Royal Hospital School Pupils Become Pen-pals With Elderly Alumni

“Loneliness is one of the major issues faced by the elderly in today’s society. Pupils from the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk decided to do something about this and have become pen-pals to scores of elderly people who are all former pupils.”

Traditionally, boarding school pupils used to write letters home to their family every Sunday before the days of emails and mobiles put pay to this method of communication. Following a visit to a 90-year-old former student, RHS realised encouraging him to reminisce about his school days had given him a huge boost as well as a genuine source of interest and inspiration to the pupils. Thanks to this visit, the Letter’s Home Scheme was created, and pupils of all ages began writing to alumni on milestone birthdays from 80 upwards.

 It was the response from the alumni that surprised everyone, as RHS Headmaster Simon Lockyer explains:

“We began receiving back these lovely handwritten letters from our alumni. They were filled with anecdotes about their schooldays and accompanied by much-cherished photographs. We also learnt facts about RHS that would have otherwise gone undocumented”.

 The pupils started writing regularly and soon an amazing pen-pal scheme was created. The pupils also make Christmas cards and special gifts to send to the older alumni who claim the pupil’s letters have given them a new lease of life.

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