On Saturday, 22 June 2024, the University hosted its annual Alumni Gala Dinner. Over a hundred alumni and their guests returned to campus for the event, celebrating and acknowledging their contributions to CCCU since graduation.

The main event of the Alumni Gala Dinner is the Alumni Awards ceremony, with this year seeing the most awards given to date, including Lorna Daymond (Certificate of Education, 1965), who was presented with the bespoke Alumni Vice Chancellor’s Award. Lorna is recognised for years of support for the University, bringing the founding members together, and diligently administering the Founders’ Prize since its inception in 2012. Her dedication is evident in the numerous returns she has made to Canterbury campus, each time taking great care to ensure the smooth running of the presentation ceremonies and partaking in fundraising efforts.

Lorna’s unwavering commitment and significant input have ensured that the Founders’ Prize remains a prestigious and important recognition of published work in the field of education. Her efforts have not only maintained the prize’s high standards but have also enhanced its reputation over the years.

Read on to hear her story.

Tell us about your career.

My first job after leaving Christ Church College was teaching at the primary school in Edenbridge in Kent. Edenbridge was where one of the first official Gypsy sites had been opened and I had a Gypsy child in my class – and where I first realised that some of the advice and skills I had been given at college didn’t always work. No, Gypsy children didn’t want to sit on the floor together and listen to a story, because sitting on the floor is culturally not acceptable. From that job, I was offered a teaching role in a school in Norwich and from there I was appointed Head of Service for the Norfolk Gypsy and Traveller Service.

What made you want to pursue teaching?

Initially, I didn’t want to become a teacher and teaching hadn’t been my choice. I had applied to study German and Philosophy at university but had glandular fever in the final A level term so missed lessons and any time for swotting.

How did you come to study at CCCU when you did? 

I had put CCCU as my second choice, only because I had to put something and Canterbury was a city that was vaguely familiar to me because my grandparents lived near Folkestone.

What was it like attending a brand new, unproven institution?

As far as I can remember, there was no prospectus so I had very little idea about what I was coming to. At interview, the Vice-Principal said that the college did not offer courses in languages and asked whether I would be willing to take English as my main subject, and to focus on the Infant Junior age-range.

What is your fondest memory of your time at CCCU?

The pioneering spirit, the sense of community, comradery and adventure into the unknown.

How did your time at Canterbury impact on your life and career post-education?

It gave me a group of loyal friends and a strong desire to travel as well as to write.

What does being a CCCU Alumnus mean to you?

It means I belong somewhere and with certain people. I regard Canterbury as my home and CCCU as my first child. It made me much of what I am and do today.

What are your goals for the future?

To continue to travel as much as my health and finances will allow; and to write. I am working on a novel at the moment, based on my travel experience. I believe that no experience, pleasant or not, is ever wasted.