The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47

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The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
Winter 2019                     Issue 47

 The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King’s School, Worcester
                                                              Connect 47 I 1
The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
Contents                                                                                                                                               Memories                                                                                            We love to publish memories. Please email
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           alumni@ksw.org.uk if you would like to
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           be featured in the next issue of Connect.

2  A Letter from the 		                        20         OV Weddings                                                                                  When the new library opened in The Edgar
                                                                                                                                                       Tower (in 1969/70 I think) it was fitted out
			Headmaster
                                               22         Archives                                                                                     with new shelving and a nice, new nylon
                                                                                                                                                       carpet. This was, I am sure, hard-wearing
 3		Memories                                                                                                                                           and had many good properties. There was
                                               23         Features on Teachers
                                                                                                                                                       one less benign property however that
 4       OV Reunions & 		                                                                                                                              the manufacturers did not advertise but
		       Events                                24         Where are they Now?                                                                          was soon discovered by our little group of
                                                                                                                                                       5th formers. By shuffling along the floor
12       OV Visits                             25         Foundation Development                                                                       one could soon charge oneself with static
                                               		         and Alumni Relations                                                                         electricity; a force of nature that could then
17       Barnabas                                                                                                                                      be brought to bear on the unsuspecting
                                               26         A Picture Paints a 		                                                                        student poring over Caesar’s Gallic Wars or
18       King’s Today                          		         Thousand Words                                                                               Dickie Knight’s New Maths. The “charged one”
                                                                                                                                                       could through the conducting ability of a
19       OVs in the News                                                                                                                               coin, “zap” the victim on the back of the neck
                                                                                                                                                       without suffering any damage themselves.
                                                                                                                                                       The target would of course yell and jump up
                                                                                                                                                       to the disproportionate amusement of the
A Letter from the Acting Headmaster                                                                                                                    aggressors. I am sure others could add to
                                                                                                                                                       this and maybe add a date.
                                               We are fortunate indeed that Matthew left              Made in Dagenham was a superb way to
                                               the school with a clear vision and, as he              round off the term.                              Rob Huxley (Cr 65-70)
                                               would have wanted, we have carried on
                                               very much with business as usual. A Level              OVs have continued to be very involved
                                                                                                                                                       Throughout my time at King’s, I was always       there, some of which were deemed too                 The cable car was broken, so we were told
                                               results day saw our departing U6 set off on            with inspiring pupils during Business Skills
                                                                                                                                                       heavily involved in Sport, eventually going      inappropiate to share, but for some the              that we would be walking up then back
                                               the next exciting chapter of their lives and           Conferences, Morrisby testing and careers
                                                                                                                                                       on to represent the school’s first team’s        rugby was just an added bonus, with the              down. I wasn’t best pleased but I distinctly
                                               the excellent showing at GCSE indicates                talks. It was a pleasure to welcome Derek Bell
                                                                                                                                                       for Rugby, Cricket and Football. However         trip being so enjoyable. Some days we’d              remember Johnny Mason saying, ‘Parky
                                               that we have a strong Sixth Form coming                as Barnabas speaker in September and John
                                                                                                                                                       my fondest sporting memory has to be             be training, where I’d be getting berated by         lad, stop your moaning and get up there,
                                               through the school.                                    Weston very kindly shared his experiences with
                                                                                                                                                       the Rugby tour to South Africa at the end        Gilly for my shocking fitness at altitude. Trust     you’ll appreciate it at the top’. Having been
                                                                                                      pupils interested in engineering in October.
                                                                                                                                                       of my Lower Sixth Year. It was always an         me it plays a factor! Or others where we’d           overtaken by everyone on our trip, and then
                                               This term has been as busy ever with pupils
                                                                                                                                                       ambition growing up through the years at         be visiting an array of attractions that the         most of another trip who started after us, I
                                               taking full advantage of over 100 clubs                London Drinks, the Five Year, Ten Year & New
You will know that we started the academic                                                                                                             school to go on one of the big sports tours,     vibrant country had to offer, like the Cape          reached the top to see nothing but thick grey
                                               and activities the school has on offer. The            OV BBQ reunions have been amongst the
year under the saddest of circumstances                                                                                                                and luckily, thanks to fundrasing and family     of Good Hope (Africa’s most southern tip) or         cloud. I was less than impressed. As I slowly
                                               CCF have seen great success in the Military            enjoyable events last term that have allowed
with the news of the death of Matthew                                                                                                                  contributions, I was able to realise it.         the native village, where we gained further          clambered down the wet and slippy cliff side,
                                               Skills competition in which they came first            OVs to keep in touch with each other and
Armstrong. He was a superb Headmaster                                                                                                                                                                   understanding of the country’s structure             chuntering along in displeasure, I realised I
                                               and for the first time, one of our Model               the school. We very much look forward
and the community will miss him                                                                                                                        The two week tour, which consisted of            and diversity.                                       was the only one still climbing! When I finally
                                               United Nations teams won the challenging               to future events including the Annual OV
terribly; immensely clever, thoughtful                                                                                                                 about 40/50 boys and a few staff members                                                              got to the bottom I saw the coach about to
                                               weekend event at Cheadle Hulme school                  Reunion Weekend, Henley Regatta and
and consistently considerate of others,                                                                                                                was simply incredible. No other school           The memory that sticks with me the most              leave and heard the ever soft voice of Steve
                                               against stiff opposition. The 1st XV                   regional reunions.
he has proved to be truly inspirational to                                                                                                             trip came close to the variety of activities     is walking up Table Mountain. It was a wet           Bain going ‘Come on Parker, what took so
                                               emerged victorious from their encounter                                                                 and experiences our group sampled over           and grey day with thick cloud all around.
pupils, staff, parents and governors. I know                                                                                                                                                                                                                 long? We’ve been waiting nearly an hour’.
                                               in the Modus cup Rugby match against the
too that he very much enjoyed meeting                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Drenched and miserable, I got on the coach
                                               Royal Grammar School, played at Sixways
OVs at numerous events during his five-year                                                                                                                                                                                                                  to thunderous applause from all the boys,
                                               Stadium. and the stunning production of
tenure. It is a testament to his leadership                                                                                                                                                                                                                  with them shouting ‘We saw a rockslide, we
that the thanksgiving service in his memory                                                                                                                                                                                                                  thought you’d fallen over’. Everyone laughed
saw over 1000 people come together in                                                                                                                                                                                                                        and made that day one of the higlights of the
                                                 Gareth Doodes and his family will be joining us in
Worcester Cathedral on 21st October.             September                                                                                                                                                                                                   trip.

