Orlumni Magazine Summer 2024 by OrleyFarm

C O N T E N T S

headmaster's address

editor's comment

Tim ambler 1937-2024

sports round-up

Aarya Bhalodia

Swimming gala avi sethi

Drama

summer Term House Winners alumni events orley Farm Association music

leavers destinations dates for the diary

WELCOME

Another term, another year – time does fly and as we look forward, its always good to pause and look back at what has happened at Orley this past year –collating the articles for the magazine allows me to do just that, as I hope you will too.

You can also follow weekly updates on social media platforms.

Keep sending your stories in and its always a pleasure to hear from former students and hear their experiences of their time at Orley – so please keep sending them in and feel free to just drop us an email and say hello!

EDITORIAL

CHETAN SHAH Editor

SARA PADALINO Editorial assistant

TIM CALVEY photographer

MATTHEW KING social media

JAS BIRDI communications

CONTRIBUTORS

Tim Calvey, Stephen Bloom, Catherine godet, Rebecca Gascoigne, Keith ford, SUBSCRIBE ONLINE

https://www orleyfarm har row sch uk/orlumni/

Orley Farm School

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CHETAN SHAH

Editor

headmaster's address

We enjoyed a fantastic Celebration Day in July as the school came together to reflect on the past year –an especially emotional and reflective time for our 54 leavers. In terms of results, our 54 leavers are taking up offers at 17 senior schools in September. Congratulations to our scholars who gained 29 scholarships and awards to 9 of the country’s most selective senior schools. Highlights include 14 Academic Scholarships; we also enjoyed the usual breadth with Music, Drama and Sport Scholarships along with an Art Scholarship and 2 STEAM Scholarships, both going to girls.

Our Guest Speaker this year was Hassan Damluji, a former Orleyan, who spoke so well to our pupils, parents and staff as he shared memories of his time at Orley Farm and powerful lessons that he has taken through an extraordinary career to date – co-founder of the think-tank Global Nation, a fellow at the London School of Economics, senior advisor to the World Health Organisation and former Director of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Hassan left us wanting to hear more but for me the take home message was a lovely one – for better or worse, we are a product of the company we keep, so surround yourself with friends who bring out the best in you, and you in them!

This was my 12th Celebration Day, and I want to record my thanks to Colin Hayfield, a former Chair of Governors and longstanding member of our Board who puts me in touch with former Orleyans each year – it never fails to humble me that pupils from this school go on to do such extraordinary and inspiring work. Each year I wonder who might be coming back in years to come to address the school with their own message and testimony to inspire the next generation!

An added treat was Hassan signing his book, The Responsible Globalist’ and giving it to our Heads of School – real food for thought

I hope that everyone reading this visits our website for regular updates on busy school life – summarising a year would be impossible, but I would like to highlight one story from May. A small group of parents and teachers proposed an informal football match that grew into a fantastic tournament – thank you to all those involved.

You will all no doubt know, having attended Orley, that sport is so important in the obvious areas of health but more so in connecting people. The success of this event reminded me that we are so lucky to have such amazing facilities and perhaps you as former pupils might want to host similar events that bring you together – I say this with care as I don’t want injuries as you come together to relive a 2009 House match that ends up with pulled hamstrings! However, we are looking to really invest in our sporting facilities over the coming years and this might be a great opportunity for our Orlumni community to benefit.

Talking sport, I would like to close by congratulating Hastings who won the Haston House Cup (see p47).

TIM CALVEY Headmaster

I would like to thank both Miss Addinall and Miss Artoonian who came up with the concept behind the Orley ‘Read-a-Long' It’s rather apt that Miss Addinall is often found teaching Yr8 whilst Miss Artoonian can currently be found leading Zebras in Reception - this was a lovely collaboration that brought us all together We must make more of these opportunities on all levels as today was very, very special!

We then gathered for a photo from our eye in the sky before breaking the quietness for the neighbours with our own version of ‘Everything is Beautiful’ by Ray Stevens! Thank you Mr Evans and Mr Ford, along with our musicians for a lovely sing-a-long to complete the event!

editor's comment

Finally, we got some sun and this summer term was another fun filled term with some new additions –literally via Moosical Movers!

