Welcome to the Georgian Alumnae Association (GALA), a network of more than three thousand Old Georgian pupils and staff.
GALA was established in 2008, in its current form, and aims to develop your association and connection with St George’s, whether socially or professionally.
Get back in touch with old friends
As well as our annual magazine, ‘The Dragon’, which provides news of past and present Georgians, we also hold regular reunions to which you are warmly invited.
Make business connections
Former staff and pupils go on to pursue every conceivable walk of life, and we may well have connections with alumnae with experience in your field of interest. Please contact us if you are looking to make network connections or if you are thinking about a change in career.
Support current Georgians
Our alumnae are an invaluable resource for our current pupils and we are very grateful to those who have offered their time, knowledge and support to our Sixth Former girls as they think about next steps after St George’s.
Previously, alumnae have delivered careers talks in school, they have mentored current pupils, provided work placements and given bespoke advice for individuals. If you would like to be involved in shaping the next generation then please do contact us for more information.
Whenever your time at St George’s ended, we warmly invite you to join our ever-growing community to benefit from the connections it provides.
Please contact our Alumnae Co-Ordinator Laurie Glimmerveen to sign up (membership is free of charge).
alumnae@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk | 01344 629900
St George’s School, Wells Lane, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7DZ
Interviews with Georgian Alumnae
In the series of podcasts below, former Georgians talk about their memories of their time at St George's - whether as boarders or day girls - and their life after leaving school. How did they choose their future path? Do they have any regrets? Would they have done anything differently?
You will also find an interview with Mr John Markham, former Governor of the school, who talks about the amazing discovery he made amongst the possessions of his late mother, Mrs Sarah (Sally) Markham.
Podcasts
Listen: Emma Wright (Née Cottam) - 2006 Leavers Group
At the time of this interview, Emma was on maternity leave from her job as Royal Producer for ITN.
Emma was Head Girl in 2005-2006 and ,on leaving St George's, she went to St Andrew's University. She took a very unusual combination of subjects in the Sixth Form, but ones which later proved of great value in her career with ITN. Her interview reveals invaluable lessons for anyone whose heart is set upon a particular career - lessons of determination and perseverance.
Emma is interviewed by Sue van der Veen.
Listen: Dr Ann Butler PhD FLS (Née Stowe) - 1951 Leavers Group
"You wait for opportunities and you grab them as they go past you."
Ann's account of boarding life in the late 1940s is full of humour. She talks about how she managed to combine a succession of careers with motherhood and how much she enjoyed her final career in environmental archaeology.
Ann is interviewed by Sue van der Veen.
Listen: Rebecca Gethings - 1995 Leavers Group
Rebecca - known to her contemporaries at St George’s as Sharon - speaks in a very lively and humorous way of how she never allowed herself to be deflected from her chosen path. She went to Drama School after leaving in the Upper Sixth and would recommend this route to anyone set on an acting career. Despite the inevitable ups and downs of a career in the Arts, she has never looked back on this decision with regret.
Rebecca is interviewed by Sue van der Veen.
Listen: Lydia Mcmillan - 2009 Leavers Group
Lydia McMillan was Head Girl in 2009. She speaks about taking up every extra-curricular activity going, about studying in Paris and how her own experiences of school now influence her career as a teacher working for an ARK school in London.
Lydia is interviewed by her contemporary, Jenny Ryan.
Listen: John Markham - Former Governor of St George's
John Markham, a former Governor of St George's Ascot, speaks to Sue van der Veen about his mother, Sarah Markham (an Old Georgian), and of the amazing 400-year-old notebook which he discovered amongst her possessions. John tells the story of taking the book to The Antiques Roadshow and making the day of the Books & Manuscripts expert who was convinced that, with its references to Shakespeare's 'Comedyes and Tragedyes', it actually dated back to the 17th Century!
At the time of this interview, the notebook was being examined and transcribed by a Shakespearean expert in Oxford. The name Markham will, of course, be familiar to anyone who has attended or visited the school in the last twenty five years as the main building was renamed in recognition of this family's connection with St George’s – a fact commemorated on a plaque in the porch.
We have a number of events for alumnae each year. For more information and to register to attend, please email alumnae@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk
Events in 2024
- Alumnae Reunion & Chapel Choir Day - Sunday 23 June
- Music For a Summer Evening - Tuesday 2 July
- Carol Service & Drinks Reception - 12 December
In 2020, we merged the alumnae publication, SnapDragon with our in-school publication to create The Dragon magazine. Combining the past with the present, we hope the Dragon will keep you totally up to date with the incredible breadth and scope of St George's current as well as providing news of alumnae and former teachers.
The latest issue of The Dragon Magazine can be downloaded from our news hub and past copies of The Dragon and SnapDragon can be viewed online here
We are very grateful to everyone who has provided news and photos of the school over the years and it is never too early to send in articles and pictures for the next edition. Many people have told us how much they enjoy reading about other alumnae and looking at the photos, so if you have something that you could either send or scan in please do so either to alumnae@stgeorges-ascot.org.uk or post it to:
Laurie Glimmerveen, St George’s School, Wells Lane, Ascot, Berkshire, SL5 7DZ.