A36030 Aldenhamania:ALDENHAMIANA28.QXD 30/9/09 12:51 Page 1 Aldenhamiana No. 37 | October 2009 Published by THE OLD ALDENHAMIAN SOCIETY Aldenham School, Elstree, Hertfordshire WD6 3AJ, England Email: [email protected] www.oldaldenhamian.org Tel: 01923 858122 Verity Gosden (P2007-09) with the School Corps Bass Drum A36030 Aldenhamania:ALDENHAMIANA28.QXD 30/9/09 12:51 Page 2 PRESIDENT’S LETTER High Master of Manchester Grammar School. A copy of the tribute given at the Service of Thanksgiving for his Life by It has been another busy year and an excellent one for the his friend and former colleague Arthur Hearnden (CR59- Society with a series of well-attended events, yet again 67) is also to be found in this edition of Aldenhamiana. showing the commitment of OAs to both the Society and the The next major event will be the OA Dinner at the School on School. Further, the ongoing series of OA regional lunches Friday 20th November, at which the Headmaster, James continues, the most recent near Marlborough in May; Fowler, will again be our principal guest and speaker. You additionally, a number of OAs and their partners attended an will find elsewhere an application form and you will see that, OA Oxford Dinner at Wadham College, also in May. The next as hitherto, tickets are available at subsidised prices, in regional lunch is planned for Wednesday 14th October in particular for the under 30’s! However, depending upon how Bury St Edmunds. As before, the “Aldenham.Net” initiative many attend, this may unfortunately have to be the last of continues, providing OAs working and living in or near London the ‘annual’ dinners. I therefore hope that many of you will with the opportunity to network in an informal atmosphere. The come and that some of the OA sporting clubs will make up most recent event took place in June at Battlers Green Farm, a table - or two - from their members. Radlett, hosted by Paul Haworth (P71-73). Earlier in the year, in March, a similar event took place in the Civil Service Club, This will be my last ‘President’s Letter’, as I hand over the London, courtesy of Indra Sikdar (S85-90) who is a member mantle at the AGM next March after seven enjoyable years of the Club. The next “Aldenham.Net” event is planned for in the role. My successor as President will be Neil Monday 9th November, at the Albannach Restaurant, 66 Sutherland (B66-70), a distinguished ex-soldier and Trafalgar Square; John Rimer (P56-60) has kindly helped to businessman. The Society will be in excellent hands under arrange this. Please contact Molly Barton or Jackie Wilkie at his leadership. My grateful thanks must therefore go to all the OA & Development Office for further details and the dates members, past and present, of the Society’s Committee for for any events, although they are always posted on the OA their unstinting support during my Presidency, and website just as soon as possible. especially to Molly Barton & Jackie Wilkie of the OA & Development Office. I am also very grateful to Trevor As in recent years, I am glad to say that the Society remains Barton (K71-75), who continues to edit and produce on a sound financial footing and continues to move forward in Aldenhamiana. My gratitude also extends to the these challenging times. Our membership level remains Headmaster, James Fowler, together with his academic strong, although, as I have mentioned in earlier letters, and support teams, without whose understanding and changes at the School over recent years mean that the willing cooperation the Committee’s work would be almost Committee continues to review the OA Society’s membership impossible. policy in order to ensure the best take-up of membership by those leaving the School. This aspect was again discussed at Mike Taylor the Society’s Annual General Meeting in March and is still under review, together with the Society’s Constitution, although the complexities of the work in a period of national HEADMASTER’S LETTER economic uncertainty have caused the Committee to progress matters more cautiously than was originally intended. Dear OAs, As ever, the major event for 2009 has been OA Day on I write to you having just returned from the funeral for Peter Sunday 21st June, which included a Gaudy lunch for the Mason, one of my most distinguished predecessors as 150 OAs and guests who attended, most of whom were Headmaster. It was extremely touching that Arthur from School House Odds & Evens - in old-speak - or Hearnden, one of Peter’s most successful appointments to Ridings & Leeman’s - in new-ish speak! As is tradition, the the Common Room, should have been asked