Our guest speak this year - Hassan Damluji has had an incredible career and just hearing the highlights is impressive. I was duly impressed when I was reading about Tim Ambler who sadly passed away this summer. He led an extraordinary life and he was regarded unquestionably one of the greatest in his field – and that was not the career he had initially embarked upon. The more I read about him the more inspired I become, I even managed to find some old audio lectures of his from his time at the London business school – would have loved to sat with him and hear more of his stories over a meal – it would have been a very long lunch!

Talking of food, we have our own celebrity in Avi Sethi who left Orley 20 years ago and again starting in one career but has turned his hand to something completely different. He shares his memories of Orley and how that has stayed with him all these years.

Again, the results at Orley have been outstanding and you can see the list of destinations for our leaver of 2024 and as they enjoyed their final term at Orley you can read about what some of them have been up to in sport - the boys did incredibly well, music and drama.

The OFA held a summer fair which didn’t let the weather dampen them, and for next term you are as always invited to their Fireworks night and Christmas fair.

e ‘M es ovely to bring some young parents and eminded me to look back at those moments n the Calvey household!

Tim ambler 1937-2024

We are sad to report the death of our former student and author Tim Ambler.

Tim was a man of many contradictions. His marketing achievements were considerable and yet, unlike many marketers, he rarely mentioned them. He trained as a chartered accountant but complained that too many accountants not only join boards but become CEO’s. After three decades in the drinks trade, He became Senior Fellow of the Adam Smith Institute and was the author of our major study on reducing the bureaucracy, Shrinking Whitehall (2022).

He was a frequent contributor to the Adam Smith blog and gave evidence on our behalf to parliamentary committees. He relished pointing out to his students how existing business theory did not always work in practice; but then in a third phase of his working life, he developed for the Adam Smith Institute a theory on how government departments should deliver better “taxpayer value” and was miffed to find that few politicians were prepared to put his theory into practice.

Tim discovered marketing while on the Sloan MBA course at MIT, and in his highly entertaining memoir “The Lucky Marketeer” he describes it like this: “Company boards do three things: make money, count it and spend it. Any idiot can count it and spend it; the difficult bit is making it in the first place and that is marketing…accountants promote the belief that the more often one counts a pile of money the bigger it gets. At best accountants keep score: they do not make runs. My Pauline conversion from accountant to marketeer had taken place.”

Before Tim embarked for the US with his wife Katie, his employer, International Distillers and Vintners, had reluctantly given him a year’s leave of absence from his job as an accountant and he was fortunate that when he returned, he slotted into an ideal marketing director role working for George Bull at Gilbey Vintners. Bull was also a recent convert to marketing - in his case from being a salesman - and many years later he became the first Chairman of Diageo. During Tim’s decade and a half as first marketing director and then managing director of what became IDV UK there were many spectacular brand successes.

As marketing director of International Distillers, he was the brains behind the success of Bailey’s Irish Cream, and also marketed Smirnoff vodka and Croft sherry. Later he became Senior Fellow in marketing at London Business School, writing important books and articles on marketing effectiveness. Marketing cited him as one of the hundred most effective figures in the marketing sector, and the Chartered Institute of Marketing named him as one of the fifty top marketing experts worldwide.

He published a number of reports and articles on regulation and deregulation, including Deregulation: Road Map to Reform (2005), Deregulation or Déjà vu? (2007), Reforming the Regulators (2008), The Financial Crisis: Is Regulation Cure or Cause (2008), Financial Regulation (2009) and Regulatory Myopia (2009).

As an Oxford maths graduate and a former accountant, it is not surprising that Tim’s greatest contribution to the study of marketing has been on the topic of metrics. “Marketing and the Bottom Line” is subtitled “Creating the measures of success - The marketing metrics to pump up cash flow” and is still an excellent read. Its second edition earned him the praise of Philip Kotler (writer of the definitive marketing textbook for many generations of marketers) who nominated it for the marketing book of the year award in the US.