Matthew was consistently passionate about                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Alex Parker (S 07-14)
making a King’s education as accessible as
possible and the ‘Open the Door to King’s’
appeal very much remains a focus for us.

Following an appointment process that
ran for most of last term, the Governors
announced at the end of November that
Gareth Doodes has been appointed Head
with effect from September 2020. Gareth
very much looks forward to getting to know
you in the future.

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The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
OV Reunions & Events                                                                                                                                            Year of 1984 Reunion
                                                                                                                                                                2019 marked the 35 year anniversary of
                                                                                                                                                                those OVs who left school in 1984. Following
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 A number of the OVs had not met each other
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 since leaving school in 1984 and the evening
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Tyler (Ca 79-84) who travelled from North
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Carolina in the US to be at the Reunion
                                                                                                                                                                successful 25 and 30 year reunions, the OVs      provided a wonderful opportunity for                 and John Howell (Br 77-84) who flew in
                                                                                                                                                                decided to meet up again in Worcester            everyone to catch up with news of families,          from Toronto to join his brother, James
OV Cricket tour to Jersey 2019                                                                                                                                  on Saturday 20th July. Following tours of        careers and interests and to remember                Howell (Cr 77-84) and others at the event.
                                                                                                                                                                school, where Head of Alumni Relations,          stories from their schooldays. They were             Development Director at King’s, Liz Elliott
It was another fantastic OV Cricket tour           overs later to loud applause                                                                                 Sophie showed the group around some of           delighted to be joined by Hon OVs                    (Co 82-84) thoroughly enjoyed being ‘on
to Jersey following last year’s reunion.           from his team mates as lost                                                                                  the newer buildings on the school site as        and former staff who also enjoyed meeting            the other side’ of a reunion event - as she
Andrew Underwood (S 77-87), James                  bets changed hands. The                                                                                      well as into Edgar Tower and School House,       up with the OVs and hearing about what               left the school in 1984 - realising that King’s
Underwood (S 83-88), Ben Jones (Br                 Jersey OVs batted steadily,                                                                                  the group moved onto The Sociable Beer           has passed in the 35 years since leaving             friends really don’t change that much
82-89), Richard Tomlinson (Cl 83-90),              with the opener Brown                                                                                        Company in Worcester where they met up           King’s. The event was organised by former            over time and how easy it is to re-kindle a
Matt Bourne (W 83-90), John Malins (K              top scoring on 66 (before                                                                                    with others from their year. The Sociable        Head of School, Mike Morgan (Ch 78-                  friendship and remembering fun times at
85-90) and Phil O’Neill (W 82-91) all took         graciously giving up his                                                                                     Beer Company is run by King’s parent,            84) who is married to OV, Sue Pinnick                King’s from years ago.
part.                                              wicket to allow the youth to                                                                                 Keith Duddy, and catering was provided by        (Co 82-84), in conjunction with Sophie
                                                   perform) and was supported                                                                                   OV, Brad Hill (K 00-07).                         Borrillo-McLellan, from King’s Development           The reunion continued long into the
James Underwood reported, “The first               by Jenner (37), Ursell (13) and                                                                                                                               & Alumni Relations Office. The foreign               evening, with promises to meet up again
scheduled game against The Farmers was             Phil Le Cornu (21) to bring                                                                                                                                   contingent included Steve Campbell-                  for the OVs’ 40 year anniversary on 20th July
cancelled due to the reduced numbers in            them to a respectable 190                       Jersey Rugby Tour                                                                                                                                                  2024!
the squad, and this allowed for a planning         from their 35 overs.
meeting to take place at the Royal Yacht
Club on the waterfront in St Helier - this         After an impressive tea that was equalled by                the ground, a sublime 76 with textbook
took 12 hours and we were no wiser at the          Jon Malins appetite, the tourists took to the               strokes putting the ball all around the
end of it.                                         wicket with O’Neill looking set to score high               ground, in stark contrast to others whose
                                                   before playing around a straight one for 15 -               shot selection looked like it had come
“And so, to the major distraction of the tour      he put this down to fatigue from having his                 straight from ‘Farmers Weekly’.
– the match against the Old Victorians, a          first child at 46 years of age, but sympathy
side that contained the blend of 30 years’         was in short supply. Malins then disregarded                The borrowed youth players from the
experience and youth in the form of the            the sporting spirit shown by the opposition                 Jersey team fought a rear-guard action (the
next generation.                                   at he ‘beasted’ the Jersey youth bowling for                skipper not so much), and the match ended
                                                   43 runs before being caught and bowled by                   with Tim ‘Ricky the Wicky’ Waites and James
Strangely, the tourists were the first to strike   a ten-year-old – he made sure that his sugar                Underwood struggling to get the required
in the second over with Phil O’Neill claiming      levels fell no further as he tidied up the tea              last few runs. Alas (or predictably) they came
a catch at square leg that no one was              rooms.                                                      up short and the home side was victorious
expecting, even with 30 years of preparation                                                                   by 13 runs.
                                                                                                                                                                    Some of the year of 1984
behind him. And to prove that this was             Cricket was then treated to the spectacle of
no fluke, he repeated the performance 6            Richard Tomlinson batting as if he owned

