GALLERY: Wolverhampton school's class of '55 reunite

The class of 1955 was the first to attend the school on Tettenhall Road, which was one of the country's first ventures into the now defunct comprehensive schools system.

This week, former pupils met up at Lindon House to reminisce about old times - with one man returning from San Francisco and another ex-student making the trip over from Vienna.

The reunion was organised by childhood friends Kath Hill, Diane Winnall and Judy Lavender, who decided to commemorate the anniversary following the success of a smaller gathering at the Dog and Gun pub in Tettenhall last year.

Ms Lavender, aged 71, from Tettenhall, said it was wonderful to see so many old friends back together.

"Most of the men here were in short trousers last time I saw them," she said. "We've all changed a bit as you'd expect, but you can still recognise a few of the old faces.

"It's nice that people have come from far and wide."

Some notable names have attended the school over the years, including Olympic sprinter Denise Lewis, England cricketer Vikram Solanki and England international rugby player Sam Doble.

Another famous old boy, actor and director Laurence Foster, made the trip over from his home in Ireland to attend the event.

He said: "Being here today it's like we've all just come off the playground. Back then we all bonded so quickly. It was a new school in a new system, but I have nothing but fond memories.

"The Regis was a place where we were encouraged to make the best of our abilities. We were allowed to have a voice, which wasn't always the case in other schools in those days."

The first batch of staff at the school - which became Kings School in 1998 - were all hand-picked private school graduates who taught lessons decked out in their university gowns.

They were marshalled by much-loved headteacher Sir Godfrey Cretney, who was knighted in 1966 for his services to education.

Suzette Thompson, 71, attended the reunion with her friend Rose Tench, also 71, from Claregate.

Ms Thompson said: "Sir Godfrey was a wonderful man. He was small in stature but had an incredible presence. Everyone automatically stood to attention when he entered the room."

The reunion featured a display of pictures from the past to help jog attendees' memories, which was painstakingly compiled over a two week period by former student Phil Amies.

He also prepared a DVD presentation which was played during the event that documented the pupils' school trips around the UK and mainland Europe, which included visits to Derbyshire, Yorkshire, the Lake District as well as Paris.