ST. MONICA’S, KINGSWOOD. SPEECHES AND PRIZES. I'ORMEK PUPIL PRINCIPAL SPEAKER Speech Day at St. Monica’s, Kingswood, on Friday last had a special interest for the parents and pupils who filled the large marquee in the beautiful school grounds. It marked the retirement of Lord Glsborough Chairman of the Governing Body of this successful group of schools, and the visit of Vera Brittain, the well-known authoress and a former pupil at St. Monica’s as the principal speaker. The Countess of Gainsborough presented the prizes, and others on the platform were Lady Birkbeck, Miss Capstick (Headmistress!, Miss Bervon date Headmistress!, Mrs. Hosier (Secretarial Training College, London! and Mr. G. Thompson (Central Office). The Speech Day programme included exhibition of swimming, a lecture demonstration on the value of the technique and moxements of the revived Greek dance, an exhibition of pupils’ work and a masque by John Milton, “Comus,” in which the characters were taken by A. Somerset, B. Blayney, M. Vlieland, L. de Facci Negrati, M. Bensted, H. Greene, A. Kennedy and L. Worth. The string accompaniments were played by Mrs. A. Harrison Carter, the Misses Capern, Whitefoot and Olive Richards, and Mr. A. Harrison Carter. The music for the songs had been specially composed for and dedicated to St. Monica's by Edward Douse. A.R.C.M. Lord Gisborough who presided at the prizegiving, referred to the occasion as his “swan song” Chairman of the governing body and said that under the new organisation each of their eleven schools would have its own separate governing body, and Chairman. They had in the past done their best to meet the requirements of the headmistresses, and they could boast that that school was one of the finest and best equipped schools of its character in the country. Lord Gisborough paid tribute to the great work there of Miss Bervon, and said that they had been exceptionally fortunate in getting Miss Capstick as her successor (loud applause).

Surrey Mirror - Friday 13 July 1934