Henley Regatta 2019                                                                                                                                             King’s Day 2019
Friday 5th July was beautifully sunny and          to meet. It was a particular pleasure to be                 Liz and Sophie were hugely grateful to the OVs   The sun shone for King’s Day this year as        the Headmaster shook each pupil’s hand,              dance show and the King’s Regatta where
although King’s didn’t have a crew racing,         there on the day that James Beattie, Henry                  who remembered from their school days how        we said farewell to the Year of 2019 and         signalling the moment they became OVs.               we were able to spot many OVs, many of
it was still the perfect day for Development       Marles (Br 12-17) and Alex Styles (W 08-                    to dismantle the King’s gazebo at the end of     welcomed them as the newest members                                                                   whom still row at University and beyond,
Director, Liz and Head of Alumni Relations,        15) were all racing for their respective clubs.             the day!                                         of the OV family. First, we were joined in       After lunch we were delighted to catch up            racing along the river! It was a fantastic
Sophie, to head to Henley Regatta. This is                                                                                                                      the stunning Worcester Cathedral by pupils,      with lots of OVs supporting the King’s Day           day and one that will have a very special
the second year we have hosted a King’s                                                                                                                         parents, Governors, Trustees, OVs, OV Club       events including the DT exhibition, the              place in the hearts of our 2019 OVs.
gazebo at the cricket club for OVs who are at                                                                                                                   Committee members, current and former
Henley and it was again a great success. We                                                                                                                     staff and friends of the school to hear the
were delighted to be joined by a variety of                                                                                                                     report of the past academic year from
OVs from different years who all have King’s                                                                                                                    Matthew Armstrong with testimonials from
and rowing in common, for a glass of Pimms                                                                                                                      several of the leaving Upper Sixth including
and a catch up in between races.                                                                                                                                Head of School, Sam Martyn-Smith (Cl
                                                                                                                                                                12-19). Prize-giving took place with awards
We were pleased to be joined by so many OVs                                                                                                                     being given to those who excelled in their
including James Beattie (Cl 10-17), David                                                                                                                       academic subjects.
Gregory (S 50-58), Daniel Hickling (Os
88-97), Lauren Pruden-Lawson (Cl 91-98),                                                                                                                        Following this was the emotional Leavers’
Peter Beaumont (W 81-83), Gerald Lindner                                                                                                                        Service with the sermon given this year by
(S 43-46), Rose Rolle-Rowan (S 91-98), Ed                                                                                                                       The Very Reverend Peter Atkinson, Dean of
Simpson (S 75-84), Zoe Cox (Cr 91-98),                                                                                                                          Worcester Cathedral.
Rufus Tilt (Cr 10-17), Kate Emsley (Cl 12-
19), Emily Watkins (Ch 13-19) and Harry                                                                                                                          As is traditional, at the end of the Service,
Annable (Br 10-17). It was wonderful to hear          Harry Annable, James Beattie, Rufus Tilt, Robin Booth,                                                    the leaving Upper Sixth processed out of
a variety of rowing memories and it was a             Peter Beaumont and Daniel Hickling                                                                        the Cathedral and as they left College Hall,        Emma Smalley, Sam Martyn-Smith and Harry Walker
lovely opportunity for OVs from different years

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The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
New OV BBQ 2019
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Monday 2nd September saw us joined by                        school gardens. It was lovely to hear what
                                                                                                                                                                                                       OVs from the years of 2017, 2018 & 2019 for                  excitements the OVs have in store next; new
                                                                                                                                                                                                       the New OV BBQ. We ran this event for the                    courses at University, continued studies,
                                                                                                                                                                                                       first time last year and it was an absolute                  years in industry, apprenticeships, new jobs,
                                                                                                                                                                                                       pleasure to see so many OVs again this time                  travels and much more. The OVs had great
                                                                                                                                                                                                       before they set off on exciting study, travel                fun seeing their OV school friends again,
                                                                                                                                                                                                       or work adventures. The rain just about held                 including those from other year groups
                                                                                                                                                                                                       off for us as we enjoyed food, drink and                     whom they knew here at King’s, as well as
                                                                                                                                                                                                       plenty of opportunities to catch up in the                   some of their former teachers.

