South Otago High School celebrates the landmark anniversary from April 3 to 5 and organisers said they expected more than 400 to attend, from as far afield as England.
On Monday, spokeswoman Melissa Sheppard said finishing touches were still being applied to the programme, as she invited oldest attending former pupil Hilda Dovey, of Balclutha, to cut the jubilee cake on April 4.
‘‘We have a brilliant committee for this celebration, and we’ve been very pleased to see registrations coming in thick and fast since the New Year. Registrations officially close on Saturday [February 28], so we’d encourage anyone who’s got it in the back of their mind still, to get in quick so as not to miss out.’’
The weekend would follow the received format for jubilee events, including a meet-and-greet on Friday evening, sharing of memories, photos and an anniversary dinner on Saturday, followed by farewell gatherings on Sunday.
Mrs Dovey said she was delighted to be invited to cut the cake during the celebrations.
‘‘I enjoyed my time at the school. I had osteomyelitis as a young child, so I couldn’t take part in some school sports due to the damage to my leg. Despite that, the teachers were always very good with me, and got me involved behind the scenes helping organise athletics and so on. They were happy times.’’
Mrs Dovey went on to marry a Te Houka farmer, having four children.
She said her family now extended across the world and included 11 grandchildren and ‘‘several’’ great grandchildren, some of who would also be attending.
Helping extend the invitation to Mrs Dovey on Monday was South Otago High School deputy head girl Jorja Andrews.
Miss Andrews said students were looking forward to helping during the weekend.
‘‘I’m very grateful to be able to take part in this milestone for the school. It’ll be interesting to talk to former students and see what’s changed, and what’s still the same.’’
