With The Prep turning 140 years old on 18 January 2025, here’s a look back at the celebrations that took place at Dulwich College Preparatory School (DCPS) in 1985 to mark the school’s 100th anniversary.

No current member of staff was teaching back in 1985, forty years ago. To give some context of wider events in 1985, Margaret Thatcher and the Conservatives were in power. It was the year that the Miners’ Strike ended, and there were riots in Brixton, Tottenham, Toxteth and other cities across the UK. The Sony Walkman was the gadget of the year (remember them?). Everton won the Football League Championship, and the Bradford City stadium fire and the Heysel Disaster rocked football. In cricket, David Gower led England to a 3-1 home win in the Ashes. Live Aid was another big news item. ‘Back to the Future’ was the box office hit of the year, and on the day The Prep turned 100, the band Foreigner were No. 1 in the charts with ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’.

In preparation for the centenary, Headmaster, Mr Hugh Woodcock, set up a planning sub-committee of senior staff to arrange a series of events involving every child that would span the first half of 1985, especially the summer term. A special calendar of events was published. Celebrations kicked off in March with a Centenary Concert at Fairfield Halls in Croydon. Centenary Photographs were taken throughout the year. The Headmaster spent much time personally tracing old boys and former staff members to invite them to the summer celebrations, which in the pre-computer days would have seen a lot of hard work involving letter writing, phone calls and the use of paper records.

A key highlight of the celebrations was Centenary Day itself on Friday 7 June. It was one of the rare occasions where all sections of the school, the Nursery included, gathered at Alleyn Park. The day saw a royal visit when HRH The Duke of Gloucester arrived at 11.00am in the pouring rain to be greeted by Mr Woodcock, staff and boys. The Duke toured various parts of the school, meeting boys from The Annexe and Lower School. He attended a service in the hall where he addressed older boys and unveiled a plaque to commemorate his visit.

The festive picnic planned for the afternoon was moved indoors because of the weather. It was followed by a grand fancy dress parade with the theme ‘the last one hundred years’. In the evening, there was a celebratory Summer Serenade concert in The Annexe Hall. The wet weather certainly didn’t dampen the excitement of the day.

The next day, Saturday 8 June, was Old Boys’ Day, when several hundred attended either a lunch or dinner for Old Boys and partners (some did both!). There were tours throughout the day led by DCPS pupils. The buffet lunch tickets were £5 a head, and the 7.00pm dinner had a dress code of lounge suits. A marquee was outside, with a bar open for much of the day. There was an afternoon of sporting events arranged too, with cricket v Sevenoaks at Grange Lane from 2.30pm and athletics at 4.00pm with tea back at school. The weekend’s events concluded on Sunday 9 June, with a Centenary Thanksgiving Service at St. Stephen’s for staff, former staff and invited guests with a buffet lunch back at school.

The Centenary PTA Ball followed on Saturday 15 June, and the term’s celebrations were wrapped up by the Centenary School Play ‘Adventure Story’ by Terence Rattigan, which ran from 12 to 16 July.

Looking at programmes and records, there was plenty of commemorative merchandise available. Items for sale included a Centenary Mug (£1) and Centenary Plates (£2 to 4.50). A Centenary Cookbook with over 250 recipes from the present and past boys, staff and parents (£3.50) was produced (with an evening of food and wine from the Cookery book having taken place in February). The school magazine of 1983-4 (£3), a Centenary Key Fob (40p), a Centenary Pencil (10p) and even Centenary DCPS wine at £33 per case (Bordeaux Blanc or Bordeaux Claret) could be bought and collected from the Centenary Office.

What a year it must have been with a whirlwind of celebration that fittingly marked The Prep’s first 100 years, which had begun quietly back in 1885 at Whitfield Lodge (more on the school’s history will follow in due course!).

Our 140th anniversary is obviously a smaller occasion but does include a Victorian Day for the boys and teachers, along with a school assembly on the early history of the school to complement this. The 140th Anniversary Ball and Fundraiser will round off the academic year. The 150th anniversary in ten years will be an important landmark, and I am sure it will be celebrated with gusto during that year.

If you have any personal memories from any of these events or other centenary merchandise you might have collected (at present, I can find only the calendar and cookbook in our archives), I would love to hear about them. Please get in touch with me via the Alumni Office (alumni@dulwichprepsenior.org.uk).