This article first appeared in Queenwood News Weekly 10 September 2021.

This week marks the 50th anniversary of Miss Beatrice Lilias Rennie’s passing on the 4th of September 1971. Parents of students who are also alumnae may remember Miss Rennie in the library during their time. Some grandparents may remember her as their Headmistress between 1925 and 1962. Miss Rennie has been remembered for her air of strength and leadership and her infectious love of literature.

For our current families and girls, she is remembered as one of the school’s founders alongside Miss Lawrance. The School’s Birthday falls on the same day as Miss Rennie’s birthday and when the first students discovered this, they brought her flowers to celebrate. Over the years this has become a lasting tradition, though Miss Rennie began to feel embarrassed receiving flowers on the School’s Birthday and requested they be gifted to ‘the School’ and then shared within the community. On one particular birthday, Miss Rennie was unwell and unable to attend the School’s festivities. The girls gathered beneath her window and held their flowers up so that she might see them and feel a little better for it. This gesture has been repeated through the years and now the ‘raising of the flowers’ is an integral part of the School’s Birthday ceremony. The girls hold their flowers up towards the Medway Building and give thanks for the remarkable contribution of our founders. At the conclusion of the ceremony the flowers are still shared with local Retirement and Nursing Homes.

I hope you were able to share a cupcake with your daughter today to celebrate Miss Rennie’s legacy. In her forty-six years with Queenwood, working alongside Miss Lawrance and then Miss Medway, Miss Rennie guided Queenwood through countless successes and challenges. In 1962 Miss Rennie retired as Co-Principal, however, Queenwood remained her home and she continued to take part in Junior School prayers, greeting arrivals, and working in the library.

At the 1971 Thanksgiving Service for Miss Rennie, Miss Medway presented a speech that recalled her accomplishments as an educationalist and person. The speech ended with the reassuring truth that “we did not, and cannot, lose her. She is part of the living spirit of Queenwood.” 50 years later the contributions of Queenwood’s founders continue to guide future generations of young women.

If you missed the celebrations, you can access a recording here.