A larger-than-life man of many talents, after retirement Tim composed church music, which has been performed at many venues including Westminster Cathedral. At the other end of Victoria Street, he will be remembered for the caustic wit he directed at (most) politicians and bureaucrats and his no-nonsense approach to public policy.

sports round-up

Boys’ Games - Cricket

1st XI Captains: Dhruv Patel and Faeez Chaudhary

1st XI Batting Cup: Dhruv Patel (207 runs)

1st XI Bowling Cup: Ashmeet Ranjan (10 wickets)

1st XI Fielding Cup: Aman Chaudhry

Colts Cricket Captain: Yuvan Kathuria

Colts Cricket Cup: Yuvan Kathuria

U9 Cricket Shield: Jayan Tanna

U8 Cricket Shield: Kiaan Gupta

St Jude Cup (most improved cricketer): Noah Airi

Despite some incredibly challenging weather, this season was another great chapter in the story of Orley Farm cricket. A total of 51 matches played by our boys in Middle and Upper School with our record being 30 wins and 21 losses.

It was our senior teams in Years 7 and 8 who led the way with 14 wins from their collective 20 matches.

1st XI with their winners’ medals and shield from the Ten10 Tournament along with the scoreboard from the day!

Led by Dhruv Patel and Faeez Chaudhary, it was our 1st XI who had the most successful season of the 20 teams represented from Years 3-8 with their record being six wins from nine matches, including a sensational win at the annual Orley Farm U13 Ten10 Cricket Tournament. Remarkably, they only lost one wicket all day as they enjoyed comprehensive wins over Durston House, St. Martin’s and Westminster Under School. House matches, as always, brought out more competitiveness in the boys with Hastings winning both the Junior House Cup for Years 5 and 6 and the Senior House Cup for Years 7 and 8.

Mr Bloom – Head of Boys’ Games

one of our youngest teams at U8 level and our Colts team on a rainy day overcoming the opposition as well as the elements

sports round-up

We have lost a few matches this season due to downpours, but it was lovely to host a sporting first here at Orley Farm – our first co-educational cricket matches!

Our four U9 teams welcomed St. Margaret’s as we enjoyed a fantastic afternoon of cricket. I have no doubt that we are going to enjoy more and more events like this that can only benefit our students in so many ways.

Miss Godet – Head of Girls’ Games

"ALL STUDENTS CAN LEARN AND SUCCEED, BUT NOT ON THE SAME DAY IN THE SAME WAY."

WILLIAM G. SPADY

Aarya bhalodia

by Chetan Shah

Aarya played on the boys (Colts A) team for all their matches the season consisted of 3 matches and the OFS Ten10 tournament - She also opened the bowling for all Colts A matches

Amazingly she took a wicket of the very first ball of the very first match of the season vs The Hall … on her birthday and she got a lovely card from Mr Bloom for the achievement.

Aarya also won the following while representing Ealing Cricket Club U11 Girls

Middlesex County Cup - Winner

Middlesex County League - Winner

Middlesex Indoor Cricket Tournament - Winner

Southern Counties Regional Finals - Runners Up (representing Middlesex vs clubs from Kent, Surrey, Essex and Sussex) and lastly she played for Middlesex where again she was the opening bowler

into the meadow - Yr1 as they navigated a treasure map using the points of a compass –orienteering is far from easy but starting with such purpose and following the clues and instructions from Captain Pippa, our crew found a stash of jewels!

swimming Gala

As you will all know, House Competitions bring out a healthy edge across the school; there’s a wonderful tribalism that brings different ages together to celebrate moments of individual triumph as well as team moments in the relays. I have watched this event for 15 years and we have never got through the relays, which carry double points, without multiple disqualifications for swimmers leaving without touching. Unknown to me, Mr Bloom decided to incentivise the school by saying that ‘Mr Calvey would race the winning team in his suit if there were no DQs...’

