Towards the end of 2011 30 members of the class of 1971 celebrated the 40th anniversary of their qualification from Birmingham Dental Hospital with a weekend away in Stratford-upon-Avon.

It was the group's first reunion for ten years and proved an enjoyable weekend culminating in a dinner at the Alveston Manor Hotel on the Saturday night. Many of the group are reaching the end of their careers or have recently retired and for some it was the first reunion they had attended since graduation.

'Everybody seemed to have a story to tell and many student photographs and memories of the Birmingham Dental Hopsital and its staff were swapped long into the night,' said Laurie Jacobs, a dentist from Leicester. 'All branches of dentistry were represented and it was interesting to hear how everybody's careers had progressed over the years.'

The group hope to meet again in five years' time.