President's Welcome
Welcome to all old and new Old Tettenhallians; the cycle of the OT year has turned and we are now in a new OT year - not to be confused, of course, with the academic year, or the calendar year, or even the tax year. Old Tettenhallians measure time in their own way. But new years, however measured, are useful as they remind us afresh to do the things we know we should do, hence the popularity of New Year’s resolutions. So we resolve afresh to help our old school in whatever ways we can, to ensure its success and prosperity so that future generations of boys and girls can experience the benefits that we enjoyed by being Tettenhallians. But we also have the opportunity to keep in touch with those we shared our school lives, and to get to know those at school we didn’t know well. The community of Old Tettenhallians is not just about exchanging reminiscences, it is all about maintaining friendships that can grow and flourish in the new contexts of the outside world. It can also be about networking - who knows how much we can help each other as our lives unfold! I feel a bit of a fraud saying these things, because I didn’t do them. I left Tettenhall, moved even further away and lost touch with my friends, classmates, and fellow Tettenhallians, and I did not come back into the fold until much later - but perhaps that gives additional weight to my advice - “Keep in touch!” It is so easy now; Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter and email make it easier to keep in touch than ever before, but it still needs someone to organise something more than a drink together, or a meal in a favourite venue; it takes a larger organisation to combine forces with our old school, Tettenhall College, to our mutual advantage. That is where the Old Tettenhallians’ Club comes in; keep in touch through the OTs and combine your interests and talents with other generations of OTs and perhaps you can really make a difference. I hope all OTs enjoy their year. Good luck, Peter Radford (TC 1951 – 1957)
OT Venture Award
Jeremy Ireland-Jones, OT Club Committee Chairman
Club committee Chairman Jeremy Ireland-Jones advises that a Venture Award will be presented at Prizegiving day each year to a College leaver who plans an unusual and worthwhile project during his/her first year or so out in the world. The recipient will be selected by the College and will receive a plaque and a contribution by the club towards their project. The monetary award might be used to help in a number of ways, for example equipment, special clothing or travel costs. The recipient will be encouraged to report his or her project progress later through an article in our magazine. Jeremy said that should there be no worthwhile project put forward in any year, then the plan is to use the funding for vulnerable pupils with limited finances and would go towards such things as school trips, uniform, music lessons and similar items. Indeed the first award of the funding this year has been used in this way.
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