I’m sorry to say that in the cauldron of cheering, we had a number of DQs, so many that this became the defining moment in who would go on to win!

It is fantastic having so many parents coming to cheer on their children as well as their Houses – a huge congratulations to Hastings House who won the day! Thank you to Mr Bloom and the Games department for putting on a great event.

"EDUCATION’S

PURPOSE

IS TO REPLACE AN EMPTY MIND WITH AN OPEN ONE.

"

MALCOLM FORBES

Avi Sethi

by Chetan Shah

Avi Sethi was at Orley farm from 1995 to 2004 (Sadly the last time his team Arsenal won the league!) sticking with the red theme he was in Hastings and was appointed House captain in his final year.

One of his fondest memories of Orley Farm include - winning the U13A's Football Tournament which Orley Farm had hosted for neighbouring schools. Leading up to that tournament we had lost every game 3-0, but somehow, we all pulled together on home soil and won it! Was one of those days you remember for life.

As you can imagine my favourite memories at Orley Farm were playing countless hours of football and cricket in the playground, astro or field. The most epic game was Wembley doubles - for those that remember it!'

Another funny memory was denying he had a younger sister (Nikhita) also at OFSuntil she made sure everyone knew! And still to this day she likes to remind him she got her name up on the scholarship board and not him!

Avi went on to Merchant Taylors with 10 other OFS boys and from there he attended the London School of Economics, where he graduated with First Class Honours This led him into a career in Management Consulting, where he works with different companies on improving their go to market and commercial strategies.

In parallel - Avi started a street food business called Gully (Means 'Street' in Hindi) to keep his Dad busy in retirement. They started in 2020 from a small little Gazebo in a central London market, to now a leading catering business with colourful food trucks and vibrant festival set-ups. You may have caught them on Saturday Kitchen Live on BBC in June, or seen them at Glastonbury or events such as Wimbledon, Henley Regatta, The Oval stadium or any recent weddings / birthdays you have been to! Take a look at them at www.gullyuk.com

Avi and Sudhir Sethi are the father and son duo behind Indian street food service, Gully Street Food.

Finally, Avi's best men at his wedding were his two best friends from Orley farm, who he met at his first day at Orley - shout-out to Abhishek and Viraj!

drama

Auditions involved a record number of pupils putting themselves forwards for 62 roles. In the end the cast and backstage crew involved a staggering 73 senior children. 80 pupils from Grange Primary joined Upper School for our dress rehearsal which ended with a Q&A session between cast and audience –a really engaging moment as our pupils realised how much their performance had been appreciated.

H A S T I N G SH O U S E W I N N E R S

Alumni Event

2023 Leavers - 24th May

We hosted our Orlumni event as our leavers from last year returned for an informal evening where they could share stories and catch up. It was great to see our leavers who are now year 7 girls and year 9 boys reconnecting back in familiar surroundings and acting as though they had never been apart. It was a successful first event with many former students and parents in attendance.

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6 t h J u l y

S a t u r d a y

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OFA events

Music

This term started with us taking a school trip to Merchant Taylors’ School for an orchestral afternoon. All 35 musicians from the Senior Band, plus a handful of percussionists, took the coach up to Northwood for an afternoon of learning music (sight reading!), followed by a short concert in the evening. Musicians took part in events across the school this term, including our Year 6 and Year 7 Verse Speaking Competition (with 4 musicians performing solos), auditions for the Pilgrim Piano Competition, a Year 5 choir during the Open Morning for visiting parents, followed by our annual Pilgrim Piano Competition, with visiting teacher Dan Evans from Edge Grove adjudicating the event. The whole school also enjoyed singing Everything is beautiful (by Ray Stevens) to accompany the annual charity event, which took place outside, where we raised money for the Imperial Health Charity, and the Year 6 String Quartet provided live music for our Whole School (Y5-8) Quiz. The term ended with an electric 2 nights of concerts in Saint George’s Hall, where the two main pieces were Never gonna give you up! and Flashdance!, performed by our combined ensembles and the Senior Choir and Year 5 Choir.

Mr Ford – Director of Music