Neighbouring schools, Hampton and LEH, have opened two new gates in the boundary fencing between their sites.
Hampton Headmaster, Kevin Knibbs, and LEH Head Mistress, Heather Hanbury, joined a group of pupils and staff for the official opening ceremony. The new gates are a welcome addition to the already close relationship between the two schools.
Hampton and LEH have stood side-by-side for over 80 years and past decades have seen different attitudes to breaches of the border dividing boys and girls. During the post-war period, official staff patrols were conducted to keep pupils from so much as talking to one another over the fence. Former pupils from the 1980s recall Hampton Headmaster Gavin Alexander driving his Mini Cooper along the boundary to ensure Hamptonians kept their distance and out of trouble with the formidable LEH Head Mistress, Liz Candy.
Today, Hampton and LEH pupils enjoy close links across many areas of school life, with boys and girls travelling together on the same coach network, sharing a Boat House on the Thames, and being taught together in Sixth Form Curriculum Enrichment lessons. They perform in a wide range of joint musical and drama productions, and journey across the world on a variety of shared trips and exchanges. The new gateways have been built into the boundary fencing to ensure boys and girls can cross between the two sites in the safest and quickest way possible.
The Headmaster Kevin Knibbs commented:
The new gates are emblematic of the special relationship between Hampton and LEH. We know that boys and girls at our schools already benefit from the best of both worlds, but they will now be able to do so even more easily.
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