OP news

Old Perseans have recently had a lot of success at university level sport:

In December, tim harrison (2017) was selected for the Oxford Cross Country team in their varsity match against Cambridge.

Both Zoe durbin (2016) and Jasper dix (2017) took to the turf at Twickenham for the varsity Rugby Matches on 6 December, playing for the Dark Blues. Jasper also played in the U20s varsity match in March (pictured), where he was joined by henry hackett (2017) for Oxford and hasan Cuthbert (2017) and george Laing (2017) for Cambridge. Zoe was chosen to play in the 2nd team match in March and was awarded Forward of the Match.

A record number of Old Perseans were selected for the Oxford and Cambridge teams in this year’s varsity hockey matches. ellie harrison (2017), Sofia Baldelli (2018), Rachael harrison (2015), Conor magowan (2015) and nick Leach (2014) were awarded blues for Oxford. A further nine OPs competed in the 2nds/3rds/4ths matches – Libby gower isaac (2018), tommy goldberg (2017), dilip goyal (2015), Bradley young (2016) and Will Woods (2015) for Oxford, and Fraser Allen (2018), Annabel Follows (2018), Anthony kattuman (2016) and Ciaran Flaherty (2016) for Cambridge.

We are always delighted to hear of alumni successes in university sport. If you have been awarded sporting colours by your university, please let us know by emailing perseado@perse.co.uk Colin mcFarlane (1970) played in Pinter Five as part of the Pinter at the Pinter season. Pinter at the Pinter was part of the Pinter 10 partnership with the BFI, The Harold Pinter Estate and Faber & Faber, which are all marking the 10th anniversary of Pinter’s death with a series of events celebrating the life of the playwright. Pinter Five was a triple bill including Harold Pinter’s first play, The Room, as well as the hilarious Victoria Station and the reflective Family Voices.

tess howard (2017) has had another successful hockey season. After featuring for Great Britain in every game during the 2018 Women’s Champions Trophy, and scoring against Japan, Tess was named as part of the GB team that faced New Zealand in the women’s first FIH Pro League match in February 2019.

After stepping down as Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2017, thomas Campbell (1980) was named as the new Director and CEO of the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, California, in October 2018. In December, OP humphrey Jennings (1924) was the subject of BBC Radio 4’s Great Lives. If you missed the Eden Project’s Tim Smit talking about Humphrey you can catch up with BBC Sounds!

Ash Ogden’s (2008) short film Toby is now available to stream online after an international festival run that took it to the US, Canada and Ireland. It was screened at 13 festivals (including the BAFTA-affiliated London Short Film Festival) and took home three awards: ‘Best Cult/Weird/Experimental Film’, ‘Best Low Budget’ and ‘Best Humour’. Starring Old Perseans Josh Swarbrick (2008) and tim Japp (2009), the film is a surreal and darkly comic take on social acceptance. Ash has just finished writing his next project, which he describes as ‘violently colourful’. You can watch Toby at www.professorstamen.com.

midé Adenaike (2013) returned to The Perse in January with his a cappella vocal group The Sons of Pitches. The group held afternoon workshops with Perse pupils in the Perse Voices choir and Acappelicans group, teaching them about harmonies, chords and beatboxing, before performing a concert in the Peter Hall Performing Arts Centre. Midé, who began beatboxing at 16, said it was a pleasure to return to The Perse and give a workshop with his colleagues. He said: “I feel quite honoured to be giving something back to The Perse after what the School gave me for so many years. The new performing arts centre feels like a serious venue as well and it’s great to be able to play here.”

miles Pattenden (2000) was a guest on BBC Radio 4’s In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg in January. He writes: “Our subject was Papal Infallibility – not the kind of thing you want to be wrong about live on air! – and it was very nerve-wracking, but highly enjoyable, experience. As an academic, I’m always trying to find ways to reach wider audiences to share my research and ideas – I’m so glad I had the chance to do this. We discussed how papal authority developed, medieval debates about its nature, and how Infallibility emerged as a doctrine to constrain it. Later we explored the question of why Infallibility became official Catholic teaching in the nineteenth century and how modern popes have dealt with it. I hope the podcast proves informative and entertaining for everyone who listens.” Alex Coles (2018) made his rugby debut with the England U20s in their Six Nations opener against

Ireland on 1 February. This has been a season of firsts for Alex, who made his Euro debut for the

Northampton Saints in January, and his Premiership Rugby debut on 16 February, where the Saints won 67–17 against the Sale Sharks.

year group Reps wanted!

We are currently looking for volunteers to be Year Group Reps. YGRs provide an indispensable service to The Perse by helping and encouraging contact among alumni, as well as between the alumni and the School, and providing feedback on the School’s programme of alumni events and communications. If you would like to be a YGR for your year please contact Erin Charles at echarles@perse. co.uk to find out more.

Old Perseans John hale (2006), Rory munday (2012), Simon Sampson (2005) and hugh Chatfield (2013) took part in the 2018 Thames Hare and Hounds Alumni Race in December. The team came an impressive 8th overall, despite the wet conditions on the 5 mile course. This is the second time The Perse has entered a team in the alumni race, and we are grateful to Simon Sampson for organising the event. The provisional date for the 2019 race is Saturday 14 December – do save the date and register your interest by emailing perseado@perse.co.uk