THE OLD
Wellingburian
NEWSLETTER Trinity 2024
The Old Wellingburian Club
Est. 1897
Welcome from Sophie Welcome from Sophie Hello, everyone and welcome to the latest edition of the E-newsletter. I hope you are enjoying the nicer weather that is finally upon us. Since we were last in touch there have been a number of things happening in the OW Club which I wanted to update you on. Firstly, the OW Committee had a wonderful update on our last video call from William who is in Year 11 and who runs the Wellingborough School Astronomy Club. William set up the Club himself and recruited a number of members to join and the Club was pleased to be able to support them with much-needed equipment. It was fascinating to hear what goes on in the universe beyond the telescope and we wish them all the best. There have also been two dinners in the Spring, the Oxbridge dinner which saw a number of OWs gather at Somerville College for a very enjoyable evening. Our thanks to Max Buckby (‘12-’20, F) who helped secure the venue and to Julian Amey who organised it with Debbie Whittemore. I was then delighted to host the OW London Dinner a couple of weeks later at the King’s Fund in London. We had over 90 guests at the dinner covering over 72 years of the school’s history and I was delighted to be joined by sports broadcaster, Alison Mitchell (’91-98, W) for an ‘In conversation with’ session. We also heard from the Headmaster, Andrew Holman, as well as two very impressive Heads of School , Polly and Emma. Then in April, our Golf Club qualified for the prestigious Halford Hewitt Cup which is in its centenary year. We were represented by Martyn Allen, Richard Jackson, Philip Saxby, John Bowers, Ollie Timm, Aemish Taylor, Alan Harlow, Jordan McGuire, Giles Kellett & Chris Billson who took on Fettes school and sadly lost out but it’s a great effort and lovely to see the OW flag flying down at Cinque Ports. We also had a business networking breakfast at the school which is a great opportunity to share insights and keep school connections going which is so important. There are also plenty of events coming up in the calendar too as you will see and the committee will be meeting again this week to discuss what else we can be doing to deliver added-value to Club members. Following Debbie Whittemore’s retirement, the Foundation has welcomed Katie Powell who will be supporting Graham and helping the Club to keep us all up-to-date and informed. A big welcome to Katie and you can read more about her role and her background in the newsletter. Finally, last time mentioned the sad news about the passing of Richard Dyson, Junior School Headmaster from 1977-1989. I have been in touch with his wife, Margie, who provided some wonderful reflections of Richard’s life and career which you can read below. What a man and what an incredible impact on so many young lives! Many people will also remember Margie as a key figure around the school and we are absolutely delighted she has accepted honorary Club membership. So, I’ll pause there but, as always, please do stay in touch. We love to hear your news. Bye for now, Sophie
We are on the lookout for committed and talented OWs who might be able to bring their experience and passion to bear as our next President. It would be lovely to hear from people from all age groups and backgrounds so that we can reflect our wide membership base. I have certainly enjoyed my year as President so far. It's connected me to so many former pupils across the generations, given me access to some fabulous events and added further bench strength to my CV so I highly recommend it! Details of what we're looking for and how to find out more is attached in the email with this newsletter. Page 1