Lent
Dear Old Birkfeldian
The vaults beneath The Royal Exchange provided an atmospheric setting for the latest of our OB reunions. Many City workers were represented among the Old Birkfeldians in attendance, but as with St Jo’s itself, it was a broad church – young and not so young, men and women, those still studying and seasoned professionals.
The breadth of career paths in evidence was impressive, too, and so it is likely to remain for OB reunions 10, 20 and 30 years hence. We are delighted with the university offers currently being considered by our Upper Sixth. They include Linguistics, Biology, Zoology, Law, History, Economics, Architecture, Engineering and Languages. September will see our leavers disperse to all parts of the UK, and as far afield as Oklahoma, USA. The diversity will increase still further as offers come in for those following the apprenticeship route.
The College is enormously proud of the part it plays in its students’ successes. We are determined to continue to offer a St Jo’s education to the widest intake we can and to keep our facilities right up to date. Both causes – bursaries and bricks & mortar – benefited from our first Giving Day, held as this newsletter went to press. We are grateful to every member of our community who played a part in this fundraising initiative. There is, of course, still time to give: https://www.stjos.co.uk/giving/.
I hope you will find plenty to interest you in this edition of the OB Newsletter. Among others, it pays tribute to a maritime hero (James Hatfield OB) and a little boy (David Simington OB) who performed the first solo in the College Chapel and sang for the Pope one Eastertide. Wishing you a peaceful Easter 2025.
Mrs Danielle Clarke, Principal
Cheers all round as our Events Calendar fills up
The Libertine Bar, Royal Exchange, proved a great venue for a drinks reunion in early March. We love catching up with OBs and they clearly delight in meeting up with one another. We know that is two London venues in a row and are conscious that other locales need a look-in. Probably Ipswich next time - we will keep you posted.
We are happy to hear that many of you stay in touch with one another all the time. The 2025/26 Rugby Festival should be extra OB-centric, with two groups of alumni planning to meet up at that time.
One group date their school days back to the mid-1960s and they first floated the idea of a reunion at the 2024 Festival. Some relative whipper snappers are being called together too: ‘Summer 2025 will mark 30 years since many of us completed our A-levels and finished our time as pupils at St Joseph’s, and for a lot of us the school will always be a positive and fundamental part of the adults we have become.
‘With that in mind, we are organising a reunion for the class of ‘95 to take place at the St Joseph’s College National Schools Festival taking place at Birkfield on the weekend of October 17-19. We plan to make use of the excellent hospitality facilities that the school puts on during the Festival (not the refectory), and would love to see as many of you as possible. As OBs, we also get a 10 percent discount in the VIP tent.
To register your interest, please contact Dan Woods at dan@woodsfoster.com.
Racing the latitudes to change attitudes
Disabled crew circumnavigates the world skippered by Old Birkfeldian
When James Hatfield MBE left St Joseph’s College in 1973 he studied Hotel and Catering and worked as a trainee chef at a hotel in Huntingdon - so far, perhaps a little humdrum. But James had been living with a congenital hole in the heart, which was inoperable when he was born in 1956. Hospital became part of his young life.
At 19-years-of-age, he ruptured his aorta while jogging and was forced to undergo two open heart operations and six follow-up surgeries. The pain was intense. ‘I was sitting in my ward crying. I was closer to death than life. I wanted to die,’ he recalled.
A fellow patient, a little girl, asked him why he was crying and told him she wanted her operation so she would be able to ‘run and jump and skip and play’. That was a turning point.
‘I realised how important it was to make your mark on the world before it’s too late. I decided that if I ever got out of hospital again, I wasn’t going to put off doing things just because they were difficult,’ James said.
Providentially, a sailing magazine was close at hand - with no knowledge of sailing or navigation, no boat and no money, James resolved to become a yachtsman. Eight months after leaving hospital and
with just 16 hours of single-handed sailing experience, he set off across the Atlantic. He made it across - to Newport RI rather than Antigua - and raised £24,000 for heart research.
In the following decade he sailed 100,000 miles, breaking 24 world records and setting new ones, including becoming the first person to sail single handed around the world from west to east. He was named International Yachtsman of the Year for 1987. His inspirational voyages raised money for numerous good causes, including Papworth Hospital, Cambridge, the Children’s Hospitals of New Zealand (Kiwis had helped James build a new boat after one of his sank off the coast), and combating polio.
