THAMES VALLEY GRAMMAR SCHOOL GOES TO HOLLYWOOD!

Have you watched the movie "Shirley Valentine"? Noticed anything familiar about it? Of course the shots of Shirley and her friends smoking are taken in front of the gym - with a few good shots towards the boys' entrance.

Don't be confused by the lack of Thames Valley in the credits - the movie has been made since the school became the Waldegrave School for Girls, and they're the ones who get the glory!

Thanks to the eagle-eyed Chris Goddard for pointing out the above.

For more information (and pictures) of the old school in its present form, go to this link:

  • Click here to find out more about Waldegrave School for Girls


    Maureen White (Fisher) writes that in addition to "Shirley Valentine", Thames Valley was used in a BBC 4-part drama series in the early-mid 1990s. It was called "Goggle Eyes" and was about a very liberal single mum with 2 girls, who of course attended our school, wearing blue uniforms (Waldegrave standard uniform?). Mum took up with a very straight guy who wore glasses - the girls initially hated him and nick-named him "goggle eyes". They eventually came around when Mum was arrested on some sort of feminist demo, and he bailed them out, bought them nice take-aways, and made sure they were OK while Mum was in jail.

    The girls were shown at school in each episode, inside the building as well as out, and had all their intimate conversations in the girls' cloakrooms.

    I contacted the BBC some years ago, just after the Class of '95 reunion, to see what the video cost. I'll have another go at them to see if it has dropped in price since, and may well invest in a copy.