General News
14 September, 2026
Former students keen to ‘come home’
THERE’S something about walking back through the gates of your old school.
The buildings might look a little different, the classrooms may have moved, the uniforms have certainly changed but within minutes you’re laughing with old friends like you’re 16 again.
That was certainly the case when Matt Bushell, Alicia (Ryan) and Ben Boyd returned to Emmanuel College recently to help bring the 1996 reunion together.
They like to think of themselves as the O.G. Emmanuel kids – the very first students to graduate from Emmanuel College after the amalgamation of CBC and St Ann’s.
They were the first year 7 students to begin their secondary schooling under the Emmanuel name, making their return to the college 30 years later a little more special.
And, as it turns out, the memories haven’t gone anywhere.
Within minutes of being back on site, and back in the classrooms they called home, the stories were flowing – and so was the laughter.
There were memories of competing in the Corporate Cup alongside local businesses, led by infamous teacher Paul Glynn.
There were economics classes where, according to memory, considerably more time was spent outside playing racquetball than actually doing economics.
The group remembers returning to class for a solid 10 minutes before the bell, apparently providing just enough time to “consolidate learning”.
Then there was the textiles class - a sewing machine, a power cord, one questionable decision and a whole lot of gratitude, years later, for safety overloads on the mains power.
And, of course, there was the “Nun Run” – the unofficial schoolyard challenge that involved dashing upstairs through the nuns’ living quarters before sprinting back downstairs again, all without getting caught.
Looking back, it’s the sort of story that probably shouldn’t be replicated by today’s students.
But it is exactly the sort of story that makes an old group of friends laugh until their stomachs hurt.
For all the funny stories, however, there was something much deeper beneath the laughter.
The trio all agreed that their years as students at Emmanuel formed an almost unbreakable bond.
They grew up together. They shared milestones.
They celebrated successes. They experienced loss.
They supported each other through the highs and lows of teenage life and, eventually, the twists and turns of adulthood.
There is a special closeness that develops when you ride life’s waves alongside the same group of people.
You know each other’s stories. You remember the people who shaped you. You can look across a room decades later and, somehow, still see the 16-year-old standing there.
That connection is what makes coming home so powerful.
It’s not simply about returning to a school building.
It’s about returning to a part of yourself – and to the people who knew you when you were still becoming who you would eventually be.
For Ben, Alicia and Matt, walking back through the gates has already brought those memories rushing back.
And soon, they won’t be the only ones.
Whether you were part of the Class of 1996, or one of the other reunion groups coming together for Emmanuel’s Homecoming, this is your chance to come back to where it all began.
Walk through the gates. Find the people who shared those years with you. Laugh at the stories you thought you’d forgotten.
And, for one day, be an Emmanuel student again.
Three schools. Seven reunions. One event. One day.
Tours, memorabilia, refreshments and displays will feature throughout the day.
Mark it in your diary – Saturday, October 17, 10.30am to 1.30pm at 140 Botanic Road, Warrnambool.
