A cherished St Catherine’s tradition, our Year 12 time capsules offer girls the chance to pause and reflect on their time at school during their busy final week with us.

“When you open this, I hope we are still best friends,” Madeleine S read aloud as she sat cross-legged on the Cloisters Lawn. This message, written over five years earlier by Elodie J, had been carefully folded and placed into Madeleine’s time capsule. As each other’s first friends at Catherine’s in Year 7, the pair had decided to include letters to one another in their capsules. “It was incredible to read the letters. We both expressed our hope that we would still be best friends and here we are five years later, still going strong. We’ve been through everything together,” Madeleine said.

The time capsules are put together by our Year 7 students in their first few weeks of school. Each girl is given a thick white envelope and instructed to fill it with items for their future selves. They can include anything they like — from letters to trinkets — before the capsules are sealed and stored away until the final week of Year 12.

On Tuesday 24 September, the Class of 2024 gathered on the Lawn to open their time capsules. This significant event during their final week of school offered a valuable opportunity to reflect on their journey at St Cath’s and to marvel at how much they had grown since their early days with us.

After five years, many students have long forgotten the items they chose to include. As the capsules were finally opened, the air filled with excited shrieks of surprise as everything from Barbie dolls to lucky hair ties and letters from loved ones were revealed.

It was incredible to read the letters. We both expressed our hope that we would still be best friends and here we are five years later, still going strong. We’ve been through everything together,

Madeleine S (Year 12)

Sometimes, the time capsules contained quite unusual surprises. Annabel C was startled to find a small tooth in her capsule. “I’m not really sure why I put it in there, but it’s the funniest thing. I lost my teeth really late, so I must have added one as a surprise,” she said.

Other items were more sentimental. Taya C found a USB filled with photos and videos of her friends that she had completely forgotten about, while Claudia C unearthed a homemade scrapbook filled with memories from her childhood. Meanwhile, Zoe T was delighted to discover a life-size headshot folded into her capsule. “It was a photo of my favourite teacher in Junior School, Mrs Jenny Birrell. She was my music teacher and was so dear to me,” she shared. Anastasia N uncovered a necklace she had been given by her favourite gymnastics teacher as a child. “I remember when she gave it to me, she said that I may be little but I have a big heart,” she recalled.

There were also a few students who were surprised by items their parents had secretly added to their time capsules. Abby J’s mum had written her a letter, in which she shared her immense pride in her daughter and everything she had achieved. “It was so sweet and definitely made me cry – it just made me so grateful for my parents. I appreciate them so much,” Abby said.

Meanwhile, Scarlett E was amazed to discover a drawing in her capsule that she hadn’t known was there. “It was a drawing of me, created by my dad. He wrote on it, ‘My happy, smiling, beautiful girl, lots of love,’” Scarlett shared. “It was so special because I didn’t know he had included it. It was perfect.”