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tom Ratcliffe,Jamie Havercroft, Tamara Enthoven, Ed Roberts, Will Woof,
                                                                                                                                                                                                          Oliver Colborne, Henry Armstrong and Theo Osborne

Five year Reunion 2019
Saturday 7th September saw us joined by               order of the night; the Boathouse abuzz         said a few words, with predictions from the
the year of 2014 who were marking their               with reminiscences and reconnections.           2014 year book prompting many a laugh! The
Five Year Reunion since leaving King’s. It was                                                        group were spotted enjoying the Worcester
a pleasure to see so many OVs back for this           Acting Headmaster Jon Ricketts (Hon             establishments into the early hours so we
event in The Michael Baker Boathouse and              OV) was delighted to speak to the year group,   can be sure a good night was had by all. As
also to see so many parents of the group              whom he knew as pupils here at King’s, about    always, Liz, Sophie and all the teachers who
who were also warmly welcome. Drinks,                 school life today. Head of School from the      knew the OVs were delighted to catch up and
canapés and lively conversation were the              year of 2014, Corah Lewis (Ch 07-14), then      see where five years has taken everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                                         Tara Barrington Emma Smalley, Rosie Conyers,
                                                                                                                                                                                                         Rayne Bulpitt, Lauren Arnold, Abby Deller

 Corah Lewis, Hannah Jeavons, Franny Taylor, Hannah
 Brotherwood, Emma Jarvis, Connie, Chantal,
 Charlotte

                                                                                                                                                                                                       Candlelit dinner in Edgar Tower
    Ellen Page, Jess Charles, Honey Aslanian,             Jack Guy, Emma Butterworth, Rob Ellis,                                                                                                       Edgar Tower was transformed to give the                      On entering Edgar Tower, the guests
    Gabriella Mansell                                     Blair Innerarity                               Louisa Jarvie, Harry Hunt, Miten Patel, Lauren M   David Bath, Rory Wilson, Charlie Conway,   impression of a mediaeval dining room                        enjoyed a glass of sparkling wine, followed
                                                                                                                                                            Georgie Halford                            recently and played host to Major Andrew                     by a sumptuous meal, prepared and
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Wright (Cr 93-02), who won the auction                       served by King’s own catering team: Iain
                                                                                                                                                                                                       lot for ‘Candlelit Dinner in Edgar Tower’ as                 Cunningham-Martin (Catering Manager)
                                                                                                                                                                                                       part of our Springtime Fundraising event in                  along with Imogen Carson and Richard
                                                                                                                                                                                                       conjunction with the Himalayan Trust UK.                     Gough, who all helped to make the evening
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    a superb success. Our thanks go to Iain for
                                                                                                                                                                                                       The Old Library (and current Classics                        offering us this auction lot and to Andrew
                                                                                                                                                                                                       classroom) was the ideal location for the                    for bidding for it.
                                                                                                                                                                                                       dinner and Andrew invited his sister, Natalie
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Wright (Cr 92-99) and his mother, Hon
                                                                                                                                                                                                       OV Pauline Wright (King’s Assistant
                                                                                                                                                                                                       Librarian, 01-11) to join him with his
                                                                                                                                                                                                       other guests. Pauline brought along some
                                                                                                                                                                                                       nostalgic photos of what the library had
                                                                                                                                                                                                       looked like, located in Edgar Tower, during
                                                                                                                                                                                                       her days of working at the School and it was
                                                                                                                                                                                                       interesting to see the contrast to the use of
    Tom Hutt, Alex Parker, Will Dovey, Lewis                                                                                                                                                           this historic building today.
    Richardson, Steve Walker, Harry Hunt, Miten
    Patel, Dylan Richardson, Ed Rowley

