14
THE REEDER 2017
FEATURE
Resilience in the 21st Century Alex van Holk (Blathwayt 2002) delivers a moving and thought-provoking address at the 2017 Andrew Reed Lecture
T
he first of the Andrew Reed Lecture Series took place back in the 1990s; the aim was to invite eminent speakers to give an address primarily on the subject of the under-privileged, honouring the work of our Founder. Previous speakers included experts such as Lord Judd, Chief Executive of Oxfam, Professor Bhiku Parekh, a world authority on Mahatma Ghandi and Mrs Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, a concentration camp survivor and gifted musician. Rolling forward 25 years... we felt the time was right to reinstate this annual Lecture Series, with a slightly modern update. Given the uncertainty of our times, Andrew Reed’s ethos and vision – in so many areas of social reform – are more relevant now than ever. So we wanted to broaden the series’ remit to reflect all the qualities that Rev. Dr Reed stood for, elements that now form the bedrock of the School’s six values: integrity, compassion, curiosity, responsibility, resilience and independence. For us, to have an Old Reedonian ‘kick-start’ the new series was important and so, when we were looking for a speaker to talk about resilience in particular, we knew instinctively that within our ‘own ranks’, we had an Old Reedonian who very clearly exemplified this quality. We were delighted when Alex said yes!
Anyone who was at School at the same time as Alex would remember him for all sorts of positive reasons but, for a new generation of pupils, parents, staff, governors and invited guests, it was always going to be a poignant evening hearing his story and how it shaped him and those around him. As an exceptional sportsman and academic, Alex always pushed the boundaries when at School, whether that was on the hockey pitch or in an Economics lesson! His philosophy was to live life to the fullest. So, aged 17, when he was invited to holiday with a former classmate at Reed’s in France over Christmas in 2000, he jumped at the chance. Being driven by one of his friends, Alex described the moment he saw their car rapidly approaching a huge lorry before swerving off the road to avoid a collision. The next thing he remembered was lying in the verge on top of a tree and feeling nothing from his waist down. Alex was paralysed. After several weeks in hospital, he was bored. He wanted to get back to some normality and, despite going against all his doctors’ orders, he returned to school after just two months. In his speech, Alex paid tribute to the then Chair of Governors; the Headmaster, David Jarrett (who was in the audience); the staff and, of course,
