What was your teaching style and what did you enjoy about your lessons?

For the most part during my time at Prior’s Field I taught the lower set in each year. I enjoyed trying to encourage girls who found that French wasn’t their easiest subject to master. Having struggled myself at German when I was at school through having an impatient and harsh teacher, I always endeavoured to encourage and not to humiliate and tried to make the lessons fun to be in. I used a star system as a reward for effort. Playing bingo with new vocabulary, singing songs and rhymes, using real (old fashioned now) telephones to have conversations, describing animals using soft toys, watching films, videos and television programmes were just some of the ways my French lessons were taught, particularly with the younger years. I hope they were enjoyable even if high exam marks were not always achievable. Mr Read, Head of Modern Languages, commented once that a contented buzz seemed to come from my classroom.

What are your memories from the French trips?

The first French trip I organised in 1989 was also the largest, I think because it had been a long time since a trip abroad had happened. I took 48 girls plus staff to Saumur. I had never run a school trip previously and probably overcompensated on the details, making sure each person took a loo roll and hand soap with them for the journey, knowing how bad French public loos were at the time. We had some exciting and eye-opening experiences. During that first trip, Mrs Jennifer Carter, Mrs Marilla Ferguson, Mrs Lucille Strachan and I took the girls for a walk around Saumur one evening, little anticipating that 48 young women walking around a town close to a soldiers’ barracks would draw young men like bees to a honey pot. We felt like sheepdogs keeping the flock together!! On the outward journey of another trip a diabetic 3rd former suddenly came forward in the coach to say that she must have a meal to eat. It had to be now. We had nothing substantial in the way of food with us, so came off the main roads and tried to find a nearby village or cafe/restaurant. We found nothing except a family sitting outside their home eating their evening meal. It was a disused garage so the coach driver pulled in, Mrs Caroline Carter explained our predicament and the lady of the family happily cooked an omelette - crisis averted! 

I remember staying with a French family and loved it! It really improved my French and I remained a pen-friend with the girl for months afterwards. Do you have any stories from those trips?

Staying with French families was an eye-opener for many. Understanding that saying ‘merci’ when offered something at the table meant ‘no thank you’ was difficult and bewildering until it was explained and customs such as the man of the house producing a knife from his pocket to cut bread or lifting a soup bowl and drinking from it highlighted the difference in our cultures. Many eventful things happened from passports being left behind, Mrs Harvey needing medical attention having accidentally sliced her hand with a carving knife, staff borrowing bicycles to cycle round checking up that everyone was where they should be and not out on the town, to Mrs Smith collapsing at a motorway services on the way home and being whisked away by red clad ‘sapeurs-pompiers’. On that particular trip there were only three members of staff, so my dilemma was to leave Mrs Smith on her own, or to ask Mrs Ferguson to stay with her and to return alone with the girls and the coach driver. While I debated what to do one very enterprising pupil had gathered up the rest of the group and returned to the coach so that everyone was present and accounted for when it was time to continue the journey. Mrs Smith and Mrs Ferguson returned the following day.

You did more than just teach French at Prior's Field. Tell us about that.

Very early on in my time at Prior’s Field, apart from rescuing and returning a runaway first former from Prior’s Field road at lunchtime (who I think later became Head Girl), I also started teaching Word Processing. The school had a few BBC computers. Mrs Alder, Head of Maths was also in charge of computing. Learning that I could type she told me that I could teach Word Processing. I had no idea what Word Processing was! No one had a computer at home in those days and such things were in their infancy. However, I was willing to try, so I enrolled in a Word Processing class at the local Adult Education Institute. The computers were different to the school BBC ones, so every Tuesday evening I learned how to carry out a task at the evening class, went home, rewrote the notes using the BBC handbook and went in to teach the same lesson the following day. It sounds ridiculous now, but it was new for everyone. I later introduced French and Spanish Word Processing. Quite a few sixth formers passed Word Processing in these languages.

You ran the Careers department. What were the highlights?

As well as French and Word Processing I also ran the Careers Department, taking it over from Mrs Morden. Arranging work experience and Careers Days in conjunction with Surrey Careers and ISCO was part of my work as well as Sixth Form ‘bonding’ days arranged by the Navy or Army. On one such occasion, the Navy flew in one of their helicopters having offered to take up to 4 from the school on an aerial trip locally. I arranged a whole school draw to choose the lucky four. At the last minute I was also offered a ride, but too much a coward, I offered Mr Barnett my seat so that he could take photographs of the occasion.

Clubs also featured much during my time at Prior’s Field. Quite early in my career Miss Rosemary West and I ran junior and senior Christian Union meetings. In those days it was after school and before supper so everyone was hungry and large numbers were enticed to attend by the cakes I used to make and bring in from home. I also ran a knitting and crochet club, which was perhaps the least successful of the clubs I had a hand in, as those who attended never achieved very much with their knitting. I also led a jewellery making club and an art club, all at different times.

Can you think of any amusing things some of the girls did during lessons?

Many amusing things happened during lessons and sometimes you just had to laugh. On one occasion every time any girl in the class spoke or answered a question, she preceded it with the word ‘well’. It took a while for the penny to drop but I had a bad habit of starting every sentence with ‘well’. It was their way of telling me.

Another time in what was the Junior Common Room, I was showing a French video when someone asked if they could go to the toilet. The girl left the room, a few minutes later, another girl asked. I said yes, she could go, but could she tell the first girl to hurry up and return. Neither girl came back. A third pupil asked if she could go. Again, I asked her to tell the first two to hurry up back. Now 3 girls were missing, and I was getting rather annoyed. I went to leave the room in order to find them only to hear giggles coming from a large cupboard by the door. I found all three girls hiding in the cupboard. Their trick had been to enter the cupboard when the door to the common room was open, thus hiding them from view. Cross as I was, I had to laugh.

What were your best memories?

My best memories of Prior’s Field are the many occasions when the whole school gathered for plays, concerts, carol services and Prize Giving. The first play I saw was at the end of my first Christmas term. It was magical, I can’t remember the title, but it was something to do with Outer Space. I was so impressed with the acting and musical skills of the pupils and staff (Mrs Carter played the violin) that I felt proud to be associated with the school. The ability of girls to transform themselves from ordinary, average, annoying (yes), youngsters into other world creatures, smart young ladies, talented musicians and gifted actors never failed to impress me. 

Prior’s Field was a unique community and I have many happy memories of sitting by the Common Room fire reading the newspaper and chatting with other staff, the amazing lunches served by the kitchen, tea, biscuits and bananas to be had at break, tea and toast in the afternoon. It would be untrue to say that in 25 years there were not times when things were not difficult and disturbing, hard and frustrating, from the school fire to the hurricane to deliberately disruptive pupils (fortunately rare), and to being reprimanded by Senior Staff (yes staff can be told off)!! However, during my time teaching I have made good friends amongst colleagues and learned much from the large number of invariably interesting, gifted, not so gifted, lively, imaginative, hardworking pupils that make up Prior’s Field School.

Madame Gunn with the Fifth Form in 2002