Avery Hill alumni revisit campus after fifty years

On 17 September 2025, a group of Avery Hill College alumni returned to campus for the first time in fifty years.

Dave Regan reflects on his time studying for a Certificate in Education in 1975 and how Avery Hill fostered a group of students to become life-long friends:

Being back at the Avery Hill campus threw up a range of memories and emotions about our time there in 1975. Happy memories of seeing familiar sites tinged with sadness that many of our academic buildings were closed or boarded up and that many of our halls of residence had disappeared and been replaced.

In 1975, we all embarked on three-year courses (Tina started in 1974). There were two teacher training courses available at the time: a BEd degree or a Certificate in Education. Within our group, Tony, Paul and Gerry studied PE, Dave studied Geography, Ian studied Science while Tina studied French. In addition to our main subjects we studied Education and spent varying amounts of time each year in schools as part of our teaching practice.

Pictured left to right: Dave Regan, Tony Bowyer, Ian Seller, Gerry Galvin, Paul Dirs and Tina Seller (front)

We all recalled so many memories from that time. Some that particularly stood out were walking across the beautiful park to and from lectures. We would often play football together in the gym on a Sunday afternoon. We would also all crammed into one person's room to chat, drink tea or coffee, and if they were fortunate to own a TV, watch the odd programme! Friday early evening was TV time!

We would also meet up regularly in the student union bar known as ‘The Dive’. This was our underground bar which is now long gone. No one could predict the effect living in halls together would have on us all.

After college we all continued to work in the UK in areas including London, Surrey, Kent, Essex, Cornwall and Derbyshire. Paul became a Head Teacher in a number of Junior schools in London and Essex, Tony an Assistant Head Teacher in a Junior School in Cornwall while Ian was a Science teacher in a secondary school before becoming a Systems Manager. Tina taught infants and was a Special Needs Coordinator and Dave was a Head of Department in Geography, Information Technology and Citizenship Studies as well as being a Head of Year. Gerry decided to pursue a career away from teaching.

As a group, we have been in some form of contact over the years and some of us have met up since leaving Avery Hill. In 2020, we formed a WhatsApp group in memory of our dear friend and ex-Avery Hill student Rob Smith who died in 2020. Rob lived and worked in Birmingham and studied PE for a Cert Ed. He became a Head Teacher in a Junior school in Birmingham.

As we approached the 50th anniversary of starting our teacher training at Avery Hill, it seemed appropriate to organise a reunion.

Reflecting on his time, Paul said:

I am in no doubt that it had a profound effect on me, and I look back on it as one of the greatest experiences of my life. Going back after 50 years brought it all back and I am still moved by it all, it was fantastic!

Tony summed the reunion up:

It was magic to reconnect after 50 years. It was uncanny how we just carried on from where we left off. I would recommend staying in contact with your friends from College and Uni.

We are all so pleased that our friendships have endured over the years. We met up as strangers in 1975 and are now lifelong friends because of Avery Hill.

Reconnect with the university

If this story has inspired you, the Alumni and Fundraising team want to know where you are today and offer you the opportunity to reconnect with Greenwich. Gain insights into alumni benefits, events, news, ways to get involved and so much more. And if you missed it, the University of Greenwich hosted our very own alumni reunion in May 2025 for Woolwich and Thames Polytechnic alumni – find out more about what happened on the day.

We mostly communicate via email, so if you have updated your email recently, or are eager to join our mailing list then we invite you to get in touch by updating your details.