Mrs Wilder writes

Under Miss Beall's headship, Whyteleafe was a happy school. Her authority was strong but unobtrusive. and she always had deep concern for the girls, whom she knew individually and to whom she way already ready to listen. To the staff too, her door was always open. Her judgments were wise and fair

Dr Anne Tuffill writes

I think Miss Beall was a very special person and was certainly the best Headmistress I ever worked under in all my 40 years of teaching. I shall never forget all she did for me.

The following tribute was read at the thanksgiving service on behalf of the Old Girls by Sheila Parkin ( Mrs Henthorne) who was at school 1956 - 1963

On a bright,sunny morning early in September 1956 sixty or so well-scrubbed new girls made their way to Whyteleafe to begin the next stage of their education at Whyteleafe County Grammar School. We were excited, proud, anxious perhaps.

For someone else it was a new and important beginning, too. Although Miss Beall had been at the school for a few months, we were her first new intake and she would see us and subsequent pupils through the next seven years of our education. Maybe Miss Beall was also a little excited, proud and even anxious.

At 41 she was considered young to be appointed headmistress in those days, so she obviously carried a very good, successful reputation as a teacher.

Our first introduction to Miss Beall was our weekly lesson in Social Training, guidance in basic etiquette: how to lay a table; how to write a formal letter; when to use "Yours faithfully" or "Yours sincerely" - and we can all spell 'sincerely'!

Miss Beall quickly learned the names of these first year girls, as indeed she had learned the names of all the older pupils. At the end of each term as we concluded our final assembly the whole school would file onto the stage to shake Miss Beall's hand. She addressed each one of us by our correct name. To us this was an impressive feat, but it also showed Miss Beall's genuine interest in us individually. Yes - in 1956 we had joined a very special family.

Hopefully in the day to day running of the school we would see Miss Beall only at morning assembly, unless we had achieved the heights of an outstanding piece of work. Then we would be sent for to sign the Honours Book. Of course, for some there were less pleasant reasons to be called to the Headmistress's study..... but we'll gloss over that today.

At the end of our first year the school celebrated its Golden Jubilee. There was massed Scottish dancing on the tennis courts. Also the whole school enjoyed a rare event - watching a real cinema film projected from a state of the art projector: Anthony Steel starring in 'Where No Vultures Fly'. Was there really a kissing scene in it? And then there was a four-tiered cake on a silver trolley, white iced, surrounded by fifty candles and decorated with school badges made from icing, dark green shields bearing three white daisies and a red chevron backing the motto, Semper Fidelis - always faithful.

We never imagined then that some of us would be celebrating the school's centenary fifty years later in the company of Miss Beall in her nineties! The reunion last year was a memorable occasion. We were so delighted that she was there to celebrate the centenary of the school she loved so much. Nineteen girls of that first year group of 1956 were able to attend. With typical generosity Miss Beall donated the centenary birthday cake, as indeed she had done previously for the ninetieth birthday. She proudly cut the cake with Mrs. Jeffcoat, the present headmistress of what is now Whyteleafe Primary School. Her enjoyment of the occasion was evident in her comment afterwards: "I would like to have it all over again."

Miss Beall was headmistress at Whyteleafe for 22 years until it ceased to be a girls' grammar school in 1978. She retained her interest and ability in Mathematics through her later years, enjoying solving the problems in the Schools' Mathematics Challenges set each year by the Mathematics Association. She was held in both respect and affection by her pupils, as is evident by the support of so many past pupils who support the annual reunion so faithfully. Today we remember Miss Beall with thanks for the guidance and encouragement she and her colleagues gave us in our formative years. As the school motto says, she was always faithful to her calling.

Miss Beall wrote

We were all sad to hear of the death of Miss Gibbins on September 27th. She had been ill for a long time and last came to a reunion in 2005. She had been a member of staff for twenty five years before taking early retirement when the school closed in 1978.

Throughout her time here the girls enjoyed her teaching of history and current affairs, and many sixth formers applying for courses on leaving school, appreciated the help and advice she gave them in selecting and making an application for these at Universities and Institutes of higher education. Mrs Jennings and Eileen Coxhead represented the school at her funeral in Croydon.