Dame Judi Dench Visits her Old School, The Mount School York
We were delighted to welcome Dame Judi Dench, beloved former pupil, to The Mount today. She told us she couldn’t resist visiting her boarding school, while she was in town.
Dame Judi was in York after last night’s sell out show ‘I Remember It Well’ at the Grand Opera House York. The audience included many Mount pupils, parents, staff and former pupils who were eager to hear her memories. Dame Judi mentioned The Mount several times with fondness when asked about her childhood years by Gyles Brandreth.
‘The Blessed Mount,’ she said and when asked about going to school, ‘I wouldn’t have changed it for anything.’
At her show Dame Judi shared a lovely anecdote of why she wanted to go to The Mount because she loved the uniform – blue shirts with the white collar, and she had thought, theatrically, ‘what a costume!’
The audience also loved the tale of how The Mount’s ‘Wet Walks’ (walking in the rain) were not to her taste, so she called her parents from a local telephone box to collect her and her friend who enjoyed a cup of tea in the warmth of her house in Heworth. When they were due back from the walk her parents would use a watering can to sprinkle water on them before being dropping them off round the corner from school to help them get away with their clever plan.
Ahead of the show, The Mount School sent Dame Judi a Mount teddy bear to wish her luck. Inside the bear was a message voiced by Junior School pupil Arabella, saying ‘Judi Dench, Break a Leg Love from The Mount School!’ Dame Judi loved the teddy and kept it beside her on stage for the show.
During Dame Judi’s impromptu visit, she met Arabella and gasped ‘Are you the bear?’ Together they named the bear George, after George Fox who founded Quakerism. ‘He will be much treasured. He will be going home to meet 45 other bears. Thank you so much for doing that’ effused Judi.
Dame Judi also met performing arts scholar Lilia (Y13), who is planning to go to drama school in September. Ahead of attending the performance last night, Lilia wrote to Dame Judi asking for careers guidance. On her visit Dame Judi thanked Lilia for her letter and advised her, ‘Just keep on being your lovely self.’ She was also met by Laila (Y8), a budding young actress who has recently featured in several Hollywood blockbusters. They both fondly described their time sharing the screen with Daisy Ridley.
Dame Judi reminisced with pupils about her time on stage at The Mount, recalling her roles in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Richard III. The pupils were excited to meet a Hollywood legend and Mount Old Scholar. We are so thankful for her warmth and generosity as she waved and chatted to them.
Jo Goudriaan, Co-Principal of The Mount School comments:
‘We always love welcoming Old Scholars to The Mount and were delighted that Dame Judi popped by to the school she called home throughout her childhood. It was wonderful to hear her school time stories in person. It was so thrilling as a community to see Dame Judi in the School Hall today, by the stage where she debuted as Titania and attended the school’s Quaker meetings. The girls were over the moon to meet a Mountie that has served as an inspiration to generations of Mount pupils.’
As Dame Judi Dench left via Dalton Terrace, she said ‘Thank you and keep in touch.’ It was an honour and a pleasure; to host our beloved Old Scholar. Thank you to Judi for being so generous with your time, it’s a certainly a day to remember!
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