Faces of Frensham: 100 Years of Frensham Brought to Life in a Unique Montage

To mark its Centenary, Frensham commissioned a unique montage artwork bringing together every whole school photograph from its 100-year history.

Created by Old Frenshamian and montage artist Henry Reichhold, Faces of Frensham celebrates generations of pupils, staff and even school pets in a vibrant contemporary installation.

Rather than creating a traditional commemorative display, Frensham wanted its Centenary legacy to reflect the school’s distinctive, forward-looking character. The aim was to create something that would celebrate its heritage while connecting the whole Frensham community, past and present.

The idea was inspired by Henry’s large scale montage work, particularly his London Marathon artwork displayed at London Bridge Station. Inspired by Henry’s work bringing thousands of runners together in a single image, Frensham asked: what if every whole school photograph in its archives could be brought together to create one striking image?


Henry spent a day at Frensham photographing 34 historic whole school photographs that represented each decade. He developed a technique to capture the photographs, overcoming the challenges of working with images that had been in frames or stored rolled up, using the specialist lighting in the school’s photography studio. He also photographed the school’s Main House to create the backdrop of the piece.

Back in his London studio, Henry carefully colour matched the historic photographs before recolouring individuals’ clothing using Frensham’s 14 brand colours. The unified result creates the extraordinary illusion that around 15,000 pupils, staff and pets were photographed together on the same day, despite spanning almost 100years.Now installed in the Aldridge Theatre foyer, Faces of Frensham is enjoyed daily by pupils, staff, parents, alumni and visitors. Launched with a talk by Henry for pupils and staff, and showcased at the Centenary Founders’ Day in July 2026, the artwork has become an interactive celebration of Frensham’s history, with viewers encouraged to spot themselves, relatives, old friends and even the occasional dog, goat or chicken!


The project also highlights the value of preserving and celebrating the school archive, while showcasing the creative skills within the wider Frensham community.

By combining this historic collection with contemporary design and alumni expertise. Frensham has created a permanent Centenary legacy that demonstrates how archives can create connections across the generations.

September 2026