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The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
OV Golf                                                                                                                                             Modus Challenge Cup
After a hiatus, the 2019 OV Golf Day                also won the team score. Longest drive and                                                      2019
took place on Friday 6th September at               nearest to the pin were picked up by the
Ombersley Golf Club, organised by James             Pritchards, Joe and James.                                                                      We were delighted that King’s won this year’s
Bailey (Cr 84-93).                                                                                                                                  Modus Challenge Cup with a strong final
                                                    OVs who took part were Tim Whitehouse                                                           score of King’s 22 - 7 RGS. Following defeats
A total of six 4-balls enjoyed some fabulous        (K 86-94), Tom Guest (S 90-97), Russ                                                            for the last two years, King’s were keen to fight
golfing conditions after a brief wet start.         Mason (Hon OV), Robin Blakeway (H                                                               back and with a fantastic defence and some
There was a good mix of recent and more             48-55), Matt Richardson (Cl 86-93), Paul                                                        brilliant individual performances King’s were
                                                                                                                                                    able to bring the cup home.                           Nick Clark, Harry Walker, Harry Clark,
mature OV attendees.                                Judge (W 83-93), Benedict Crabbe (Cl                                                                                                                  Ben Walker, Myles Whaley and Ben Wadley
                                                    86-91), James Bailey (Cr 84-93), Ben
The man of the day was Robin Blakeway (H            Grinnall (W 82-93), Nick Firth (Ch 86-                                                          It was an absolute pleasure to see the OV
48-55) who won with a Stableford score of           93), Ben Russell (84-93), Colin Cole (H                                                         community out in force on 23rd October
45. He was thus handed the OV Golf Cup from         67-77), Joe Pritchard (O 12-19), Alfie                                                          supporting our boys as they played in the
the previous winner Paul Judge (W 83-93).           Pritchard (S 10-17), Adrian Smith (Cl                                                           annual fixture against RGS at Sixways Stadium.
                                                    83-87), Ted Pickering (B 12-19), James
Not surprisingly Robin’s team of Tim                Pritchard (W 68-78), Ali Robb (K 12-                                                            OVs all the way through from the 1940’s to
Whitehouse, Tom Guest and Russ Mason                19) and Tom Judge (W 17-19).                                                                    2019 were at the match and Development
                                                                                                                                                    Director, Liz, and Head of Alumni Relations,
                                                                                                                                                    Sophie, were thrilled to be able to catch up
School House lunch                                  Remembrance Day                                                                                 with so many over the night. The OVs were all
                                                                                                                                                    in excellent spirits and fine voice, evidenced
Some former boarding members of School              On Monday 11th November, King’s marked                                                          by the palpable roar that erupted from the             Rich Protherough, Toby Lee, Steve Perera,         Amelia Kite, Cerys Preston, Lilly Briggs
House, now in their 70s and 80s, gathered           Remembrance Day. A very special address                                                         stadium as the final whistle blew and the              Arti Fiaz, Tom Davies and Ross Haines             and Isabella Harris

for their annual lunch on Monday the 14th of        was given during the service in Worcester                                                       trophy was back in King’s hands again.
October at the Oxford and Cambridge Club,           Cathedral by OV Lt Col Rob Poole, RAMC (H
Pall Mall, London. George Beckmann (S 49-           93-98). In the absence of OV Club President
51), a member of the Club, again kindly acted
as the host. Tim Wadsworth (S 56-61), the
                                                    David Ogle (K 76-86), committee member
                                                    Alec Mackie (Cl 47-56), laid a wreath on
                                                                                                        Lt Col Rob Poole & Alec Mackie on
                                                                                                        Remembrance Day                                                                                 Ten year reunion
current organiser of this event, welcomed           behalf of the OV community alongside                                                                                                                December saw us welcome the year of               OVs. Despite all living around the country
all attendees including a number of guests.         current Head of School Hamish, who laid one                                                                                                         2009 back to King’s, marking 10 years             and in fact world, as well as in a range of
He reminded us that former housemaster              on behalf of current pupils of the school. Tom                                                                                                      since they left school. We began with tours       professions, the group easily slipped back
Alan Stacey (Hon OV) had sadly died in              Sharp (Hon OV) provided a really interesting                                                                                                        of school for the group who very much             into their friendships and looked as if they
November 2018 after bravely enduring a long         lecture about The King’s School in preparation                                                                                                      enjoyed re-exploring King’s, with lots of fun     had never been apart. As is now customary
illness which had prevented his attendance at       for the War which was followed by a delicious                                                                                                       and interesting memories being shared.            after these events, the reunion continued
our previous two lunches. He was delighted          lunch. The events of the day finished with a                                                                                                        Drinks and canapés in the Michael Baker           much later into the evening, with the year
to welcome Alan’s widow Jane (Hon OV)               moving Roll Call of Honour on College Green,                                                                                                        Boathouse were great fun and gave an              of 2009 re-acquainting themselves with the
                                                                                                        Nick Clark, Mark Atkins & Laurie Green on
and their son Nick as guests this year. We          courtesy of current pupil cadets and staff of       Remembrance Day
                                                                                                                                                       Daniel Moriss-Jeffery,
                                                                                                                                                                                                        opportunity for everyone to catch up on           many Worcester social establishments!
                                                    The King’s School CCF.                                                                             Philippa Moriss-Jeffery, Tim Keyes
stood in silent memory of headmaster                                                                                                                                                                    where the last ten years have taken the 2009
Matthew Armstrong (Hon OV), who had
died tragically in August this year . Matthew
had spoken at our 2017 lunch. Those                 OV Professions Law
attending this year included Rory McTurk
and Catriona Blaker, the son and daughter           Our series of OV Professions Groups              chat to everyone” - and a real feeling that
of former housemaster Dan McTurk, former            continued on 12th September with a very          meeting up with like-minded OVs is a fun
headmaster Tim Keyes (Hon OV), former               pleasant event involving those OVs who are       and informative way of connecting with
bursar Galen Bartholomew (Hon OV) and               working in the Legal profession. Liz Elliott,    others who have King’s as their common link.
former honorary secretary of the OV Club            King’s Development Director, met with a          Those who were able to join Liz for drinks
Mike Page (Cr 60-65). After reminding               number of OVs and the evening created an         and nibbles on the evening were: Natasja
us that Alan Stacey had taken over as               ideal opportunity for those OVs working in       Enthoven (W 14-19) just about to start her
housemaster from Dan McTurk in 1962 after           this sector to exchange experiences and          Law degree in Durham), Ed Cumming (Br
serving for several years as house tutor,           common ground and for a few of our newly         90-01), Jonathan Haydn-Williams (S 70-            James Martyn-Smith, Liam Gwynne,
                                                                                                                                                       Ashley Pain
William Burke (S 57-65) proposed a toast            qualified OV lawyers to hear from OVs who        75), Chris Paul (K 82-92), Paul Renney
to Alan’s memory. Following this, Jeremy            have a very large experience of working          (Cr 78-80), Leanne Sheen (W 99-06), Will
Lyon (S 54-59) proposed the toast to School         in the field of Law. There was some super        Smith (Br 93-04), Emmie Le Marchand
House. Old friendships were renewed,                feedback after the evening - “The set up         (Cl 03-10) and Georgie Davis (S 08-15).
amongst much reminiscing, well into the             was perfect- nice and informal and easy to
afternoon. The meal and service provided by
the O&C Club were excellent as usual, and a
good time was had by all.
                          Donald Howell (S 53-61)