In April 1986 James returned to St Joseph’s College and was photographed with the then Head Boy, James Wimhurst, being presented with a mascot. He talked to the Sixth Formers and staff were so impressed they asked him to repeat the talk for the Fifth Form.
The Birkfield Yearbook recorded, ‘James paid the school a touching compliment. He said of St Joseph’s “This school taught me how to deal with life’s problems; I should know, I’ve had my share.”’
In 1996, James skippered the boat Time & Tide in the 30,000-mile BT Global Challenge with a crew of disabled men and women - the first crew of its kind to compete in
such a race. Dubbed by many as the toughest race in the world, the ten-month BT Global Challenge sends its competitors the ‘wrong way round’, against prevailing winds and currents.
Never faint-hearted, James assembled a crew which included four amputees, two people with cerebral palsy, two who were deaf, two who were partially sighted and two cancer survivors. The others had all overcome assorted health challenges. They would be ‘racing the latitudes to change attitudes’ in a monumental and awe-inspiring undertaking.
Race organiser Sir Chay Blyth was at first sceptical that a disabled crew could or should take part, but came to realise these crew men and women deserved their place at the starting line. They were to prove ‘a lesson for us all’. In his foreword to Marina Cantacuzino’s account, On Equal Terms (published by Simon and Schuster, he wrote, ‘ I am grateful for the opportunity to add my tribute to the skipper and crew of Time & Tide who proved so conclusively, for all the world to see, that if you want to do something enough you will do it. It has been an honour to know and work with them - I salute them.’
The feat earned James a Big Red Book in October 1997 when Michael Aspel surprised him at Gilkicker Point in the Solent and announced ‘This is your life!’
Of the homecoming into Southampton, James wrote, ‘Turning the corner and coming into Ocean Village marina was stunning: the cheering, the noise, the people waving, the flags, the balloons, the sirens going off and people eight deep surrounding the dock. For the last time we edged Time & Tide into the dock and we had won the race. Sir Chay was there with his magnum of champagne and all I could see was a sea of people cheering and clapping. Somewhere on the pontoon was my mum. The lines went ashore and the boat stopped…it was over. It was incredible. The crew were hugging each other and shaking hands and kissing with a lot of backslapping… All the hard work and all the fear, courage and determination of the whole crew was repaid.’
Sadly, we have lost contact with James and can only hope he is alive and well somewhere ‘messing about in boats’ to his heart’s content.
Digging for Victory?
A wartime Digging for Victory effort or simply a gardening club? Here we see seven young horticulturalists with, presumably, Collins, Jellicoe, Odell, Peck and Buckley among them. We would love to learn more. Also, are those beehives just visible in the background?
We might have been thrashed but we recognised our opponents’ greatness!
Captioned on social media ‘A relaxed and friendly post-match shot - who remembers the occasion?’we were delighted to receive lots of likes and comments.
John Regan set us straight: ‘SJC 1st XV vs Pretoria Boys High, Sep/Oct 1997. We scored a penalty in the first minute, then didn’t see the ball for the rest of the game. The game certainly wasn’t relaxed and friendly, but the afters was great, getting to know our South African counterparts. So much so that one of the touring party, Rhett Kenmuir (kneeling 4th from right) joined the school the following January.’
Simon Calderbank told us: ‘The guy in their team, near centre of the picture, with the receding hairline was Brian Liebenberg, who went on to play for Stade Français and played for France in the 2003 World Cup. A bit tasty!’
And Vince Kelly replied: ‘I do! This was when we were taught a lesson on how to play rugby from an exceptional South African side! What made it worse was a large proportion of the school were out watching us!’
Returning to St Joseph’s College last year as an Old Boy felt like stepping into a time capsule!
Walking the familiar halls, I paused at the sports hall where my friends and I once battled it out on the basketball court—the squeak of sneakers, the roar of the crowd, and the thrill of teamwork still vivid in my mind. Later, visiting the games room, I smiled at the memory of boarding nights spent cooking with friends, our laughter mingling with the smell of burnt toast and shared stories. These moments taught me resilience, camaraderie, and the joy of collaboration—skills that anchor me today as a financial dealer at a Singapore-based institution in Hong Kong.
