Edith Hollis Mann’s uncle drove her to Mount St Agnes Academy from Shelly Bay in a horse and buggy in 1927.

“When I got older I bicycled to school whether it was sunny, wet or there were gale force winds,” she said. “Sometimes, when I was late, I would say, ‘Sorry sister, there was a strong headwind’, but I’m not really sure the nuns knew what a headwind was.”

The school celebrates its 125th birthday this month. Mrs Mann, 94, is one of the oldest graduates of the school. (The oldest is Joan Gillan, 99.) Mrs Mann graduated on the eve of the Second World War.

She still has many pleasant memories of the school, such as one boy playing a trick on a teacher called Sister Assumpta Mercy.

“He said that he wanted to sing her a song,” said Mrs Mann. “She was the music teacher. She was so pleased that she went and got the Sister Superior. Then the boy was asked to stand and sing.

“All he sang was ‘the lost sheep on the mountain went baa ...’ The sister could have gone through the floor. The Sister Superior must have been wondering why her time had been wasted. I always thought that took a lot of gall on the part of that student. I don’t know if he got in trouble. Maybe they took him aside later.”

Joan Forward Tatem, 87, went to the school a few years later. Her first day of school, in 1932, did not go well.

“I cried and was very upset when my mother left,” said Mrs Tatem. “I vividly remember Sister Agnes Faustinus McNeil leading me around the classroom and showing me the pictures on the wall. She really comforted me. The sisters were very caring. It is funny what you remember so many years later.”

Terry Stevens, class of 1953, said: “The nuns instilled a feeling of self-worth into you. I was a Protestant student. Despite the beliefs, at the time, that we would be brainwashed, we weren’t. The nuns were more concerned that I follow some religion. There was no effort to convert me to Catholicism.”

But he said discipline was fierce and misbehaviour resulted in being strapped by the Sister Superior.

“Sometimes they taught more from a point of fear than a point of love,” he said.

The nuns, mostly from the east coast of Canada and the United States, led a disciplined life themselves and did not socialise.

“We would go on our yearly picnic and the sisters would sit behind the trees,” Mrs Tatem said. “They were not allowed to eat in front of us.”

Mrs Tatem was the salutatorian at her graduation.

At Mount St Agnes it was the tradition, for many years, for the girls to wear long white dresses at graduation. They also picked out a flower girl from the lower classes to carry a corsage for them.

Mrs Mann went on to work in the Bank of Butterfield and Mrs Tatem in the Department of Education.

“I have often wondered how well I would have survived without the excellent education I received,” Mrs Mann said.

Mrs Tatem said: “It was a wonderful experience. I had a very happy time there. I graduated in 1946.”

Current student Kayla Tavares, 11, said she loves her school.

“I like how we all get along together and they teach us to respect each other,” said Kayla. “I like all of my teachers. The school teaches us to be caring and think of others.”

Isheanopa Hunidzarira, 8 said: “I like that we have gym and we get to do math. Football is my favourite sport. In physical education they teach us to keep trying.”

“My favourite teacher is all of them,” said Kaylee Almedia, 7.

The school’s principal Sue Moench and deputy principal, Margaret DiGiacomo, are graduates of the school.

“I graduated from here and went to teach in Canada and came back in 2007,” said school principal Sue Moench. “It still has the same sort of caring atmosphere. In those days we were taught by the Sisters of Charity and now there are no sisters on staff. Sisters brought a high level of discipline. It was a whole different world growing up in the 1960s and things were focused on discipline and focus. Now, parents are very much involved. In those days parents were very interested but they left the teaching up to the teachers. We love that parents are so involved now.”

Previous students include former Premier David Saul, former magistrate Cheryl- Ann Mapp, member of parliament Glen Smith, Gary Madeiros, former CEO of BELCO and many others.

Tuesday is the official anniversary, and there are a number of activities planned. Interested people are invited to come down and tour the school and celebrate with the students. There will be a special mass celebrated at St Theresa’s Cathedral at 12.10pm, and all are invited. For more information call 292-4134.