                                                                                                                                                                                                          Lizzy Banks, Gabriel Banks, Jonathan Preston,
                                                                                                                                                       Bob Stone, Isabel Hershman                         David Wilkins, Ellie Nicholls, Verity Dixon

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The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
OV Rugby 7s squad make their debut                                                             London drinks
We are really proud that the new OV           17), Barney Sears (Ch 10-15), Alfie Sears        On Friday 15th November we enjoyed              last year. The current exhibition on relief      OVs were particularly pleased to catch up       the event due to flooding but Russ Mason
Rugby 7s squad did a fantastic job in         (S 10-15), Chris Weston (Cl 10-15), Max          welcoming many OVs to London Drinks.            printmaking also gave us lots to look at and     with former teachers and Housemasters           read out Jon’s talk, reflecting on Matthew
their debut performance at the Sundogs        Fellows (Cl 09-16), Jack Dutton (Os 15-          We were delighted to be joined by OVs           discuss.                                         Russ & Sue Mason (Hon OVs), Peter               Armstrong’s passion and vision for King’s
Festival in June playing in the men’s         17), Dion King (Cr 12-17), Sam Lowe (W           from across the years of 1951 through to                                                         Gwilliam (Hon OV), P C Thompson (Hon            and also to celebrate the successes of both
Competitive Rugby 7’s. The squad made         11-18) and Ben Shimwell (Cr 09-16).              2018. The Bankside Gallery offered a lovely     It was particularly fun to see a large turnout   OV), Andrew Maund (Hon OV) and Katie            school life and the Open the Door to King’s
it all the way to the semi-finals! The team                                                    location, right on the river Thames, opposite   from the years of 2011 and 2015 who used         Beever (Hon OV). Acting Headmaster Jon          Bursary appeal.
included James Smalley (Br 10-17),            The boys hope to develop this in the future      the beautiful St Paul’s Cathedral, as it did    the event as an opportunity to meet up.          Ricketts (Hon OV) was unable to make
George Bates (K 11-18), Henry Martyn-         and to compete in more tournaments as an
Smith (S 10-17), Alfie Pritchard (S 10-       OV squad. Watch this space!

                                                                                                                                                                                                   Joanna Boyce, Sarah Graham, Anna Warburton
                                                                                                 Chris Colenso, Will Palmer, Edmund Steele        David Brodie, Neville Bulman                     and Benji Airdrie                               Rebecca Linfoot & Lucy Butterworth

   OV Rugby 7s

300 Years of friendship
We were delighted to be informed by Mike      It turns out there are several long stories
Page (Cr 60-65) that on Friday 12th           of friendship attached to the picture: Elis
July, a group of OVs from the 1960s got       Jones and John Malcomson go back over
together at the King’s Arms in Ombersley to   70 years since they first got to know one
welcome back to the UK their friend John      another as toddlers in Gheluvelt Park; John
Malcomson (W 55-65) who has lived in          Malcomson and John Horton go back some
Auckland NZ for over 40 years. Joining Mike   65 years as they knew each other as small
and John were Tony Cook (Cl 57-66),           boys at Sunnyside School. Mike Page and
Elis Jones (W 55-65), John Malcomson          John Horton knew one another at the age
(W55-65), David Malcomson (Cl 57-             of 11-12 as rivals on the Cricket pitch and so
68) and John Horton (Cl 60-66).               they go back over 60 years. Between them
                                              they chalk up a grand total of over 300 years
                                              of friendship!

