Abingdon School to begin its move to co-education

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A historic change is taking place at Abingdon School this September, as girls join the senior school for the first time.

From September 2026, girls will be welcomed into the First Year (Year 7) and Sixth Form (Year 12). The move has been planned as a gradual year by year transition. The school will become fully co-educational by 2030.  The Prep School has already begun its own move to co-education.

Abingdon is not alone in making this change. Single-sex education has been in decline over the past decade, falling from 25 per cent of independent schools in 2013 to 18 per cent in 2024. Most of this decline has been due to single-sex schools becoming coeducational. There are now more single-sex girls’ schools than boys’ schools (Ref 1). St Helen and St Katharine in Abingdon remains a single-sex girls’ school.

Ref 1: Civitas, Commission on the Future for Independent Schools.

Vive l’Amitié! – “Long live friendship!”

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This weekend was a chance to see the friendly rivalry between our two Abingdon Morris dancing teams. On Saturday, Mr Hemmings Traditional Morris Dancers welcomed visitors from Argentan. On Sunday, it was the turn of the Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers to welcome the civic party and members of the Cercle Jumelage Europe Argentan. One of the dances, the Maid of the Mill, saw dancers honouring one of the organisers from Argentan.

The Fool, Mr Roger Cox, introduced the Mayor of Ock Street, Mr Harry Knight, to the visitors from France, along with the famous Ock St Horns.

Sunday ended with a buffet at the Trinity Church Conduit Centre, bringing together the visitors from Argentan and the hosts. It was a chance for everyone to get together and celebrate 70 years of friendship between our two towns.

Remembering some familiar Abingdon people

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We’ve sadly lost several familiar faces in Abingdon recently. The first three appear on the memorial pages of Tonks Funeral Directors. I’ll start with Tony Grealy, as I was asked to mention that his funeral is at St Helen’s Church on Tuesday, 25 August at 2pm, where he was an active member.

Many people in South Abingdon and the town centre will remember Tony for his cheerful smile and his way of saying hello to just about everyone he met, even if they didn’t know his name. In later years, he used a walking frame and lived in an almshouse near St Helen’s Church before moving to Nicholson House.

Donations in his memory are for The Abingdon Foodbank, where Tony could sometimes be seen helping out in South Abingdon.

Jenny Berrell was for many years the curator at the Abbey Buildings. She will be remembered by many people who visited or were involved with Abingdon’s historic buildings.

Tony Richmond was another familiar figure at many town events. He was a former journalist  and was actively involved with many local societies and his articles can be seen in various local magazines.

In the Abingdon Herald obituaries, Martin Smith appeared this week. Martin served on Abingdon Town Council from 2003 to 2011 and was most often pictured on this blog when leading the Boundary Walk. This was just one of his many contributions to the town and beyond.

His funeral service will take place at South Oxfordshire Crematorium at 12 noon on Wednesday, 9 September.

The flowers are from St Ethelwold’s Garden, photographed a couple of days ago.

70 Years of Friendship Between Abingdon and Argentan

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Abingdon welcomed over 40 visitors from Argentan in Normandy today (Saturday 22nd August 2026) as the two towns celebrated 70 years of friendship and twinning.

The anniversary celebrations began in the Roysse Room at the Guildhall, where the visitors were formally welcomed by the Town Crier. Cllr Andrew Skinner, Mayor of Abingdon-on-Thames, and Cllr Emmanuel Flouvat, Mayor of Argentan, then addressed the gathering.

The Mayor of Abingdon spoke in French, while the Mayor of Argentan spoke in English. The two Mayors then signed a document to celebrate 70 years of twinning history.

The formal proceedings were followed by a talk on the history of Abingdon, given by Elin Bornemann from the Abingdon County Hall Museum.

The visitors then enjoyed refreshments at the Guildhall, followed by traditional Morris dancing from Mr Hemming’s Abingdon Traditional Morris Dancers. The visitors also carried flags bearing the words ‘Tous Normands depuis 10 ans’ – ‘Normans for 10 years’, marking the tenth anniversary of the reunification of Haute-Normandie and Basse-Normandie as the region of Normandie in 2016.

Visitors from Argentan joined the dancers for one of the dances.

Many of the Abingdon people and Argentan visitors were wearing T-shirts carrying the town crests and the words ’70 ans d’amitié 1956–2026′ – ’70 years of friendship.’

The group then made a visit to the County Hall Museum with a chance to enjoy the views.

After lunch, the visitors explored more of Abingdon through guided walks. Smaller groups visited St Helen’s Church and its bell tower. The day’s programme (will end  | ended) with dinner at Tiffins Indian Restaurant in Bath Street.