The Class of 1985 celebrated its 40-year reunion in style! What began as a casual idea at the London reunion a few months ago turned into a memorable evening in Cape Town.

On a balmy summer night, 25 of us gathered at Marianna Furman’s (Coscia) home — a last-minute change of venue prompted by the famous Cape Doctor. For many, it was the first time reconnecting since leaving school, while others were delighted to catch up with long-standing friends. The atmosphere was full of laughter, animated chatter, and joyful reunions, with an extra burst of energy when Laurienne Baitz (Mayer) arrived from Durban bearing tequila in hand! We were also thrilled to welcome classmates who had travelled from the UK and Australia who were on holiday in Cape Town.

Amid the festivities, we took a moment to remember classmates who are sadly no longer with us, honouring their place in our shared history.
Although the official end time was 8:30pm, no one was in any hurry to leave — the evening stretched happily on until almost midnight. We captured the moment with a group photo and enjoyed heartfelt messages from our former Head Boy, Simon Pimstone in Vancouver, and our Middle School Headmaster, Solly Kaplinski in Israel.

A wonderful bonus of organising the reunion has been the creation of our new Class of 1985 WhatsApp group, which now includes almost every classmate who matriculated in 1985, along with some of those who left the school before matric or in earlier years. The group has quickly become a lively hub of hilarious and nostalgic memories, and has even sparked the formation of regional groups around the world who are already planning their own local reunions.

Here’s to old friends, new reconnections, and many more reunions to come — we’re already looking forward to the next one!

Mark Furman, Tanya Markman & Jonathan Gluckman

Back Row: Steven Sollinger, Mark Furman, Jonathan Gluckman, Janice Levitt, Steven Weiss, Russell Trope, Elizabeth Charlie Moss, Dora Wynchank, Ran Mirkin, Marianna Coscia, Simon Whitesman, Laurienne Mayer, Loren Scher, Kevin Rosenstrauch, Gavin Marsden, Jenee Groer, Joy SifrinFront Row: Michael Cohen, Tanya Markman, Jason Sandler, Kevin Greenblau, Gillian Isaacs, Elana Immerman, Hayley Ipp, Susan Trojeski