Birkonian Issue 2

The

ISSUE 2 - Spring 2018

Birkonian newsletter

In this issue: 

OBS Weekend



Sports News



Music News



Confirmation invitation



New Prep Lectures



Nicholls Lectures



Upcoming Events

Welcome!

We are delighted to present to you the second instalment of the new digital newsletter for Old Birkonians, which will be produced on a termly basis. Following wonderful feedback from the first newsletter, we hope that you will find this, and future editions, interesting. Do feel free to get in touch with any comments, suggestions or news stories for inclusion.

Thank you also to all those who have been in touch to offer their expertise for the Sixth Form Nicholls Lecture Series, Careers Evening, and the upcoming Healthcare Conference on 30th April. Your continued support is most appreciated.

We are continually striving to keep our database as up to date as possible. If you would like to update your details, or know of any Old Birkonians who may not be receiving our digital communications, please get in touch.

Carol Keegan Alumni Officer, Birkenhead School carol.keegan@birkenheadschool.co.uk @OldBirkonianSociety

www.obs.org.uk

@OldBirkonianSoc

Old Birkonians

2018 Old Birkonian Society Weekend Date for your diary!

OBS Weekend Friday 7th to Sunday 9th September 2018 We look forward to welcoming you and your family to the Old Birkonian Society Weekend, held at School in September.

In a change to the usual running of events, the Chapel service will now be held on the Friday evening from 6pm. Guests will then be invited to attend the Leavers’ Presentation Evening in Bushell Hall, with refreshments following.

On Saturday the action starts at 10am with Netball and Hockey fixtures, then the Archives open at 10.30am with tours of the School available - no appointment necessary.

At 12.30pm will be the OBS Annual General Meeting, followed by lunch at 1.15pm in the Sixth Form Centre - please let us know if you plan to attend for catering requirements via carol.keegan@birkenheadschool.co.uk.

At 2.30pm will be Lacrosse and Rugby matches at Noctorum Field, and at 7pm the Annual OBS Dinner. Booking for the dinner is available via www.birkenheadschool.co.uk/obs-weekend There is always room for more players and if you would like to be part of any of the OB sports teams, please get in touch.

Sunday will see members from the whole School community take part in the Wirral Half Marathon, starting from 9.30am in New Brighton. You can sign up to run at http:// www.btrliverpool.com/wirral-enter and let us know if you would like to run with Team Birkenhead!

The

Birkonian newsletter

ISSUE 2 - Spring 2018

Nicholls Lecture Series

In February, OB Chris Austin (‘73-‘80) gave a lecture to the Sixth Form about his career as a civil servant. He spoke about his visits to many places, such as The British Virgin Islands and Afghanistan, as well as his participation in the G8 summit.

Chris went on to talk about his participation in the UK’s response to the major hurricanes in the Caribbean and how he helped provide the necessary aid, including temporary shelters, food and clean water.

When talking about his visit to Kabul, he described how it was more dangerous for him riding his bike around London than him being in Kabul. He also explained how 0.7% of the UK budget is spent on foreign aid (about £13.4 billion a year), which is one of the highest aid budgets in the world.

In summary, Chris explained to the Sixth Formers how, being in the civil service isn’t just a desk job and can lead to helping real people in times of need, all over the world.

Chris Austin

In March, the Nicholls Lecture Series continued with a talk from OB, Henry Pugh (‘93-‘00). Henry, n ow a n E xec ut ive at the accountancy software company Pandle, referred to his dream of becoming a pilot. Since he was three

years old he had this dream and even by the time of his A levels remained assured that it was what he wanted to do.

During the lead up to his A exams, his Grandma became very ill. Initially he had lived in the Isle of Man and his Grandma was still living there. This meant Henry and his family were travelling Henry Pugh most weekends back and forth to the Isle of Man. As a result, along with other aspects in his life, the A levels he achieved were lower than both expected and required. He couldn’t go on to do what he had always dreamed but, more importantly, he hadn’t prepared a Plan B. The lecture focussed on the lesson in the importance of a Plan B, and making the students consider that things do go wrong and that they must be prepared to be proactive and find another way.

We are always on the look out for a diverse range of speakers for both the Sixth Form and Prep lectures. If you are able to help, please get in touch on carol.keegan@birkenheadschool.co.uk.

