Aldenhamiana No 23 October 2001 Published byTHE OLD ALDENHAMIAN SOCIETY Aldenham School, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3AJ, England e-mail: [email protected] www.oldaldenhamian.org ______________________________________________________________________________ THE PRESIDENT'S LETTER Finally, I must send the thanks of the Society to Lindy Creedy who served us so well for many years, and welcome in her place Molly I find myself writing this letter in the aftermath of the horrendous Barton whose husband, Trevor, has most helpfully taken over as Editor terrorist attacks on the United States on 11th September which, in turn, of Aldenhamiana. led to the postponement of the Society’s Committee Meeting which was eventually held a week later than intended, on 18th September. I hope to see many of you at the events that are now being arranged for the months ahead. Dick Vincent That delayed meeting of your Committee considered some of the more significant business in recent years on behalf of active and interested OAs, including the recommended revision of our membership and EDITOR’S NOTES subscription arrangements, which will be put to the next AGM for formal approval in Tallow Chandlers Hall, London, at 5.00pm on 9th This is my first edition of Aldenhamiana as Editor. For those of you April 2002. who do not know me, I was in Kennedy’s House from 1971 to 1975, went to University, spent ten years in the Royal Navy and, after 9th April 2002 will also mark precisely the centenary of the formation changing career and some years living abroad, have now moved back of the OA Society and at our recent Committee meeting we agreed a with my family to live locally and to work in London. I will leave you to decide if such a CV qualifies me to edit Aldenhamiana! My wife programme of appropriate events to mark this significant achievement. Molly has taken over from Lindy Creedy as administrative assistant in These will commence with a Reception in Tallow Chandlers Hall after the OA office so, in the course of a few months, the production of the AGM and continue next on OA Day on 19th May 2002. Your Aldenhamiana has become a family affair. Molly will gather your news committee is also working on the arrangements for a special Summer for insertion into each edition. You can contact her via the School Ball to be run in conjunction with the Aldenham School Parents’ phone number: 01923 858122, via email: [email protected], or you Association on 29th June 2002, and a Centenary OA Dinner will be can write to her – or me - care of the School. We would like to hear held at Lords’ Cricket Ground Banqueting Suite on 15th November from you. 2002. Do please watch out elsewhere in this issue, and on the OA website, for more details of these events and make a special effort to I have some pleas and requests: - join us for them in our Centenary Year. We need your photographs of life at Aldenham to spice up This year’s OA dinner will be held in the House of Lords on 9th Aldenhamiana – if you have any which you think we may like to November and early applications (and payment!) for tickets will be publish, please send them to Molly along with a commentary. needed to secure a place because numbers are limited. We are trying to increase our database of email addresses for OA’s – I cannot conclude this letter without thanking those who devote so both for ge n e ral re fe rence and (if you agree) to use to send much time and effort to our Society. As we seek to adapt it to meet the Aldenhamiana to you. This is much cheaper than posting. So please let expectations and aspirations of a newer generation of OAs, they have Molly have your email address and indicate if, in future, you would be made a sustained effort to carry this work forward in a timely and happy to receive Aldenhamiana by email. effective way. In doing all this they merit the interest and support of OAs as a whole, for whom they work so tirelessly. The OA website is worth a look – address above. Lots of information, thanks to the marvellous efforts of Mark Jordan. Events, results, I must also on behalf of all OAs congratulate the OA Cricket XI on downloads of Aldenhamian and Aldenhamiana, etc. etc. Also you can winning the Brewers’ Cup – what a marvellous way to launch our notify us of your change of address, location of "lost OA’s", etc. Centenary Year! At Aldenham itself it is a very great pleasure to see the School thriving under the leadership of the new Headmaster, The OA Society Committee would be particularly pleased to hear from Richard Harman, and his dedicated staff. The transformation of the any female OA’s who would be keen to join the Committee.We would School’s facilities has continued apace and it is very rewarding to see benefit from a woman’s viewpoint! Please contact Dick Hall or me. that academic standards are now rising significantly. The overall effect of these welcome developments is that school numbers are now the Lord Vincent,in his President’s Letter, mentions next year’s Ball,to be highest in its long history. held at the school. It will in the main be organised by the Parents’ 1 Association, but they have kindly invited the OA Society to be part of 1. Matters arising the occasion in our Centenary year. It promises to be a very enjoyable occasion,and we really hope to see lots of you there. Plan now to come There were no matters arising from the minutes that would not be with a group of friends! Please register your interest at this stage with discussed in Molly, contact details above. We will then ensure you receive further Committee and the President signed the minutes of the meeting held on details when the arrangements are finalised. 21st March 2000. The organisers of the Ball are very keen to hear from any OA’s who 2. Election of Officers have a catering business or who can provide music (band, group or disco) – on a commercial basis! Please contact Molly and she will pass Caroline Woodrow (B84-86) was eligible for re-election but had on your expression of interest to the organisers. decided that work commitments would not allow her to continue. Sarah Jane Costello (B82-84) had also decided not to seek re-election and they received our best wishes and thanks for their past support. Ian Also, if anyone has a pet VIP or knows an excellent after-dinner Luetchford (B48-51) had agreed to continue on the Committee for a speaker, please let Molly know – again, the organisers would like to further three-year term. Chris Arkell (B46-52) had also tendered his hear from you. resignation from the Committee and it was proposed by the Hon. Secretary and jointly seconded by P. Llewelyn Jones (S38-42) and F. Finally, the plea of every editor of an "alumni" magazine – please send E. Burlingham Johnson (S39-41) that he is made a Vice-President. us your news and views. Even if you only write a few lines, it will be All remaining offi c e rs and Committee Members we re hap py to much appreciated - not only by me but, far more importantly, by your continue for a further year. contemporaries at Aldenham. Trevor Barton 3. President’s Report HEADMASTER’S LETTER Lord Vincent apologised to the assembled company for the hour’s delay in beginning the meeting, but this was due to the current heavy It gives me great pleasure to be writing to you again at the start of a new workload currently of the general Committee.With this in mind Lord School year, my second at the helm at Aldenham. Elsewhere in this Vincent was very aware of the enormous effort and time that was edition of "Aldenhamiana" you will find my Headmaster’s report to the currently being devoted by the various Committee Members and OA AGM, so I will not overdo things by writing again at length here. I thanked those involved.The OA Website has been warmly welcomed hope a brief update will suffice. and he thanked Mark Jordan (P81-86) for his efforts and reported that Phase II would be fully operational by January 2002. This next phase would introduce a secure membership site, which would require a We have had a very good start to the new academic year with our best membership number and password. It was hoped that members would ever A level results, 63% of grades being at A to C,and record numbers also benefit from an interactive messaging communication centre to in the School. There are now 440 boys and girls at Aldenham from 11 allow OA’s to be in contact with other e-mail/internet OA users. There – 18 and this is a very healthy sign indeed for the future. was continuing discussion involving the Society’s needs,especially the decisions concerning future membership of the Society. Lord Vincent Buoyed by these two factors there is a good atmosphere around the was anxious to see what proposals would be presented about the ‘Life School and I hope that as many of you as possible will be able to come Subscription’debate and where savings could be made concerning the and visit us this year. I look forward very much to the Centenary costs of the pro d u c t i o n , p o s t age and pack aging of the va ri o u s celebrations of the OA Society and to joining you in toasting the health publications.