When Mrs Lee snapped my photo for the newsletter, I felt a surge of gratitude. St Jo’s wasn’t just a school; it was where I learned to thrive under pressure, whether chasing a gamewinning shot or untangling complex equations. Now, analysing forex trends or navigating volatile markets, I carry those lessons forward—the discipline from the classroom, the trust forged on the court, and the creativity sparked in the games room. Paul Choi is currently working in Hong Kong in an international finance brokerage firm.
Tony Newman
A very wide range of OBs will have felt something of the passing of an era when Tony Newman stepped down from the St Joseph’s College Board of Governors after 20 years’ sterling service. Of course, before all that, Tony was a teacher at the school and a parent…
He recalled: ‘In 1970, my last year at university, the career advisor suggested ‘teaching’ when I graduated. I chuckled briefly and became an entrepreneur. The bottom line grew thinner and thinner over the next few years, so I took up a part-time social studies teaching position at the Borstal in Hollesley Bay to bring the financial ends closer together. A friend of mine, on a similar career path, had found a part-time teaching job at St Jo’s. Within a few months we had both sidelined our entrepreneurial ambitions, as he added a part time job at Hollesley Bay, and I added a part time job, teaching economics at St Jo’s, to our portfolios. My friend went on to become Professor Emeritus at Cardiff University and I stayed at St Jo’s. That was a long time ago now.
‘Reflecting on all those years, with their joys and successes, their trials and tribulations, the journey with the Birkfield community has been a privilege. A privilege to be a part of something worthwhile that has grown and developed so effectively over many challenging years. The changes have been radical and fundamental but demonstrated time and again the College’s ability to adjust and adapt to these changes. Central to this success lies the College’s underlying ethos and has remained a constant through those years. Pupils, parents, staff and governors will recognise this, with its inclusive and extensive pastoral care enabling each individual to grow and to flourish. As I progressed through the College – from part-time to full time teacher, Head
of Department, Head of Sixth, Deputy Head and briefly Joint Acting Head then finally Governor, this has been a constant that underpins all that goes on in the College.
‘There are many other strengths, the sport undoubtedly, but also the wider curriculum that is offered. This has adapted to changing demands, particularly post-16 where there is a wider range of possibilities than in the past and now meets more closely the interests and ambitions of our students. The recent Oxbridge and impressive apprenticeship successes, along with all the other achievements at GCSE, A-level and BTEC, reflect this but also reflect the quality and dedication of the teachers. The cultural side too has become an effective and vital dimension to both curricular and extracurricular activities, providing opportunities that enrich and complement the pupil’s experience at St Jo’s.
‘The College, I am confident, is well placed to face the current challenges, and will continue to flourish in the future. I will follow the story with interest –and a touch of nostalgia!’
One of his students was Mrs Elena Chuah OB and current parent, who attended St Jo’s Sixth Form between 1990 and 1992.
She wrote: ‘At the time, I was the only international female student, joining when the girls were integrated only at Sixth Form. Arrangements were made for me to board with a member of staff, and that’s how I came to live with Mr Newman and his wonderful family.
‘For two years, Mr Newman wasn’t just my economics
teacher; he was also the man of the house I called home. He and his family welcomed me with warmth and kindness, making what could have been a daunting experience—being far from home in a foreign land—into a time filled with comfort and joy.’
Elena’s memories include morning drives to school, when Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody became the unofficial soundtrack of her Sixth Form life, and ‘Mrs Newman’s incredible apple and rhubarb pies and beautifully handpainted furniture.’
She added: ‘Choosing St Joseph’s to send my son, Nic, for Sixth Form was a no-brainer. It was a special moment to be able to introduce him to you. I truly appreciate the time you took to connect with him and to share a little of the same warmth and generosity that left such an impression on me.’
After Tony retired, one of his projects was to follow his father’s wartime route across Europe when he escaped after capture at Dunkirk - Major Philip Newman DSO MC CBE, a surgeon in the Royal Army Medical Corps, was the senior medic to remain behind to look after the wounded. He wrote the story up in a book ‘Safer than a Known Way’ – later republished as ‘Over the Wire’ and Tony used this as his guidebook. He covered most of the journey alone but asked whether any of his three children would like to join him for the final part – crossing the Pyrenees.
