It was 1960 when a new cohort of pupils filed through the doors of Ramsey Grammar School for the first time.

Sixty-five years later, many of them are still in touch, and at the end of August they came together once again for a reunion filled with laughter, memories and music.

Around 30 former classmates gathered at Ramsey Rugby Club on Saturday, August 30 for the latest in a long line of reunions.

It was the ninth such event the group has held at five-year intervals since 1980, with the only break coming during the Covid pandemic.

For Gillian, who helped to organise this year’s gathering, it was a night that captured the enduring closeness of the class of 1960.

‘We’ve been quite a close group over the years,’ she explained.

‘It isn’t just the big reunions, for the past 10 years I’ve also organised a Christmas meal, and we hold a coffee morning on the first Tuesday of every month at the Spoonful café.

‘Even people from the UK drop in if they’re on holiday. It keeps the connection going.’

That connection was felt strongly on the night.

The evening began with live music from one of the former pupils, before Graham Dimelow provided a set of songs to keep the atmosphere lively.

At one point, the whole room joined in a rousing rendition of Forty Years On, the school’s anthem at the time.

For Gillian, part of the bond stems from the unusual size and character of their year group.

‘We were an exceptional year in the very first place,’ she said. ‘When we started in 1960, the school usually had four streams - A, B, C and D - but there were so many of us with similar ability that they had to create an A and an A Alpha.

‘I think that helped to keep us together.

‘But you also have to make the effort, and people like Elizabeth, who began organising the reunions, have been key to that.’

Some classmates travelled from as far as the Midlands and St Helens to attend, while many more sent messages from overseas.

But distance seemed to melt away as soon as people began to talk.

‘When you get together, there are no awkward silences,’ Gillian said. ‘It’s almost like you’ve never been apart.’

Looking back, she recalls Ramsey Grammar not just as a place of learning, but as the centre of a wider community life

“Yes, everybody enjoyed the grammar school,’ she said.

‘We were very lucky, there was so much to do as a group.

‘We had two cinemas, an outdoor swimming pool, the Palace ballroom, loads of activities. We even had Radio Caroline out in the bay!

‘We had some wonderful teachers too, which made it all the more enjoyable.’

As the night drew to a close, there was already talk of the next milestone.

The group plans to have a big celebration in 2030, marking 70 years since their schooldays began.