The trials of the day are brought into perspective as serious games are played, or the girls have a hilarious hit up. There is always the pleasure of the matches at The Family Tennis Tournament early in the Summer term hosted by the PE Department too, when the parents dust off the Dunlop Maxply and get out the treasured Pat Cash headband.

In Kent, the girls played on the only court there, see below, and after moving to Cold Ash, two sets of courts were established here on the main site. The courts near Willis were called Oliver’s after Miss Oliver, a long standing teacher of Physical Education, and the others near AGS were called Havergal’s after Miss Havergal, the school’s gardener, and we now have astroturf courts on the playing field too.

In 1946, the visiting coaches were Miss Walker and Mrs Swaninck and the Downe House tennis team were chosen to play in Junior Wimbledon. Then in 1954, one of our past pupils was accepted for the Ladies’ Doubles at Wimbledon.

In 1925 the tennis coach here was a Major Ferguson and the Downe House Tennis VI and the first two substitutes were taken up to Wimbledon by Miss Furnivall and Miss Phelips, meeting the Major there.  The group settled into their seats on Centre Court though some popped out before the semi-final match scheduled for two o’clock, to catch some of the men’s doubles on Court One. They were delighted to see three of the so-called Four Musketeers* over the afternoon and they also watched some mixed doubles before heading home.

In 1979, Miss Scott and Miss Samuel took an eager group of girls “along the M4 to Wimbledon”.  They joined the queue “packed lunches in one hand and our £1.50 in the other”. 

Miss Baldwick and Mrs Gill took a group of girls up in 1982 though they were less lucky; every now and then they would hear this announcement,"The rain has not yet stopped but is expected to in about half an hour or so".

They did enjoy being there though, wandering around, taking cover when necessary and hoping to see a well known player or two.  The shop selling posters of the players did well, and most of the girls managed to get a poster of Mats Wilander!

In 1984, the girls reported that things were better; “unlike our day at Wimbledon two years ago, when all we saw were the green covers protecting the hallowed turf from the unrelenting downpour”.

The next year, a group headed up the day before school exams!  “However eight of us threw caution to the winds and set off early on a deceptively clear morning.”

*The Four Musketeers were Cochet, Borota, Brugnon and Lacoste.