Old Pauline Club News

The OPC’s AGM on 8 July marked the end of Brian Jones’s (1961-66) term as the Club’s President. His comments on the modernisation of the Club’s governance in his President’s Report were:

“The most significant Old Pauline Club (OPC) events in the last year undoubtedly took place ‘behind the scenes’ and related to the Club’s Strategy Review. I mentioned a year ago that the Strategy Review Group (SRG) would be putting forward options and recommendations to the Main Committee later that year and this was duly done in November 2020 with a report entitled “The Case for Change”.

The core assessment of the SRG, taking into account the responses from surveys of the membership and the views of stakeholders, was that the momentum of the OPC was swinging away from being a club whose principal activities revolve around sport at Thames Ditton, an Annual Dinner and the production of a well-regarded magazine to becoming an integral part of the wider Pauline Community living in much closer harmony with the School.

The SRG’s view was that maintaining the status quo was not an option and that it needed to change to focus on what should be its main purpose of being an integral and leading part of the Pauline Community. It did not need to change the long-established aims of the Club but needed to change the means by which it fulfilled those aims and objects. The Report was considered by the Main Committee at a Strategy Day in November with much debate on the topics of governance; the land at Thames Ditton; the relationship with the School; engaging with OPs; communications; and sport. The proposals included in the Report to take the Club forward were approved by the Main Committee.

This led to two streams of work. Firstly, a Governance Working Party was set up to consider, inter alia, the roles of the Main and Executive Committees, how to make them more effective and more representative of the membership and generally how to bring our structure and oversight up to date. Secondly, a Joint OPC/SPS Committee is in the process of being set up. Its immediate role will be to explore and progress implementation of ways in which the OPC and St Paul’s School can work together better; to consider what the possibilities are for the Thames Ditton site and Colets: and generally, to build a consensus on the development of sports and other activities. The School is committed to co-operate, co-ordinate and collaborate to promote a vibrant OPC, which interfaces with the School at many points, which in turn promotes and supports the School. There are many issues for the Committee to consider and it will shortly be agreeing actions and setting targets for the next three years.

The main proposed changes to the Club’s governance were: • The Main Committee and the

Executive Committee to be replaced by a reconstituted

Executive Committee.

• Membership of the new

Executive Committee to have an age limit of 75 years. • Vice Presidents, who are currently automatically members of the Main Committee, would be able to join an Advisory Council. • The new Executive Committee would have representatives from each OP age group – those in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and 50’s.

• The Executive Committee would include the SPS Director of

Development and Engagement and a staff member nominated by the High Master; and a

SPS governor. • There would be a number of sub-committees, including a Strategy Implementation

Committee, a Nominations

Committee and a Sports

Committee.

 Richard Cassell, The High Master and Sir Brian Fall after the OPC AGM

Following discussion at the Main Committee meeting in June, 56 members (66%) voted on the proposals with 51 (91%) voting in favour and 5 (9%) voting against.

Further, it was considered that, as part of modernising the OPC and attracting the involvement of younger members, the word “Old” and “Club” had negative connotations in the context of an alumni association, so that a change of name would be helpful. The change of name would not be imposed on the OP sports clubs, the naming of which would be up to the sports clubs themselves.

Accordingly there was an additional proposal:

The Old Pauline Club to change its name to the St Paul’s Alumni Association.

For this proposal, 46 (82%) voted in favour and 10 (18%) against.

The Main Committee therefore by substantial majorities approved both.

The next step will be to re-draft the Club’s Rules. That draft will be reviewed by the Executive and Main Committees in the autumn with a final version of the new Rules proposed for approval at a Special General Meeting. Given the approval processes that need be completed, the changes in governance will not take place before 1st January 2022 at the earliest and the change of name not until 1st September 2022 at the end of the OPC’s 150th year.

I am confident that this review process and the implementation of the various proposals will ensure that the Club will be in a position to benefit not only Old Paulines, both young and old, both current and future, the School and everyone across the Pauline Community.