to give an day began with an enjoyable Chapel Service, a Reception address at the service and, as he reminded the on Shilling Green, at which the Headmaster, James congregation, Peter’s great distinction as a Classical Fowler, and your President welcomed those present. This scholar attracted a number of distinguished academics to was followed by an excellent lunch in the Dining Hall. OAs the staff and the pupil body in the 1950s. Yet he also later had access to most of the School and, as in previous ensured that the school was extremely well able to punch years, it was nice to hear many of those present saying that above its weight in the major sports. It was clearly a great they had hugely enjoyed the day, for which much credit era for the school and I know many of you will want to pass must inevitably go to the OA & Development Office team. It on your sympathies to his widow and daughters. was also good to see members of the OA sports clubs Arthur also pointed out to the congregation that Peter had present, especially the OA Football Club, which has found it very difficult to recreate the “community” of distinguished itself by gaining promotion to the Premier Aldenham when he moved on to be High Master of Division of the Arthurian League. More about this Manchester Grammar School for 17 years, and I can only achievement elsewhere in this edition of Aldenhamiana imagine that the sense of feeling created at Aldenham and on the OAFC’s website. would be hard to replicate in an urban day school OAs who were at the School during the 1950s, especially environment. That sense of community has been evident those in School House, will be sad to learn of the death in in all the events for OAs which I have attended over the last July of Peter Geoffrey Mason (Headmaster, 1949-61). six months – our lunch for those who gave to the theatre Many who were at the School then will recall that he left appeal, a successful OA luncheon in Wiltshire, evensong in Aldenham in 1961, after a very successful 12 years at the Wadham College, Oxford sung by the school choir followed helm, to assume the prestigious academic appointment of by a dinner for OAs who went to university in Oxford, their guests and others, two Aldenham.net events hosted by 2 A36030 Aldenhamania:ALDENHAMIANA28.QXD 30/9/09 12:51 Page 3 Indra Sikdar (SH85-90) and Paul Haworth (P71-73) and A Level Results the wonderfully well attended School House Gaudy on OA The results for the year group who completed their A Levels Day itself which was blessed by glorious June weather. in 2009 are shown below. As a result of these results the I am also able to send you greetings from the Far East students were able to gain places at universities for further which I was visiting on behalf of HMC as a delegate to the study (75% to their first choice university). These include Council Meeting and Convention of the International Matthew Edbrooke with 4 A grades and Adrian Bliss, Oliver Conference of Principals early in July. Charlotte and I took Coleman and Ben Robbins with 3 A grades. Students will the opportunity to hold a dinner for OAs in Singapore on 7th be studying at top universities across the country including July, and then on the following evening were part of a Birmingham, Durham, Edinburgh, Leeds, London, spectacular gathering of OAs and their guests in Kuala Nottingham, Reading and Surrey. Lumpur. We were greatly honoured that the only current We are pleased that they were able to achieve these very head of state who to my knowledge is an OA – Tuanku good results. Muhriz (SHO62-66) was able to join us for the evening and it was a great opportunity for me to meet with a most distinguished cohort of Malaysians who have been part of GCSE Results the school over the years. Aldenham pupils were able to celebrate extremely By my calculation around a quarter of all the Malaysian successful results at the end of Y11. 23 of the year group OAs were able to attend the event and, whilst I know that it gained 5 or more A*/A grades with the top performers being will be impossible for us to expect that level of turnout at the Alkesh Rajani (11 A/A*), Alexander Grable (10A*/A), Felix OA Dinner on Friday 20th November, I hope that I will be Hoh, Stephen Kemp, Joanna Ramsey, Marcus Selvadurai, able to welcome many of you to the school on that evening and Oscar Watkins (9 A*/A). The school as a whole was when you will certainly be very well fed and watered. Of able to record that 29% of all GCSEs taken were graded course if you find any other time when you can pay us a either A* or A against the national figure of 19% (JCQ).