From the President
Tim Kiddell (OI 1989 - 98)
When I had the honour of becoming OI President at the end of 2019, few could have imagined how life would change so dramatically in a matter of weeks. But as this journal shows, Old Ipswichians and present day pupils alike can take huge pride in the contributions they made to the national effort in the most extraordinary times. As OI doctors and nurses risked their lives to save others, the school’s Design and Technology Department helped transform 2,200 projector slides and acetate into PPE visors for local care homes, community nurses, GPs, hospitals, dentists, pharmacies, community support groups, ambulance services and bus drivers. The OI calendar of events was initially put on hold, but gradually the world of Zoom opened up new ways of connecting old friends, formally and informally, with the 2020 online musical President’s Event and the Burns Night Supper being particular highlights. More recently with the restrictions lifted, we have been able to resume some traditional in-person events, including the Autumn Lunch for those who left over 50 years ago and a wonderful reunion of more than 65 former teachers. I attended the school between 1989 and 1998 before going on to become a Choral Scholar in the Choir of King’s College Cambridge and subsequently Speechwriter to four Prime Ministers in Downing Street. In no small part, I owe my preparation for both of those extraordinary opportunities to my time at the school.
I attended the school between 1989 and 1998 before going on to become a Choral Scholar in the Choir of King’s College Cambridge and subsequently Speechwriter to four Prime Ministers in Downing Street. In no small part, I owe my preparation for both of those extraordinary opportunities to my time at the school.
pupils for my President’s Event as part of the 2021 Festival of Music. I am immensely indebted to the fantastic Bev Steensma and Francis Goodhand for all they did to make such a special evening possible and to the generosity of those who are creating a legacy from the evening by donating to a prize for aspiring musicians at the school. My training for life as a writer began in earnest in the classroom of the late Steve Tidball, largely owing to my total ineptitude at his infamous “Essay or Glory” competition. For anyone unfamiliar with the rules: you have to throw a screwed up piece of paper into a bin or get an extra essay! With “Hard Work Comes First” plastered around the walls of his classroom, long before such motivation became fashionable in elite sports teams, Steve was a huge inspiration to so many of his students over the years. So it is particularly fitting to be working with several of them to establish an essay prize in his memory. As we look ahead to 2022, I hope to be able to host OIs for the London Dinner in the House of Lords, which was sadly postponed when Parliament temporarily closed to external events because of rising Covid cases. So please look out for a new date in the Spring, when we will be entertained by the Hollywood stories of OI film critic James King. Finally, I want to thank the OI committee and everyone who has supported the club and the school throughout these challenging two years. I’m particularly grateful for the help of Chairman Iain Chesterman, and the long-standing commitment of William Coe and Sally Webber who have gone above and beyond in the service of this club for many years..
– Tim Kiddell
OI Club President 2020 The former was a product of my years in the music department, inspired by generations of brilliant teachers and fellow pupils alike. So it was wonderful to be able to reunite OI musicians from across 70 years along with president day
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Issue 11 – A Journal of 2020/21
