‘Remember that this will always be your school’ – Ben Goldscheider and other former pupils of Baldock’s Knights Templar School welcomed back at commemoration evening

Knights Templar head Tim Litchfield speaks at the commemoration night. Photo: Witold Leonowicz (Image: Archant)

Teenage maestro Ben, who left Knights Templar in the summer, now studies at the Barenboim–Said Academy in Berlin – and he jetted in especially to lead a brass quintet of current and former pupils.

Ben was just one of the old faces who returned for the evening, and head Tim Litchfield told them they would always be welcome.

“Please remember that this will always be your school,” he said. “You are always welcome back.”

Ben Goldscheider performing at his old school in Baldock, Knights Templar. Photo: Witold Leonowicz (Image: Archant)

And former head boy Barnaby Taylor – who now works at the school – quipped that just like the Hotel California, you can check out of Knights Templar any time you like, but you can ever leave.

Explorer, adventurer and former Royal Marine Commando John Sullivan was the night’s guest of honour, and he gave a memorable address about conserving wildlife in Borneo, meeting cannibals in Papua New Guinea and more.

Speaking to the Comet, he said his own schooling had grounded him with an unshakable self-belief.

Beth Mance gives a memorable performance of All That Jazz. Photo: Witold Leonowicz (Image: Archant)

“That was the key thing,” he said. “In the Marines, I was 16 and I was tiny, but I believed I could do it. They taught me such belief.”

John Sullivan addresses the pupils at Knights Templar School. Photo: Witold Leonowicz (Image: Archant)