President’s Welcome

I am delighted to have been elected President of the ONA at our recent AGM. It has been a pleasure to see the Association grow from strength to strength in recent years and I am excited to be able to continue this development. Considerable thanks must go to all those who have contributed to this growth, most notably Chris Rutter (92-02) who has worked tirelessly as President over the last two years.

The new academic year started with a bang as Headmaster, Dr Bernard Trafford, announced that he will retire this summer, after nine years in the role. On behalf of the Association, I would like to thank Bernard for all his efforts and contributions to the development of the ONA. We look forward to welcoming his successor, Mr John Fern, in due course.

The 91st annual ONA Dinner was again the highlight of the autumn with another maximum capacity crowd enjoying the school’s hospitality, a delicious meal prepared by Barrie Bulch and his team and a fascinating insight into life as a Lord from our guest speaker, Lord Beecham (53-62). I am also pleased to report that the raffle on the evening raised a splendid £958 for the Bursary Campaign. The Dinner was also our first opportunity to welcome the new Bursar, Dr Mike Pitkethly, to the school as we bade farewell to retired Bursar, Richard Metcalfe.

Another highlight of recent months was the second annual John Elders Memorial Rugby Match on 27 December 2016. A large crowd assembled at Sutherland Park to see superb hosts, Novos RFC take on an ONA XV in a game which, I am delighted to report, saw the ONA retain the trophy in a 7-39 win over Novos. See page 5 for a full report.

The annual London ONA dinner takes place on Friday 10 March at The East India Club. As the day before the Calcutta Cup, it is fitting that our guest speaker for this event is former Scotland international and current RGS head of Junior School Sport, Jim Pollock (67-77). We are expecting another sell-out event this year. Tickets are selling well – we welcome ONs of all ages (with reduced price tickets available for undergraduates) and look forward to seeing many of you there. See the back cover for details.

Finally, the last Friday of the month (except December) sees the Old Novocastrians’ Luncheon at the Northern Counties Club in Newcastle. These lunches are open to all ONs, so please do come and join us.

Chris JJ Wilson (97-02) ONA President