I was intending to write about the success of this year's ShyneFest when I got sidetracked. Not unusual for me but the track led me back in history – the history of Woking – and, in the end, back to the future.

My daughter Katherine and Shyne, latterly of ShyeneFest, met at Greenfield School.

That thought led me towards the Ockenden Venture, a refugee charity established in 1951 by three schoolteachers, one of them with strong links to Greenfield.

The plight of older non-German speaking children in the post-Second World War refugee camps, for whom the educational provision was inadequate, provided the stimulus for Joyce Pearce, her friend and teaching colleague Margaret Dixon and her cousin Ruth Hicks, headmistress of Greenfield School, to found the Ockenden Venture.

The charity’s name derives from Joyce Pearce’s family home, Ockenden, in White Rose Lane, and the organisation became a registered charity on February 24, 1955, under the War Charities Act 1940, its stated objective being to receive young East European people from homeless persons’ camps in Germany and “to provide for their maintenance, clothing, education, recreation, health and general welfare”.

The modest project soon grew and houses were acquired in Haslemere, and in 1958 Ockenden took over Donington Hall near Derby as a school for boys.

After World Refugee Year was declared in 1959, government money and increased donations enabled Ockenden to open eight new homes across Britain, and a small administrative staff was established.

Spurred by Joyce’s desire to provide assistance to Tibetan refugees in India, the general council of the charity in October 1962 agreed to amend the constitution of the Ockenden Venture to state its object is: “to receive displaced children and other children in need from any part of the world and to provide for their maintenance, clothing, education, recreation, health and general welfare” to allow the possibility of help to non-European children.

Initially most help took the form of donations towards existing orphanages and schools, and sponsorship schemes, but Ockenden’s first direct participation in overseas-based work also began during the 1960s, with projects in India, northern Africa and later Southeast Asia.

In 1971, Ockenden merged with refugee charity Lifeline. The most dramatic expansion of the Ockenden Venture came with the government’s decision in 1979 to accept Vietnamese “boat people”, who had begun leaving South Vietnam in large numbers after the invasion of Saigon by Communist forces in 1975, into the UK.

Ockenden opened 25 new centres in response to the crisis, and by 1982 found itself a changed organisation, with a large workforce in formal salaried employment where before the organisation had been principally voluntary or semi-voluntary.

During the early 1980s, Ockenden continued to receive refugees and to add to its projects overseas, but Joyce, who had continued as the driving force in the charity for 30 years, died in 1985, prompting questions on the future aims of Ockenden.

The burden of maintaining Ockenden’s UK refugee accommodation to modern standards became an increasing argument for concentrating effort on overseas projects. Houses were closed down during the 1990s, until in 1999 the Ockenden Venture became Ockenden International, and concentrated nearly all its work overseas.

And there I ended the history lesson before turning to the future.

Greenfield School and Hoe Bridge School have announced that they will be merging to form a new all-through co-educational school for pupils aged 6 months to 16 from September 2026.

Bringing together two well-established schools renowned for their academic, pastoral and co-curricular excellence, the merger will create a unique educational offering for families in Woking and the wider Surrey area.

Situated across the current Hoe Bridge and Greenfield sites, the new school will be called Hoe Bridge School, and will expand its provision to teach pupils from pre-nursery up to Year 11.

While Hoe Bridge School had originally planned to grow their provision on the current Hoe Bridge School site, the merger with Greenfield School will mean families at the new all-through school will benefit from an education across two well-resourced school sites with positive developments to further enhance educational delivery planned in the coming years.

“This is the start of an exciting new chapter in our history,” said Ian Katté, chair of governors at Hoe Bridge School.

“Founding a new all-through to 16 school means not only will pupils be able to enjoy the best of our two exceptional schools, but a broader range of year-groups will now be able to take advantage of all these opportunities we have here.”

The school will comprise a year-round nursery and senior school for Years 9, 10 and 11 on the current Greenfield Site; and a term-time nursery and preparatory school for Reception to Year 8 on the current Hoe Bridge site. All current pupils will automatically join the new school in September 2026.

“Both Hoe Bridge and Greenfield care deeply about supporting and teaching pupils as individuals,” said Matt Robinson, head of Greenfield School. “I am delighted that from next September, pupils will benefit from a deeper and broader range of curricular and extra-curricular opportunities underpinned by a strong ethos of holistic education.”

The Hoe Bridge site is situated on a 22-acre estate with fields, meadows, woods, and a river. It comprises the main school building dating back to 1680, as well as state-of-the-art ICT suites, creative and performance spaces, leading sports and exercise provision and a forest outdoor classroom.

ICT, by the way, apparently stands for Information and Communication Technology – no, I didn’t know either until Mr Google helped out.

“Our two schools have been close neighbours for generations, with long-standing relationships between our respective communities, not to mention a number of families in common,” said Neil Blagden, chair of governors at Greenfield School. “Coming together and combining our expertise and experience feels like a natural next step for both schools.”

The Greenfield Site comprises a 10-acre site including extensive playing fields and courts, a sports hall, dance and drama studio, a fully equipped multimedia suite, science lab, and art studio.

And so there my meander through the past, present and future of Greenfield School ended, its story sending off trails in all directions, trails I was only too happy to get lost in.

Greenfield, Ockenden, Greenfield again, Hoe Bridge: how things move on. How things never stay the same.

It's time for the West End Village Fete 2025!

An excited email urges me to “Come along to the Recreation Ground at 1pm on Saturday, 14 June for a fun-filled afternoon. This year the fete will be bigger and better than before. We have a lot planned.

“The colourful parade sets off from Fellow Green at 12.30pm, arriving at the Recreation Ground (behind Tringham Hall, Benner Lane, GU24 9JP) for the grand opening of the fete at 1pm. This year the theme is 'Transportation – celebrating 200 years of the railways’.

“The first confirmed entry was Stevenson's Rocket by the Jamboree Cubs, very appropriate! Look out for other imaginative interpretations of the theme. Come along, just follow the music!

“All the traditional stalls including the coconut shy, beat the goalie, Punch & Judy, bouncy castle, tombolas, food and drinks, plant sale, cafe, ice creams, BBQ and bar will be at the fete, plus arena acts and live music.

“There will be more stalls than ever with interesting goodies and ideas for all, including live animal encounters. Several stalls will have games to play and everyone should have a go at the free Maze-O challenge. Fun for all ages!

“Remember to bring your dog to participate in the Fun Dog Show. There are several classes to enter – every doggie should be in the waggiest tail class – and the climax will be the all-action musical sit game in the main arena.

“We look forward to seeing everyone there! https://www.facebook.com/WestEndVillageFete”

That should keep you all occupied on Saturday!