I would like to express my enormous gratitude to others on the Strategy Review Group who have spent many hours meeting, discussing, drafting and reviewing strategy matters – Nick Brooks (1965-70), Jon Morgan (1969-74), Rob Smith (1981-86), Sam Turner (2011-16) and Ed Vaizey (1981-85) have all made a significant contribution to taking the Club forward. More recently those also on the Governance Working Party – Nog Norgren (1981-86) and Brian Fall (1951-55) – have done a tremendous job in producing an excellent Governance Report.”

The full text of Brian’s report is shown on the OPC website.  Old Pauline Club

Committee List Autumn 2021

President

The Rt Hon the Lord Vaizey of Didcot

Past Presidents

C D L Hogbin, C J W Madge, F W Neate, Sir Alexander Graham GBE DCL, R C Cunis, Professor the Rt Hon the Lord McColl of Dulwich, The Rt Hon the Lord Baker of Dorking CH, J M Dennis, J H M East, Sir Nigel Thompson KCMG CBE, R J Smith, B M Jones

Vice Presidents

Professor D S H Abulafia, Rt Revd R W B Atkinson OBE, P R A Baker, Professor M D Bailey, R S Baldock, J S Beastall CB, S C H Bishop, J R Blair CBE, Sir David Brewer CMG, CVO, N St J Brooks, R D Burton, W M A Carroll, Professor P A Cartledge, M A Colato, R K Compton, T J D Cunis, A C Day, S J Dennis MBE, Sir Lloyd Dorfman CBE, C R Dring, C G Duckworth, A R Duncan, J A H Ellis, R A Engel, D H P Etherton, The Rt Hon the Lord Etherton of Marylebone PC, Sir Brian Fall GCVO KCMG, B R Girvan, T J R Goode, D J Gordon-Smith, Lt Gen Sir Peter Graham KCB CBE, The Rt Hon the Lord Greenhalgh of Fulham, The Rt Hon the Lord Godson of Thorney Island, Professor F D M Haldane, S A Hyman, S R Harding, R J G Holman, J A Howard, S D Kerrigan, P J King, T G Knight, J W S Lyons, I C MacDougall, Professor C P Mayer CBE, R R G McIntosh, A R M McLean CLH, I C McNicol, J D Morgan, A K Nigam, The Rt Hon George Osborne, Sir Mene Pangalos, T B Peters, D M Porteus, R M Rayner, The Rt Hon the Lord Razzall of Mortlake CBE, The Rt Hon the Lord Renwick of Clifton KCMG, A M Rind CVO, B M Roberts, J M Robertson, J E Rolfe, M K Seigel, J C F Simpson CBE, J Sherjan, D R Snow MBE, S S Strauss, A G Summers, R Summers, J L Thorn, R Ticciati OBE, Sir Mark Walport FRS, Professor the Lord Winston of Hammersmith, J Withers Green

Honorary Secretary

S B Turner

Honorary Treasurer N St J Brooks FCA

Main Committee

Composed of all the above and N F Cardoza (Golfing Society), C S Harries (Association Football Club), J P King (Colet Boat Club), H J Michels (Rugby Football Club), N H Norgren (Elected), T B Peters (Cricket Club), A J B Riley (TDSCC Ltd Representative), D C Tristao (Tennis Club), J F Turner (OPC Sports Director)

Executive Committee

The Rt Hon the Lord Vaizey (President & Chairman of the Committee), B M Jones (Immediate Past President), S B Turner (Hon Secretary), N St J Brooks (Hon Treasurer), A J B Riley (TDSSC Ltd Representative), J H M East (Elected), P J King (Elected) J D Morgan (Elected), J F Turner (OPC Sports Director), J Withers Green (Editor, Atrium & Social Engagement Officer)

Liaison Committee

I M Benjamin, R J G Holman, T B Peters, A J B Riley

Ground Committee

J M Dennis (Chairman), R K Compton, G Godfrey (Groundsman), M P Kiernan, J Sherjan

Accountants

Kreston Reeves LLP

Trustee

OPC Trustee Company Limited

Club Appointments

At the Old Pauline Club’s AGM on 8 July 2021 the following appointments were made.

