AN INDEPENDENT girls’ school in Reading has celebrated the 250th anniversary of the birth of the poet and writer Jane Austen.
The author was born on December 16, 1775, and is famous for penning Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, among other works.
On Tuesday, December 16, the Abbey School commemorated the occasion with poetry recitals and speeches, and was joined by MPs, local Councillors, poets, and descendants of Austin herself.
The librarian for the school, Joanne Wenman is herself a descendant of one of the writer’s ancestors, and she was joined by 15 other distant family members who attended the celebration, alongside Matt Rodda, the Labour MP for Reading Central; Lucy Zeal, the deputy lord lieutenant of Berkshire and the deputy mayor; and Cllr Paul Gittings (Labour, Coley).
The Abbey School has a special association with Jane Austen, as she attended the Reading Ladies’ Boarding School at the Abbey Gateway.
A spokesperson for the school said: “We held a special celebration to mark the occasion by inviting some of Jane Austen’s descendants, including our very own librarian, Miss Wenman to our school.
“We had such an amazing day celebrating Jane Austen’s 250th with our guests who enjoyed a lovely cream tea, listened to speeches celebrating Jane’s links to the local area and we even had our own Artist in Residence, Mia, commission a portrait of Jane Austen to be proudly hung in our “Jane Austen Wing” at The Abbey.
“To finish the morning off we invited Elora Sutton, former poet in residence at Jane Austen’s house in Chawton and two of The Abbey’s very own Poet Laureate’s Beatrice and Ellanya to perform their poetry based on Jane Austen’s life.”
Mr Rodda said: “It was wonderful to attend the event to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen.
“Abbey School students and teachers did an amazing job of celebrating the anniversary together with parents and descendants of Jane Austen.
“It was important to celebrate the impact her school days at the predecessor to the Abbey had on her writing and to hear more about how they influenced two of Jane Austen’s novels.”
Miss Wenman said: “It was an amazing experience to have everybody here with connections to Jane Austen, that’s what makes it so gratifying.”
Dr Sarah Tullis, the headteacher, added: “The whole school is delighted for Joanne.
“We already knew what a huge fan of Jane Austen she is and how much this connection would mean to her.
“What makes this even more special for us here at The Abbey is that it strengthens our connections with Jane Austen even further.
“We felt that we simply had to celebrate Joanne’s discovery and the 250th Anniversary of one of the greatest women writers.”
