Welcome from the 2022 President Rachel Bacon

Another year and the annual edition of The Arch has arrived.

Firstly, a very warm welcome to all those of you who are new to this publication, whether as new ORs or those reading for the first time in other capacities. We hope that you’ll find something to interest you in these pages. The Editors love to receive news of your latest endeavours, so if you have any updates to send or an article you think would be of interest, please do send it over.

For all of us, this has been a year of catching up – with friends and family, with events, and with those opportunities denied to all of us during the past couple of years. The lifting of Covid restrictions has been very welcome and has, of course, allowed the OR Society to pick up the schedule of events that we were unable to pursue for the past couple of years.

After a lengthy delay we were finally able to hold our flagship event - the OR Summer Ball at The Hurlingham Club in London in celebration of girls and women as part of the life of Repton.

The Ball was very well attended, with women from across the last 50 years sharing their experiences of life at Repton and beyond. Carole Blackshaw (A’70), one of the two women who joined the School in 1970, spoke about her experiences and the changes that have taken place over the intervening time, as well as her hopes for women at Repton and in their lives beyond the Arch in the future. Daisy Heath-Abbott (G’06) also deserves a vote of thanks for all of her hard work in the planning of this event.

The Women’s Leadership Forum, which kicked off with an online event late in 2021, was followed in April by an in-person event at the Royal Overseas League in London, where Ruth Millington (F’00) gave a fascinating overview of her new book, Muse, and the artwork associated with it. Numbers were slightly lower than hoped when some planned attendees were unable to attend due to Covid, but nonetheless, the event was much enjoyed for those who were able to attend. Ruth also appeared on the schedule of the recent Lichfield Music & Arts Festival discussing her book. We thank her for her time and look forward to hearing more from her in the future.

The Society continues to focus on improving women’s participation in our events and the wider life of the Society, and we would love to welcome some new female faces to the OR Society General Committee. Location isn’t an issue as meetings are conducted both online and in person, and your input is very valuable so if you would like to find out more, please do contact the OR Society and we’d be very happy to discuss what’s involved: or@repton.org.uk

Another key focus of the Society is careers at Repton. Our OR community has a great breadth and depth of experience and knowledge to share with those already in their careers, as well as those just starting to think about their potential career paths. A number of ORs, myself included, spoke at the Year 12 (Lower Sixth) Careers & HE Convention in June, giving the pupils an insight into some of the careers that they may not have considered – or even heard of – previously. The School is very grateful for the continued support of ORs in this area, and the database of experience that can be drawn on continues to grow. If you would like to register as a speaker for the 2023 Careers & HE Convention, please get in touch with the OR Office.

This is my last letter as President of the OR Society, as I hand the responsibilities over to the incoming president, Nick Smith (B’69). I have hugely enjoyed the opportunities that this has given me over the past couple of years to meet with other ORs and contribute to the development of the Society, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed seeing the developments and engaging with us just as much!