                                                                                                   Alex Wenyon, Rachel Holdway,
   Mike Page,Tony Cook, Elis Jones, John                                                           Calum Davies, Aaron Pardoe-Davies,
   Malcomson, David Malcomson, John Horton                                                         Chris Colenso, Peter Holdway

10 I Connect 47                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Connect 47 I 11
The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
OV Visits
OV Lauren in school Dragons’ Den
In June the Lower Sixth Business students        involves all aspects of business from human
were exposed to the pressures of the King’s      resources, development and operations
School ‘Dragons’ Den’ in the John Moore          to finance, making her a perfect fit for this
Theatre. Teams had to present their business     exciting role.
plans to the audience and then answer
demanding questions from five business           Lauren said, “It was nice to have the
people (“the Dragons”) including OV Lauren
Bath (S 04-11). Lauren is Business manager
                                                 opportunity to go back to school and
                                                 to help the students. I enjoyed using my
                                                                                                 A flying visit
of medical centre management company,            business experience to help the L6 students.    On leaving school, all David Jessop (Ch
                                                                                                                                                  OVs galore at L6 business skills workshop day
New Docs Limited. Her role as a Senior           It was good to see the school going from        78-87) wanted to do was to be an airline
Manager, and as Chairman of the Board,           strength to strength.”                                                                           Thursday 20th June was a very exciting day        Various business advisers including              leaving King’s and about his work, breaking
                                                                                                 pilot. He achieved this dream and after
                                                                                                                                                  as OVs, parents and local business delegates      OVs Laura Osborne (Br 93-01), David              down the stereotypes surrounding the
                                                                                                 teaching others to fly in his 20s and then
                                                                                                                                                  took part in a fantastic Lower Sixth Business     Leppard (H 63-73), Nick Clark (H 88-90),         software industry and explaining what a fun
                                                                                                 operating as a commercial pilot and
OV grandfather and OV grandson                                                                   running flying safaris in Zimbabwe, for the
                                                                                                                                                  Skills Workshop run by Head of Careers,
                                                                                                                                                  Helen Airdrie. It was a full timetable with the
                                                                                                                                                                                                    David Scrimshaw (W 63-68) and Lt Lorna
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Wilson (Cr 94-01) then shared their career
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     and exciting field it is to work in. The pupils
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     had lots of questions for Anthony; he had
                                                                                                 last 16 years David has worked for Emirates
OV Stanley Allsopp (Ca 46-51) popped             of Castle House. Ben, with his passion and                                                       aim of helping students recognise the value       stories with pupils, helping with the Notepad    such a good time that he hopes to come
                                                                                                 and is now an A380 Captain, living and
in to School in June with his grandson Ben       experience in Art, thoroughly enjoyed a                                                          employers place on transferable skills such as    Challenge, guiding pupils as they assigned       back and help again.
                                                                                                 flying out of Dubai. It was an absolute
Allsopp (S 07-12). We are delighted that         look around the Art block and he was off to                                                      teamwork, communication, problem solving,         team roles, produced designs, worked on
                                                                                                 pleasure for us to meet David in June when
Stanley, who was a chorister here at King’s,     meet a group of OV friends in the evening                                                        cooperation, leadership and flexibility.          marketing and finances and then presented        After lunch the workshop resumed with
                                                                                                 he found he had the afternoon free, having
stays in really good contact with us and         before returning to the USA to complete his     flown in to Birmingham, and he decided to                                                          their business pitch. The OVs were just as       Careers Networking in the Sports Hall and
supports our events regularly. Ben however       studies.                                                                                         In the morning, the Keynote Presentation          competitive as the pupils in this fun and        we were delighted to be joined by more OVs
                                                                                                 pay us a visit. One other person who was
has been living and studying abroad in the                                                                                                        was given by OV Paul Rostand (Ca 73-              testing challenge, with the team advised by      including Steve Perera (Cr 86-93), Rob
                                                                                                 particularly thrilled to meet David again
USA and Italy, and so it was an absolute                                                                                                          82). Paul is Managing Director of his own         OV David Leppard winning overall.                Airdrie (S 03-10) and Luke Weaver
                                                                                                 was Russ Mason (Hon OV), who ran Choir
pleasure for Head of Alumni Relations,                                                                                                            business, the Great British Biscotti Ltd, and                                                      (S 98-03). The afternoon was designed
                                                                                                 House just after David’s time there and also
Sophie, to be able to meet him. Since 2018,                                                                                                       spoke passionately about what inspired him        OV Anthony Lock (W 05-11) not only               to help the students learn and develop
                                                                                                 taught David A level Economics.
Ben has been at John Hopkins University in                                                                                                        to start up in the first place, the journey it    helped with the careers event but he even        important communication and networking
Baltimore, USA, where he is now studying                                                                                                          took him on, and the future of the business.      managed to squeeze in a computing lesson!        skills, and OVs commented on how much
                                                                                                 Russ showed David around Choir House, re-
for his PHD.                                                                                     living memories of each of the rooms in Choir.                                                     Anthony is a software engineer at Infinity       they had enjoyed the experience and what
                                                                                                                                                                                                    Works, and he spoke about his career since       good conversations they had with pupils.
Sophie really enjoyed having a walk around                                                       David really enjoyed visiting The Michael
school with Stanley and Ben. A trip into the                                                     Baker Boathouse, from where he could see
library in School House was interesting, as
for Ben it hadn’t changed a huge amount
                                                                                                 the playing fields – where he spent many
                                                                                                 autumn and winter months playing rugby
                                                                                                                                                  OV Governor of the month
since his King’s days, but for Stanley it was                                                    and summer days playing cricket for the
                                                                                                                                                  It was a pleasure to have OV & School             and watching some excellent lessons was
almost unrecognizable, as in his time it had                                                     school. David also enjoyed seeing The Keyes
                                                                                                                                                  Governor Andrew Reekes (Ch 64-69) with            undoubtedly lunch at the Headmaster’s
been School House Dining Room. Stanley                                                           Building and especially our well-equipped -
                                                                                                                                                  us in June for his Governor of the Month          house, where four lively and charming
was able to point out to Ben his first ever                                                      and air-conditioned! - school gym, which
                                                                                                                                                  visit. As part of the day, Andrew met with        Lower Sixth historians discussed everything
classroom when he arrived here at King’s, as                                                     David is used to, being based in Dubai
                                                                                                                                                  some of our King’s historians as Andrew           from Brexit, Appeasement, Churchill,
well as his sixth form study at the very top                                                     where all buildings have air-conditioning.
                                                                                                                                                  used to be Head of History at Tonbridge,          Napoleon and back to Boris Johnson. It
                                                                                                                                                  Cranleigh and Cheltenham.                         was hugely entertaining and an impressive
                                                                                                                                                                                                    insight into the intellectual curiosity of the
OV Guy Claxton back for research                                                                                                                  Andrew said, “The highlight of a most             King’s School’s Sixth Formers.”
                                                                                                                                                  interesting day spent meeting senior staff
We were delighted to receive an impromptu visit in June from Guy
Claxton (S 57-65) as he was visiting Worcester to conduct                                                                                                                                                                                             A helping hand
research for a new book that he is writing on educational theories
put into practice and also he had hoped to watch Worcestershire                                                                                                                                                                                      It was a pleasure to catch up with OV Henry
play Sussex at the county cricket ground.                                                                                                                                                                                                            James (W 11-18) when he kindly came
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     in to school to talk to the current Lower
Development Director Liz and Head of Alumni Relations, Sophie                                                                                                                                                                                        Sixth pupils who are interested in applying
were thrilled to meet Guy, who has previously been a Barnabas                                                                                                                                                                                        to study medicine. Henry had a gap-year
Speaker at King’s. He talked about the work he is doing, both in the                                                                                                                                                                                 working and gaining practical experience
UK and also abroad, with schools in New Zealand. Guy is Emeritus                                                                                                                                                                                     and started at Nottingham University this
Professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Winchester,                                                                                                                                                                                  September, for his degree in medicine.
a post he took up in September 2008 together with the role of Co-                                                                                                                                                                                    Henry was perfectly placed to give the
Director of the Centre for Real-World Learning and he is the author                                                                                                                                                                                  students some top tips and advice for the
of more than twenty books including the best-selling ‘Building                                                                                                                                                                                       challenging process of applying for medical
Learning Power’.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     school and we wish him all the best for his
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     next exciting chapter.

