![Alumnae Michele with ND6 Student]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1652259573/notredamecouk/z5dbutdbmhlkoijb3kkt/SofiaandMichele.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1652259573/notredamecouk/z5dbutdbmhlkoijb3kkt/SofiaandMichele.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1652259573/notredamecouk/z5dbutdbmhlkoijb3kkt/SofiaandMichele.jpg","width":640}])
Lots of happy memories and a love of literature and languages – that’s what Michele Farmer took with her when she left us in 1990. Thirty two years later, she has returned…
Lots of happy memories and a love of literature and languages – that’s what Michele Farmer took with her when she left us in 1990. Thirty two years later, she has returned…
Michele’s visit was arranged after a chance encounter with the Prep School’s Director of Music, Julie Shaw, who discovered Michele was an ‘old girl’ and invited her to the Prep School’s Spring Concert. In a further coincidence, Michele discovered that a family friend’s daughter – Sofia G-P - was now in the Sixth Form so a tour was arranged and Sofia duly stepped forward as guide!
Michele – whose married name is Gawthorpe – thoroughly enjoyed both the tour, a coffee with Julie and the concert. “It was a spectacular afternoon. I loved seeing the school again; everyone was so welcoming and Sofia and Julie were wonderful hosts. While much has changed, the school still feels like the friendly welcoming environment I remember so well. The concert in the evening was just sensational and I was thrilled to sit next to another ‘old girl’. We chatted about how wonderful it was that her own daughters are now at the school.”
Michele, who now lives in Warwickshire, spent six happy years at Notre Dame and went on to become a teacher herself, teaching Spanish at a Catholic mixed school, which she describes as having a very similar ethos to ours. Recalling her schooldays she said: “My love of literature was born at Notre Dame and I still have my 1987 copy of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ and my 1989 copy of ‘A Passage to India’. I also loved my A level Spanish lessons with Mrs Heathcote-Yorke.
“Sofia’s Mum and I met when they lived in the Midlands. It’s an amazing coincidence that Sofia is now at my old school – it really is a small world!”
Ros Roberts, Alumnae Manager