‘They all wanted to come, and then so did all their cousins, which would make nine of us, all my father’s grandchildren!’ With the aid of an English Pyrenean guide, they worked
Mr Newman is pictured left with Mr Matthew Yeoh OB, on a return to the school. Tony was Matthew’s A-level Economics teacher in 1979/80. During the visit Matthew also caught up with Nic Chin (then Lower and now Upper Sixth), mentioned in the story above.
out which route Tony’s father had used. The party is pictured at The Chair - the place Major Newman had rested 76 years earlier, just before he crossed the Spanish border in 1942.
The two OB Newman children are Charlie and Gemma. Gemma attended as a Sixth Former before the school became fully co-ed and she now lives in Auckland, New Zealand. and Charlie lives in Dubai, and both remain in touch with a few of their peers.
Goodbye and tanks!
When College Principal, Mrs Danielle Clarke, came to write a tribute to retiring staff member John Atkinson, she delved back into the Human Resources filing cabinet to unearth his original reference.
The former military pilot’s referee had written, ‘John is a skilled and conscientious pilot who can be relied on to complete any mission in a safe and effective manner. All of his duties are carried out diligently and to a high standard. John always conducts himself in a highly professional manner, whether in the air or on the ground. His innate sense of responsibility and his care of those he is responsible for make him, in my opinion, an ideal person to work in a school environment.’
As Mrs Clarke went on to say, there could be no higher recommendation for a St Joseph’s College minibus driver, charged with transporting our most precious cargo - our girls and boys. John Edward Atkinson OB returned to St Joseph’s College as a driver in 2017. His ‘nice little part-time job’ evolved and he became minibus supervisor and our Transport Manager in due course.
A familiar figure to all on the campus, he didn’t stop there. He became an unofficial member of the History department. His interest in and knowledge of British military history made him a valuable addition to numerous battlefield visits to France and Belgium. He also helped at a very special event - a reburial ceremony for British and German First World War soldiers at which St Joseph’s College was honoured to provide the music. John helped guide students from the UK and from a German partner school.
On another occasion, he helped the College with a visit to commemorate the Good Friday Truce, at Messines, Belgium. Our students joined those from two Irish schools at the Island of Ireland Peace Tower. John was also an important figure at our own Remembrance services, wearing his medals and recounting his experience of military service.
In school holidays that friendly willingness to help came to the fore again when John drove buses for local charities.
All that on top of a distinguished career driving tanks, test driving military vehicles, and as an Army helicopter pilot (including service in Bosnia). He went on to fly helicopters for the Met, for Suffolk Police, for the National Police Air Service and at RAF Wattisham.
John’s brother and sister attended St Joseph’s College and he was here from 1966 to 1975. His daughters also attended.
The College staff room was full of friends wishing John the happiest of retirements and the catering staff decorated his cakes - there were three! - in camouflage colours and military vehicles.
Going Solo
The first coincided with the approach of the World Cup and football fever was everywhere.
An aspiring goalkeeper at the time, David recalled the athletic skill of the slick Italians. ‘In the several games of football we played in the dust, heat and altitude of Loreto (417 feet above sea level) we were like plodding carthorses…
‘Suffice to say the Italian choir boys trounced the English players and while we went on to represent the United Kingdom in the capital city and sang for the Pope and the vast crowds of the Vatican at Easter, the Italians were to suffer defeat at the hands of the North Koreans.’
Pope Paul VI greeted the St Joseph’s College choir at the Vatican and encouraged the boys to sing.
‘We all sang gloriously in the splendour of the Pope’s magnificent Palace. Brother Elwin Gerrard had arranged and set up this amazing opportunity for our East Anglian newly formed choir,’ David wrote.
He came to St Joseph’s College in September 1964 untested musically as there had not been a choir at Oak Hill Prep.
‘All boys at St Joseph’s that September were given a voice test. We were all shuffled into the room with a piano. For those of us who did not sing, we were encouraged to try a well-known song. We all gradually overcame our nerves and then we were broken down into lines of pupils. Each individual boy was given a voice test, which was largely to see how well you could hold a tune and how high you could sing.
‘I remember the line I was in getting shorter and shorter as I got closer and closer to the point where Brother Elwin Gerrard sitting at the piano would be able to interact with individual pupils. As each boy reached the front of the line, he was given four notes on a scale to sing and this was then repeated for the next note up in fours again until the tested boy could sing no higher.
On a return trip to the school, David was brought up to date with improvements to the Chapel.
In 1966 and 1968 St Joseph’s College sent choirs to the International Festival of Sacred Music in Loreto, an Italian hill town known for the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site. David Simington OB took part in both.
