HUNDREDS of women were reunited with old friends as ex-pupils from as far back as the 1920s visited Wycombe High School.

Current pupils helped organise a huge reunion on Saturday, with about 500 women able to meet their old school mates in marquees set up for each decade at the Marlow Road grammar school.

The event marked the 100th anniversary of the Wycombe High School Guild, through which ex-pupils and staff keep in touch.

Janie Grover, 47, was there representing three generations of Wycombe High pupils. Her mother went to the school in the 1930s and her 15-year-old daughter Lucy Grover is a current pupil.

Mrs Grover, who lives on Green Road in High Wycombe, left the the school in 1981 and met up with old friend Alison Gibson, 47, who had travelled to the reunion from Denver, Colorado.

The pair were laughing about the strict rules when they attended and Mrs Grover said: “In our day we had our skirts and the cuffs of our jumpers measured.

“And the teachers were always very worried about us talking to boys at John Hampden next door. They used to tell us if you talked to the boys through the fence you would get pregnant!”

She added: “It was great fun though – it was all jolly hockey sticks and just felt care free.”

Mrs Gibson said: “It's the first time I've come back since I left the school - it all seems so small but I'm amazed that some of the buildings are the same.”

Meanwhile, Gwen Spear, 97, from Whitton in southwest London, was the oldest ex-pupil to attend and she remembered the school's old location on Priory Road in High Wycombe. She left in 1929.

She said: “We had a marvellous headmistress back then [Eva Dessin] who was born in Germany and was very strict and thorough.

“I remember in geography class the teacher would insist you got the right pronunciation when talking about a country - you had to say it the way they said it.”

Sixth-former Jess Hayley said the event had taken a lot of organising: “We've been working on it since last November and haven't had much of a life for the last two months.

“It's been strange for us, but really interesting and we've learned a lot about the history of the school.”

Wycombe High was founded in 1901 and was one of the first state schools for girls in the country, said headteacher Sharon Cromie.

She added: “It's been a tremendous opportunity to reflect on the history of the school and of female education in Britain.”