grammar School for Boys (founded in 1547).

"These two stood next to each other at the top of the town in Western Road – pupils eyeing each other uneasily across the hockey pitches, until the schools merged a year later to form the co-educational Queen Elizabeth's School.

Another former pupil, Brian Harding recalls that life was very different at QES when the Class of '64 arrived for their first day at what seemed to many to be modelled closely on a public school!

"It was a bygone age of boys-only lessons, Saturday morning school, lots of sport - soccer was banned - it was rugby, hockey and cricket only, and itchy military uniforms for the weekly square-bashing of the Combined Cadet Force or CCF... complete with an annual march through Crediton High Street!"

The reunion is planned for next April, giving time to try to trace as many as possible of their former school pals, and former teachers too.

So far, says another former pupil, Bob Tatchell, progress has been good: "We have already managed to track down some 60 ex-pupils from The Class of '64, with a further 15 or so leads being actively pursued.

"So that's well over half of the total in our year-group, on the best information we have. Nearly 50 of these have said they are interested in coming back to QE to meet up with old friends and see what many of them have been up to in the decades since we left school."

John Sandford, who pioneered the first Class of '64 reunion in 1991, is playing a key role again.

He explained: "We held two reunions in the 1990s before the internet took off and it was a very hard slog tracking down people back then... I know because I did most of it!

"We did eventually trace more than 100 of them but of course when we came to start planning this 50 Years On reunion - only three months ago, really - the addresses and phone numbers we had were 20 years out of date.

"But the internet has been a huge help and new names and contact details are coming in almost every day now so we're optimistic of an excellent turnout... after all, this may be the last reunion we hold, as we are all over 60 now!"

Shelagh Phelps has fond memories of the former Girls' High School and its traditions. And she hopes the reunion will put old friends back in contact and may stimulate them to keep in touch after the reunion: "I think the main thing is to give people a chance to catch up, chat and reminisce a little. I always feel it is nice to be back on the same grounds as the original group came from.

"We have started a 'Facebook' page and are working on a website to help spread the word but we are really hoping today's visit will help prompt more of the ex-pupils who still live locally to contact us, and also to tell QES friends who they are still in touch with, about the reunion," she said.

Bill Staden, another veteran who helped plan The Class of '64's two previous gatherings in the 1990s, has been given responsibility for setting up a special website to promote the reunion. A distinguished pianist since school days, he is also brushing up on the music for the QES School Song. Inherited from the Boys' Grammar School, it survived into the 1970s until the school went comprehensive.

He said: "This ancient song, called 'Schola Kyrtonensis', has rather old-fashioned words and a Latin chorus, which baffles many people, but it also has very rousing music... It was sung regularly in our schooldays. So when we held our reunions in the 1990s, the ceremonial School Dinner in the evening would always end with a stirring rendition ... sung with great gusto by the former pupils... well, those who could remember the words.... all to the general astonishment of the current-day teachers we invited along, who seemed to have no idea it had ever existed."

Former teacher Miss Marion Olds is looking forward to seeing some of her ex-pupils on Friday, and more at the reunion itself.

She said: "It's interesting to see former students and to hear how life has treated them. It is 25 years since I myself left QE. In my time in Crediton schools I saw many changes. I stayed put and taught in a Girls' Grammar, a Co-ed Grammar, a Comprehensive and a Community College.

"The challenge to the school and the teachers was to adapt to the different needs of the students—and, of course, to the changes in technology."

Anyone wishing to attend the reunion should email Robert Orchard at: [email protected]">[email protected] .

Alan Quick