‘The majority of boys would struggle through three sets of four notes... My turn came; I had never sung before, but I had a go at the first four notes to la that Brother Elwin played me. I thought, well that sounds easy, and little did I realise it but I had a natural ability to know the note immediately and to sing the next and so on. I sang four notes, then another four, until I had sung eight sets of notes and I still had more to go. I could see on Brother Elwin’s face that he was somewhat surprised, and we carried on. Before I could sing no higher, I had sung 12 sets of four notes. I had not quite managed high C but I was close.’
Brother Elwin trained a selected three voices to be soloists in his eventual choir. Sopranos with unbroken voices, these boys had the task of leading and singing the high notes, including top C.
‘Our lives as school boys were transformed at that point and we were told to gather each morning for choir practice and on other selected occasions to learn parts. Being the age we were, the enemy was age - we were made aware that we would have two to three years of singing as soloists. Because we were practising so much and of course learning so much we found our voices stayed high. While boys whose voices had broken became altos, we continued to sing soprano, singing Plainsong by heart with no accompaniment at each day’s service.’
David’s voice eventually broke when he was 15 and he become an alto, but he gave up singing with the choir at the end of his GCE examinations. ‘I had experienced daily singing and two fantastic concerts at Norwich’s Catholic Cathedral. Also, we sang on Anglia television and had the two trips to Italy to sing in Loreto.’
David also made St Jo’s history as the first soloist in the newly-opened Chapel, a memory brought
powerfully back to him on a recent visit to the school. At that time he met the then Director of Music, Mr Guy Layton, and learned about the upgrades to the sound system and piano accomplished over recent years.
St Joseph’s College took rather a dim view of soccer back in the mid-1960s and the round ball could be kicked about only on Saturdays, said David.
‘This ended up as a mass game of as many boarders as could pack onto the pitch behind the Chapel using the rugby posts as a football goal. No supervision and no referees!’ David recalled. ‘Games would last from 9.00am and go on to lunchtime. We got grubby knees and uniforms… Very soon the Brothers got wind of this and we had to persuade a willing brother to act as a referee. Brother Gregory - a first rate tenor was also a fair and fine referee.’
This passion for football was transported to Loreto, where it found a ready home. It was one of many dazzling influences on the St Jo’s choirboys, along with devout and moving religiosity, delightful signorinas – who only had eyes for Italian lads – cool street fashion, multi-mirrored glistening scooters, cafés, parading the piazza and a whole new cuisine.
‘We had never heard of pizza let alone tasted it… We were addicted by the time it took to eat one portion and we spent the rest of our time gorging on this fantastic food,’ David recalled.
He concluded, ‘Thank you to Brother Elwin and all the accompanying staff for giving us a fabulous glimpse of an unknown civilization and a chance to pit our own soccer skills at the highest level. We still remember those times and the actions of Pope Paul including his wonderful interpretations of the Catholic message. We think too of the current church and the life and times of Pope Francis.’
Dave Simington (below) in the Vatican at centre with a big smile. Guy Vickery top left and Peter Hobday left of Dave. Any other known names, please contact david.simington@artysim.com
David Simington (above) just prior to going to Loreto photographed by proud parents. ‘Underneath the choir robe I had my own clothes and football boots that I was so thrilled to be wearing instead of my school uniform.’
Women’s Leadership Conference is a runaway success!
Top level speakers representing areas as diverse as technology, banking, safeguarding and the law gave a series of insightful and inspiring messages to the girls and women assembled at St Joseph’s College in Ipswich for a Women’s Leadership Conference.
Organised by the school’s Director of Performing Arts, Mrs Georgie Ross, the event marked International Women’s Day. She said it was a passion project driven by her desire to ‘celebrate female voices and their ability to change, inspire, encourage and support communities.’
The audience included St Joseph’s College girls of 16 and above, visiting students from Felsted and St Alban’s Catholic High Schools, staff, parents and governors. Whilst the audience was overwhelmingly female, some men also attended.
Mrs Ross, who has overseen the introduction of oracy across St Joseph’s said, ‘As a mother of daughters and having taught many incredible young women, during my career, I believe this is an important moment in time for girls to understand the power and importance of using their voice.’
