ONA Now and Then
As I look back on my first year here at the RGS, it is striking at just how important the ONA has been in it. There are the obvious dinners and events (and most enjoyable they have been too) but it has been the wider meetings and encounters that have meant so much. Every school talks about the community and the wider ‘family’ but I can honestly say that this has been more than just rhetoric here. I’m sure there is more we can, would like to and will do, however, I do believe that our collective sense of pride and belief in the school puts us in an excellent position.
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One of the things that I have most enjoyed in the last few weeks of term has been the appearance of several ONs in School Assembly. Making sure that the links between the ONA and the current students are strong is so important for the future. It was therefore a very special pleasure to welcome back Luke Hughes (05-10) to present the Rory Allan Memorial Prize and to listen to what Phillipa Sanders (Year 11) had to say in her essay. It is fabulous that such debate and engagement with the world is being encouraged in an age when the perils of ‘fake’ news appear to be all too real. But the ON involvement did not end there, it was great that Kate Harman (née Appleby) (06-08) was also able to say something about the work and role of the ONA to the students before presenting Henry Haslam (Upper Sixth) with his award for an Outstanding EPQ (Extended Project Qualification). Henry’s originality and inventiveness, let alone entrepreneurial skill, in his work on recycling plastic was quite something and thoroughly deserving of the award. I would like to thank the ONA for supporting these awards and I hope they become a regular feature of school life and will continue to be presented in this way. The final ON visitor to Assembly was Thomas Bilclough (06-17) who came to address the school after his return from his travels on his GAP Year and present the new Bilclough Cup on behalf of all three of the Bilclough brothers who had been at RGS. Having met Tommy at the ONA London Dinner it was lovely to catch up with him again and give him his chance to address the school that exams robbed him of last year. I would also like to put on record here my thanks to Jane Medcalf and the ONs who were present on RGS Day to spread the word and sell ONA merchandise. Sadly, not all of my meetings with ONs have been under such pleasant circumstances. I have commented before that it is always a sad duty to say farewell to the ONs who have passed away and I have been to a number of memorial services in the last few months. Whilst very sad, these have also been occasions when we have been able to celebrate their lives and achievements of the ONs and it was so
noticeable how prominent a part their time at the RGS was to them. For some, like Ashley Winter OBE (64-74), their active involvement with the school went on much longer. Indeed, Ash’s crucial role in the Bursary Campaign carries with it not only the thanks of the school but most definitely those of the students who received bursaries as a result of it. And whilst on the topic of the Bursary Campaign may I also add my thanks to those who have supported it and continue to do so. As the famous campaign ad goes, ‘every little helps’ and the money really does help us provide life-changing opportunities for the boys and girls who get them. In David Goldwater’s (51-62) latest piece on A History of the RGS in Its People he reminds us of the importance of individuals and teachers. It may be true that the size of the school can make it less intimate but we only have to look at the great inspiration of teachers like Steve Watkins (89-18) to know that so much of the personal and individual care does continue. If my year began with the demolition of the old swimming pool (the source of so much comment at ON Dinners!) then I am pleased to say that it is ending with the arrival of the builders to start putting up the new building which includes the new Library, Art block and so much more. We hope to have it completed for the start of the academic year in September 2019. But you do not have to wait for that to come back and visit. I hope that some of you will be able to join us at other events next term including a special memorial service to mark the centenary of the end of the WWI where the restored organ and memorial will be rededicated. This will take place on Sunday 11 November and further details will be available closer to the event. As ever there is so much more for you to read here from Haiku and cricket to surgical procedures in Cape Town. And in very recent news I would also like to add my congratulations to Max Hill QC (72-82) on his appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions. The rich variety and tapestry of ON life goes on! John Fern Headmaster
