Our History
Queen Street - The Beginning
The doors of Tambearly School opened for the first time in early September, 1985. Seventeen students lined up in the garden of our first home to be introduced to their teachers. Mrs. Burrows was the teacher for Reception, Mrs. Randecker was the Class One teacher, Miss Albury was the teacher for Classes 2-3, and Mrs. Langford taught Classes 4-6.
The first three years were spent happily at 32 Queen Street. The wide stairway covered with rich foliage leading up to West Hill Street served as our setting for family gatherings.
These years produced many firsts: our first Thanksgiving, first Christmas play, first Sports Day, first soccer teams, first drama production ("Peter Pan," ably directed by Brad Bellis).
Growing & Moving
By spring of 1989, our student body had grown to a number that demanded a larger facility. We sadly said goodbye to our home on Queen Street and moved to Dean's Lane. A large "Gone with the Wind" house served as home for the next four years. Here we produced our first yearbook ("Inside Tambearly") and formed our parent group which we christened "Friends of Tambearly." 1991 was marked by a trip to San Salvador in April in preparation for the Quincentennial. Jose Gomez was instrumental in arranging this trip and joined us as a chaperone. The Quincentennial Committee invited Tambearly to take part in the official Quincentennial celebrations. In response, our music teacher Esau McKenzie wrote a beautiful play called "Land of the Gentle People" which was performed at the Crystal Palace before an audience of eight hundred people!
A Place of Our Own
As the Tambearly family continued to grow, it didn't take long for our new home at Sandyport to become a reality. The energy of parents, students and staff made it possible to have everything in place and painted for the opening of school in September.
Our facilities have continued to expand. The ground breaking for the Tambearly Centre took place in May 1997, and we held our first Cultural Concert in December of that year. Many thanks to David Bassett for his generous donation in getting the project off the ground. Our Fund Raising Committees have achieved many wonderful projects on campus including stage lights for the Centre, the construction of the swimming pool and the opening of the Library and Resource Centre in 2007.
