We would like to inform the JAGS community of the sad passing of Bery Boyd (née Rayment) (Class of 1957). Beryl was born on 8 August 1939 and died on 14 September 2025.

Please see Beryl's obituary, written by her daughter, Karen. 

"Beryl attended JAGS for her secondary education. She was in the class of 1957.

"At school Beryl showed a particular aptitude for mathematics which shaped her future career.

"After school she went to teacher training college in Saffron Walden and went on to teach in primary schools across Lambeth. She met her husband, John Boyd, at one of these schools. He was a New Zealander travelling the world - but when he met Beryl they married and he never moved back.

"Lambeth Council appointed Beryl as a specialist maths advisor - advising schools on maths teaching. She devised games and puzzles that could be used to make Maths fun. At home the former coalshed was converted into a storage cupboard to contain all these resources.

"Beryl was active in the local Labour Party and in 1968 she stood in the local council elections. As children we delivered leaflets at the weekends and our living room became the committee rooms on polling days.

"Beryl retired, due to ill health, from her last job as a deputy head teacher. It was then that she discovered a love of travel. Especially to Mediterranean countries.

"In her final years dementia overtook her and she died in a care home 400 metres away from the primary school she had attended as a child.

"She leaves her husband of 65 years, two daughters and five grandchildren (one of whom is a maths teacher!)"

If you have any memories of Beryl that you would like to share, please contact the JAGS Alumnae Relations Team by emailing alumnae@jags.org.uk.