Visit from Past & Present ‘Old Boys’

On Tuesday 27th January, the BHASVIC StoryWorks team were joined by Mark Gillingham and Christopher Bennett from the Past and Present Society. During the meeting, Mark and Christopher shared stories of their time at Brighton Grammar School. They also kindly allowed us to use artefacts and materials from their archives, including some original pieces from as far back as the 1870s! These items will be on display during our festival, helping to tell the tales of past students. We are thankful for the support of the Past and Present Society, and we hope to work with them further in the build-up to our festival.

A schedule for the day will be published in the next few weeks, as we are still confirming all of our guest speakers, tours and exhibition content. We are pleased to be able to confirm at least five guest speakers. These include local historian and former pupil, Geoffrey Mead, who will be giving a talk on Brighton educational history. For all our guest speakers, click here or visit the ‘Talks’ section on our website.

We will be raising money to clean and restore our famous college hall panels. To help us raise funds for the cleaning, a range of merchandise will be available on the day. Cakes, tea and coffee will also be available to purchase for a small cost from our pop-up café.

The event will run from 11am until 2pm on Saturday 28th March 2026. Our festival will be free of charge to enter, and there will also be no charge for tours or talks. Tickets for the event will become available towards the end of February, after the schedule has been confirmed. For more event information such as directions, FAQs and accessibility information, visit our ‘Your Visit’ section at the top of our website.

Following the setup of our social media channels, we are now posting regularly on Instagram and Facebook. Follow us to discover fun facts surrounding the college, as well as essential event updates.

We are still looking for anyone with experiences of the college or former grammar school they would like to share. We are especially keen to hear about what everyday life was like, both inside and outside the classroom. If you have a memory or story to share, click here. Story submissions will close shortly as we begin creating our alumni exhibition.

We hope you will be able to join us for our festival celebrating the community history of this great school and college!