A reunion event is to be held for a school band that once had the honour of performing in from of the Pope and the King of Norway.

Oakmead School Brass Band was formed in 1959 in Bournemouth and the reunion is set to mark its 65th anniversary.

Respected

Over the years the band gained a respected reputation for its music making, claiming numerous contest honours especially in the Wessex area as well as winning the West of England Fourth Section title in 1966 and going on to play at the National Final in London. In 1974 it won its class in the World Music Festival in Kerkrade, Holland.

The band also made numerous television appearances and performed on radio, as well as in front of Pope Paul VI, football crowds at Dean Court and speedway fans at Poole Stadium.

Originally a boys' school band it became fully inclusive by merging with Oakmead School for Girls in the 1980s. The band closed its doors when school became a College of Technology in the late 1990s.

The band also made numerous television appearances and performed on radio, as well as in front of Pope Paul VI, football crowds at Dean Court and speedway fans at Poole Stadium4BR

Date and time

The reunion will be held at the Carlton Hotel on Bournemouth's East Cliff on the weekend of October 26th and 27th and anyone who wants further details can look at the Oakmead School Brass Band page on Facebook.