The Angmering School is a mixed comprehensive school in the county of West Sussex in the south of England. It is also the place where a group of 150 or so students – our year group – spent perhaps the most important years of their academic lives, from 1995 to 2000. Some left before the full five years were up, heading off to other schools elsewhere, others joined partway through the journey. 

Our year group – comprised primarily of students from the primary schools in the local catchment areas of East Preston, Angmering, Rustington, Ferring, Findon and Clapham & Patching – began our lives at Angmering on Tuesday the 5^th of September 1995. 

The head of year throughout the entire course of the group’s progress throughout Angmering was the wonderful Mr Eden (pictured left), a Maths teacher who had formerly taught PE and had just completed five years as head of year to the year 11 group of students who had left Angmering or moved on into the sixth form. 

As with all year groups at Angmering, we were split into several different tutor groups each with a group tutor to lead us, but these changed over the years as various tutors left for other schools or even, in some cases, other countries. Originally, there were Mrs Ford (the only tutor who actually lasted all five years, from 7FD in 1995 to 11FD in 2000), Mr Parker (replaced by Miss Norris in year 8 and then she was replaced by Mr Blackman at the end of year 9), Miss Mohammed (replaced by Miss Darby for year 11), Mr Spinner (replaced by Miss McNutt in year 8, who became Mrs Pate for year 9 when she got married, who was replaced by Miss Denning at the end of that year, who was replaced by Mr Pegram in year 10 – phew!), Miss Abbott (replaced by Mr Lillywhite for year 11), Miss Fennell (who became Mrs Ghosh when she married a history teacher, then was replaced by Miss Giritli for year 11) and finally Miss Fell (replaced by Mr Locke for year 8, who was replaced by Mrs Gould – a different one! – for year 9, who was replaced by Mr Francis in the final term of year 10). 

As with any year group we had our fair share of talented people, but it always seemed to be sport and music in which the group most excelled. From world-class tennis players to footballers and basketball players, as well as singers who had already made their own CD and all kinds of instrumentally talented types. But it was the vast array of talents in all areas that made this year group such a special group of people, as well as the fact that we were, on the whole, a pretty good bunch of human beings. 

But of course all good things must come to and end, and for us that end came in the summer of 2000. The last day of term, Thursday the 18^th of May, was a pretty happy occasion when half the males in the year seemed to come in dragged up to the nines, the girls had all gone gothic for the day and we had our emotional final year group assembly in the midst of that heavy rainstorm that battered down on the roof of the new hall and made Mr Eden practically inaudible until he finally decided to use a microphone. 

The prom on the evening of Friday the 19^th of May was also a pretty special occasion – the whole year group, or the vast majority of it anyway, all bonded together with a real sense of community and everyone seemed to have a good time, even when the gloriously misguided such as myself decided that we could actually sing (we couldn’t, most of us) and tried the karaoke.

Then of course there were the exams and the very final end, Thursday the 24^th of August, the GCSE results day when we finally learned whether or not all the last five years’ worth of effort and struggle had finally paid off. After that, we all went our separate ways – many of us onto the Angmering Sixth Form, some to other colleges and sixth forms, others to jobs and the scary outside adult world.

I could spend all day writing just about my memories of five years in this group, but that’s not what this site if for. It’s for everyone to be able to keep track of each other as the years go by and to share their memories and experiences, both good and bad. I hope I’m not the only person who feels sentimental enough about the times we had to actually contribute to this site. 

We can’t live in the past – but it’s nice to go back and remember the good times we had and the friends we made every now and then. It's amazing and a little frightening how quickly all the time seemed to go by - one moment we were intimidated little year 7s, the next we've finished year 11 and we're onto the rest of our lives. The school certainly changed, we changed as people and now all we have left are our memories. But what memories to have...