Still Putting on a Good Show

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One of the almshouse residents said the flowers along St Helen Wharf have been a good show this summer.

The flowers still need watering, and the town council’s waterer was out keeping them going. So, with summer beginning to wind down, the flowers are still doing well with a little help. They haven’t grown leggy like they do later in the season.

There has been a little rain over recent days, although not enough to do much of the job after such a dry summer. There is no green in the lawns apart from some non grassy plants with deeper roots.

Abingdon School to begin its move to co-education

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A historic change is taking place at Abingdon School this September, as girls join the senior school for the first time.

From September 2026, girls will be welcomed into the First Year (Year 7) and Sixth Form (Year 12). The move has been planned as a gradual year by year transition. The school will become fully co-educational by 2030.  The Prep School has already begun its own move to co-education.

Abingdon is not alone in making this change. Single-sex education has been in decline over the past decade, falling from 25 per cent of independent schools in 2013 to 18 per cent in 2024. Most of this decline has been due to single-sex schools becoming coeducational. There are now more single-sex girls’ schools than boys’ schools (Ref 1). St Helen and St Katharine in Abingdon remains a single-sex girls’ school.

Ref 1: Civitas, Commission on the Future for Independent Schools.

Vive l’Amitié! – “Long live friendship!”

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This weekend was a chance to see the friendly rivalry between our two Abingdon Morris dancing teams. On Saturday, Mr Hemmings Traditional Morris Dancers welcomed visitors from Argentan. On Sunday, it was the turn of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers to welcome the civic party and members of the Cercle Jumelage Europe Argentan. One of the dances, the Maid of the Mill, saw dancers honouring one of the organisers from Argentan.

The Fool, Mr Roger Cox, introduced the Mayor of Ock Street, Mr Harry Knight, to the visitors from France, along with the famous Ock St Horns.

Sunday ended with a buffet at the Trinity Church Conduit Centre, bringing together the visitors from Argentan and the hosts. It was a chance for everyone to get together and celebrate 70 years of friendship between our two towns.

Remembering some familiar Abingdon people

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We’ve sadly lost several familiar faces in Abingdon recently. The first three appear on the memorial pages of Tonks Funeral Directors. I’ll start with Tony Grealy, as I was asked to mention that his funeral is at St Helen’s Church on Tuesday, 25 August at 2pm, where he was an active member.

Many people in South Abingdon and the town centre will remember Tony for his cheerful smile and his way of saying hello to just about everyone he met, even if they didn’t know his name. In later years, he used a walking frame and lived in an almshouse near St Helen’s Church before moving to Nicholson House.

Donations in his memory are for The Abingdon Foodbank, where Tony could sometimes be seen helping out in South Abingdon.

Jenny Berrell was for many years the curator at the Abbey Buildings. She will be remembered by many people who visited or were involved with Abingdon’s historic buildings.

Tony Richmond was another familiar figure at many town events. He was a former journalist  and was actively involved with many local societies and his articles can be seen in various local magazines.

In the Abingdon Herald obituaries, Martin Smith appeared this week. Martin served on Abingdon Town Council from 2003 to 2011 and was most often pictured on this blog when leading the Boundary Walk. This was just one of his many contributions to the town and beyond.

His funeral service will take place at South Oxfordshire Crematorium at 12 noon on Wednesday, 9 September.

The flowers are from St Ethelwold’s Garden, photographed a couple of days ago.