President: Lord Ed Vaizey (1981-85) until July 2023.

Vice Presidents: Professor David Abulafia (1963-67), Rt. Revd Richard Atkinson (1971-76), Lord Dean Godson (1975-79), Lord Stephen Greenhalgh (1980-84), Jon Morgan (1969-74), Sir Mene Pangalos (1979-84), Rob Rayner (1999-04), Alan Rind (1954-59), Jerhan Sherjan (1989-94), Jeremy Withers Green (1975-80). Simon Bishop (1962-65) presentation in recognition of his contribution as OP Editor Professor Mark Bailey’s portrait

To recognise the significant contribution made by Simon Bishop to Old Pauline communications as Editor of Old Pauline News and then Atrium from 2008 to 2019, it had been planned to make a presentation to him at the Annual Dinner in June 2020 and then in July 2021, but as both have had to be cancelled it was decided to make a presentation to him at an informal lunch held recently in Bath, near his hometown of Bristol.

The lunch was hosted by OPC President, Brian Jones, (1961-66) and was also attended by Past President John Dennis (1959-64) and the current Editor of Atrium. The framed presentation shows the covers of the first and last editions of the publications for which Simon was responsible.

The Old Pauline Club commissioned a portrait of Professor Mark Bailey on his retirement as High Master in August 2020. In normal times this would have been unveiled at the OPC Annual Dinner at the end of his last term at St Paul’s in June 2020. The pandemic of course saw to that being cancelled.

With the continuing uncertainties as to when an unveiling ceremony might take place at an OPC event, there was a brief ceremony at School just before the 2021 Summer Term started.

The portrait was presented by then OPC President, Brian Jones, to the High Master, Sally-Anne Huang, and was unveiled by Mark Bailey at a brief ceremony on 20 April in the Montgomery Room. Johnny Robertson (Chairman of Governors during Mark Bailey’s tenure), Ed Vaizey (then OPC Deputy President) and Joe Simpson, the portrait artist, attended.

Ed Vaizey’s (1981-85) message to Old Paulines as he started his term as Club President

“I’m thrilled to have become the new President of the Old Pauline Club.

It’s not a role I ever thought I would have. Like many of you reading this, I really enjoyed St Paul’s. I made some good friends and I liked keeping up to date with news of the School and my contemporaries via the Old Pauline magazines. But I didn’t anticipate becoming as closely involved as I am now.

This year is the 150th anniversary of the Club, and we hope not only to mark the occasion but also use it as a jumping off point to really make sure the Club is a modern, engaging institution.

Thanks to the work of many people, especially the outgoing President Brian Jones (1961-66), the Old Pauline Club is changing. We have modernised the governance structures (boring but essential), and we are getting much better at ensuring the OPC is something that benefits you – whether it’s networking and finding useful connections, or keeping up with the sports or hobbies and subjects you enjoyed at School.

This year is the 150th anniversary of the Club, and we hope not only to mark the occasion but also use it as a jumping off point to really make sure the Club is a modern, engaging institution.

I have been struck, since I got more closely involved, how many OPs appreciate being contacted directly, and having some engagement with the School, and we hope to do much more of that. The dinner on 14th October is a great opportunity to get together, and in keeping with the Club’s new approach, it will be aggressively informal and enjoyable. We will also get to meet our new High Master, who is a fantastic leader and educator, as well as being a pioneer, being our first female head.

I really hope we can raise more money from Old Paulines who feel able to give. Fewer than 1 in 20 of us currently make any kind of donation. It’s incredibly important those of us who were lucky enough to benefit from the School’s excellent education have the opportunity to support pupils who would benefit from a St Paul’s education but whose families couldn’t afford to do so. So I hope that in my two years in the role, we really have an impact on the fund for bursaries.

I very much hope you will get in touch if you have thoughts and ideas, or want to get involved.”