Eliots Green Reunion 2000




	Alternative navigation

The Eliots Green Grammar School Reunion Website

Reunion 2000

Eliots Green's first re-union of students and staff took place on Saturday 3 June 2000, some twenty-four years after the school ceased to be known by that name.

Key facts

The idea of arranging the reunion was conceived in 1998 by Paul Gleave and Paul Innes whilst in a pub in Ickenham. After a couple of pints, it all seemed like a perfectly normal thing to do ...
Research took place over two years in an attempt to find as many ex-EGGS as possible. Sorry if you weren’t one that we found in time - but we did try!
On the day we had 723 attendees, of whom 587 were ex-staff or ex-scholars.

A team of 26 people worked on the project in one form or another.
Proceeds arising from the reunion will be kept aside for a future event
Everything went according to plan apart from two minor problems that we were able to work around with some improvisation. These problems delayed the caterers serving of the buffet which had a knock-on effect with the timing of the group photographs, which inhibited people from returning to the bar, which led to the bar making a loss.
One person was taken ill but was quickly attended to by the St John's Ambulance service.
One or two non-EGGS people attempted to gatecrash but were unsuccessful thanks to our crack security team.

Project Diary
2 June 1998	Project launched after Paul Gleave & Paul Innes met for a beer in a pub in Ickenham.
5 - 20 June 1998	Initial logistics analysed. Outline costs of three options estimated. List of initial contacts prepared.
15 July 1998	Visited the school to view registers. Brief outline of proposals made to head teacher. Registers for 1967-70 intake are missing. However, drawers full of record cards do exist to enable contact addresses to be identified.
20 - 21 July 1998	My parents Jean & Wilf Gleave have the time to make a preliminary trawl through the school record cards to obtain a sample set of contact addresses.
25 July 1998	First contact list of 305 names drafted.
4 August 1998	First mailshot to 35 names sent out.
12 August 1998	First response to mailshot received. Further batch of 15 sent out.
17 August 1998	Contact database established.
31 August 1998	Quite a few positive responses received over last few weeks.
1 Septembe r 1998	Start to compile names for next mailshot.
10 Septembe r 1998	Letter sent to Northolt High School confirming interest, outlining proposals in more detail and requesting indication of terms and restrictions for use of school premises.
22 Septembe r 1998	Subscribed to InterlinkUK banner exchange network.
15 October 1998	Meeting with John Parry (present head of the school). Agreed date (3 June 2000) & general principles for the reunion. 50 tickets reserved.
13 November 1998	Dropped InterlinkUK banner exchange in favour of LinkExchange more details ...
November 1998 - January 1999	A steady trickle of registrations received. A few re-vamps to the plan, website and photo gallery sections updated generally, general follow ups to contacts made to date. Reached the 100-ticket reservation mark in December.
February 1999	Contacts established in the 1958 - 63 group. Registrations becoming more frequent. Added 'history' and 'methods' sections to website.
March 1999	Investigating marquee options and prices. Another batch of 200 addresses traced.
April / May 1999	More than 200 tickets reserved. Mentioned on national radio - Pam Ayres show reunion slot (thanks Andrea).Â Following up newly identified names and addresses from 1958 and 1973 intake years. Mailshot to confirmed addresses.
3 June 1999	More than 300 tickets reserved. 1st Co-ordinators meeting at Olde Greene Manne, Northwood.
13 Septembe r 1999	More than 400 tickets reserved. 2nd Co-ordinators meeting at Olde Greene Manne Northwood.
9 November 1999	Paul Gleave, Steve & Karen Spooner met with John Parry (Head) and Roger Moore (Deputy Head) to discuss logistics. Decided that as grassed area not available for marquee (due to it recently having been landscaped as a conservation area) and EGGS kitchen premises scheduled to be stripped out, we would switch the venue to the larger Vincent's hall, which has a separate dining hall attached.
6 December 1999	More than 500 tickets reserved. 3rd Co-ordinators meeting at Olde Greene Manne Northwood.
7 February 2000	More than 600 tickets reserved. 4th Co-ordinators meeting at Olde Greene Manne Northwood.
11 February 2000	First batch of 400 booking forms sent out by Andrea and Penny.
March 2000	Finalised arrangements with Hansons Caterers. 150 more booking forms sent out.
3 April 2000	More than 700 tickets reserved. 5th Co-ordinators meeting at Olde Greene Manne, Turpin Room.
17 May 2000	PG appears before Acton Magistrates for permit to sell alcohol - permission granted (!)
22 May 2000	Final co-ordination meeting at Olde Greene Manne.
31 May 2000	Confirmed booked numbers with caterers.
2 June 2000	Obtained hire van, visited site, set up, obtained drinks stocks.
3 June 2000	Arrived 12 noon, more setting up, 3pm doors opened.
4 June 2000	Phew!

Copyright Notice: For what it is worth, almost all parts* of this website including previously published versions are copyright © Paul Gleave as from June 1998 through to the present, please contact me if you wish to use any of this material elsewhere.
* certain elements are reproduced with the consent of the original copyright holders.