Prep Boumphrey Lecture Series

Musician Gwilym Jones visits

OB, School Archivist and Governor, Ian Boumphrey (‘49-‘61), gave the first in what will be a new series of lectures in the Prep. He entertained the children with his history of the Prep, and they were all fascinated to hear about the many changes that have occurred over the years since Prep began in 1889.

The Boumphrey family can trace their connection to Birkenhead School all the way back to 1871. Head of Prep, Mr FitzHerbert, also announced that the new talks will be named 'The Ian Boumphrey Lecture S e r i e s ' congratulations Ian, t h o r o u g h l y deserved!

Gwilym popped in to School in the afternoon before continuing on to play that evening at the Music Room at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool, with a trio of jazz musicians.

Sixth Form students at Birkenhead School were treated to a truly inspiring afternoon in January when OB Gwilym Jones (‘05-‘12) came for a visit.

The students were thankful for his time and in offering them his advice and tips on music making.

Gwilym is pictured below with Lower Sixth student Holly FitzHerbert.

The

Birkonian newsletter

ISSUE 2 - Spring 2018

Boxing Day Rugby Congratulations to the OB Rugby team who played Birkenhead Park on Wednesday 27th December in their annual fixture.

The final score was OBs 36, Birkenhead Park 18.

Playing in the game were OBs J Walker, P

Doyle, O Hearn, G Johnson-Aley, W Grabe, M Russell, N Hearn, A Hind, B Cornford, M Newton-Jones, J Doyle, J Corlett, J Russell, H Sturgess, A So, B Berkson, N Pickard and T Dodds, along with former and current parents Steve Hearn and Duncan Hendry.

20 20 Cricket A quintet of Old Birkonians featured at Lords Cricket Ground in September at the 2017 MCC Regional Twenty20 Finals. The MCC North West team was captained

by Simon Stokes (pictured centre), and also selected (pictured left to right) were Andrew Clarke, Ashley Davis, Warren Goodwin and Dominic Smith.

Congratulations!

The

Birkonian newsletter

ISSUE 2 - Spring 2018

Careers Guidance - thank you for your help!

Thank you to our OB community for your fantastic turn out at the Birkenhead School Careers Evening in January. Your help in inspiring the students was invaluable.

Numerous careers were represented by OBs including Mike Embra from Hillyer McKeown solicitors, vascular surgeon Andrew Brodbelt, Major General Keith Skempton from the British Army, Will Roberts from the financial services company Rathbone Brothers Plc, Nick Whieldon from Cvets Veterinary, Jennifer Taylor from Pegasus Physiotherapy, and chemical engineer John Egan from the Cabot Corporation.

Our next careers event will be our Healthcare Conference, which will take place on Monday 30th April, 5.30pm to 8pm. Focusing on careers in Healthcare, representatives from a variety of professions will offer advice to current and former students of Birkenhead School.

This conference will be the first in a series of specialised careers events, with a further two planned

Confirmation Invitation The Rt Rev’d Keith Sinclair will visit Birkenhead School Chapel to preside at a Confirmation Service on Sunday 10th June 2018, at 6.30pm.

Birkenhead School Chaplain, Fr Mark Turner, would like to invite any member of the School community, including OBs, to be Confirmed.

If you, or any member of your family are interested, please get in touch with Fr Mark on FrMark.Turner@birkenheadschool.co.uk.

for next year - one focussing on engineering in January and one on media in April.

If you are able to volunteer your time to offer advice please contact carol.keegan@birkenheadschool.co.uk.

If you would like to book a place at the Medical Conference event, visit bookwhen.com/birkenhead.

Bushell Hall filled with participants at the Careers Evening

Dates for the Diary Heswall Golf Day Sunday 3rd June, 1pm, approx £30 OBS Weekend 7th to 9th September

(see front page for further information)

Hoblyn Golf Trophy and Annual Dinner Friday 28th September, 12pm to 2pm, dinner at 7pm, RLGC, £110 London Dinner Friday 23rd November (details to come)

Liverpool Festive Lunch Friday 21st December, 12.30pm, The Athenaeum Regular: The Wheatsheaf, Raby Wednesdays 6.30pm - 7.30pm

Birkenhead School Chaplain, Father Mark Turner

For more information email carol.keegan@birkenheadschool.co.uk