There were seven speakers – all women in leadership roles - who had demonstrated that glass ceilings could be broken and perceived stumbling blocks to career progression, such as pregnancy, a natural tendency to avoid stress and conflict, and female medical issues, could be successfully navigated. The resulting inclusion of a fair representation of women on boards, working in technology and in the upper echelons of companies only strengthened those firms and significantly improved their reach and outcomes.
Many of the speakers urged the young women present to be kind to one another and to remember that imperative once they themselves had attained positions in leadership. They urged them to avoid the empty jealousy social media could arouse and to begin networking now. A large percentage of the girls in the audience already had LinkedIn profiles.
Networking was another goal of the Conference and during breaks and at the close, the speakers generously made themselves available to young women still in education but formulating career plans.
The speakers were Samantha Rope, Senior Vice President HR, NEEMEA at the Adecco Group; Serena Fordham, Founder and CEO of ProspHER; Carrie Wootten, Co-founder of the Global Media and Entertainment Manifesto; Julie Henkel, MD, Global Head, Operational Client Relationship Management for BNP Paribas, and St Joseph’s College Governor; Nicola Weldon, Head of Private Client, Ellisons Solicitors; Charlotte Burtle, Talent Acquisition Lead at Google DeepMind; and Sadie Barber, Partnership Manager at Suffolk Safeguarding Partnership.
The conference, which was sponsored by Ellisons Solicitors and Source One Consulting, was closed by another woman in a leadership role, Mrs Clarke, Principal of St Joseph’s College.
She reflected on the long march forward in the independent schools’ sector since her first Society of Head’s meeting in 2014, when she had arrived to find she was the only female present. One other joined her, and they made a beeline for one another.
Girls were indeed a force to be reckoned with at St Joseph’s, she said, as typified by their national successes since the introduction of girls’ football the same year the England women won the Euros, the highly successful switch from rounders to cricket, and the excellent uptake by girls as well as boys of Engineering.
Mrs Clarke finished by quoting Coco Chanel, ‘A girl should be two things: Who and what she wants.’
Giving and receivinga day of Philanthropy
One of the greatest assets of St Joseph’s College is its strong community – students, parents, staff, Old Birkfeldians and friends. The whole body came together magnificently on 19 March when the school held its first Giving Day and raised well over £30,000.
The event was held on St Joseph’s Day and chimed with the charitable nature of the school’s patron saint. As well as raising money for bursaries – means-tested financial support for families who would otherwise be unable to afford the school fees – and capital projects, the day saw the distribution of more than 4,000 complimentary meals to residents young and old in and around the town.
Spearheading the event was Mr Anthony O’Riordan, Director of Business Development and Operations. Delighted by the response, he said, ‘We are overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible generosity, enthusiasm and support shown. Thanks to a brilliant collective effort, we achieved a truly remarkable milestone, one that will have a lasting impact on our students, the programmes we deliver, and the broader College community.’
Highlights of Giving Day included a special assembly and morning lessons exploring the role and value of philanthropy, two spectacular football games – one involving Ipswich Academy players versus current students and the second a selection of St Jo’s teaching
and support staff. The games were cheered on by the whole Senior school.
Pupils in the top years of Prep and the senior school helped with the distribution of free meals. This was a collaboration between St Joseph’s College and catering partner, Thomas Franks. Recipients included primary schools, care homes, churches and support groups for women and minority groups.
The fun at St Jo’s continued with four giant inflatable courses generously provided by Mr Will Gladwell OB of Gladwell Entertainments. Then it was back to the College Chapel for a hilarious Masked Singer event. Teachers were behind the masks and their performances were warmly received by the student body. Overwhelmingly voted winner was Science teacher Mr Rob Crack, whose dance moves are legendary. He performed to the JXL remix of ‘A Little Less Conversation’ by Elvis Presley… in a frog mask.
Throughout the day pledges came in from around Britain and overseas. Some donors chose to buy commemorative plaques for display in the College Chapel or commemorative bricks for the Science block upgrade.
When evening came it was time for the grown-ups to laugh. Giving Day ended with The Big Cheese Comedy night, held in the school’s dining room.
The finale was a charity auction when another alumnus, Jonathan Benson OB, Director of Reeman Dansie Auctioneers of Colchester was in the chair. Jonathan gave a funny and spirited performance to drive up the charity bidding and fully deserved a place on the playbill. The school is enormously grateful for the donated prizes and to all the bidders. There is still an opportunity to take part. Visit https://www.stjos.co.uk/giving/