12 I Connect 47                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Connect 47 I 13
The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
OVs support question time style debate at King’s                                                      Back to                                                  Catching up with OV Christopher Benson (Cl 43-47)                                                 Extraordinary
On Friday 28th June, King’s hosted a               Marc Bayliss– Leader of Worcester City             school                                                                                                    room (with House Master, Alec Macdonald)         memories for OV
Question Time style debate with key political      Council.                                                                                                                                                     had been and upstairs, where he had taken
                                                                                                      Geoffrey Harper                                                                                           Latin lessons with Miss Anne Campbell and
figures to get a greater understanding
                                                   The debate was organised by Sixth form             (Cl 60-63) is an                                                                                          Art lessons with Miss ‘Miffy’ Campbell.
of the key issues facing British politics today.
                                                   student Charlie, to provide students, parents      OV who has had a
The panel included a range of high-profile
                                                   and OVs with the opportunity to question           range of interests                                                                                        Christopher was very impressed with the
guests from the local and national political
                                                   key politicians on some of the recent              and        careers,                                                                                       Michael Baker Boathouse and enjoyed
scene, including: OV Richard Bacon MP
                                                   developments in British politics.                  leaving King’s to go to Cambridge University,                                                             meeting King’s School Boatman, Will Bird
(Br 70-80)- Conservative MP for South                                                                                                                          It gives the Development & Alumni Relations
                                                                                                      where he studied Natural Sciences. He                                                                     who brought Christopher up to date with
Norfolk since 2001 came back to School for                                                                                                                     team such pleasure to welcome OVs back to
                                                   Audience members quizzed the panellists            considers himself to be a generalist and for                                                              King’s latest rowing news.
this and was joined by Cllr Lynn Denham-                                                                                                                       school and earlier this summer Christopher
                                                   on Brexit, climate change, the cost of             thirteen years he conducted research into
Labour PPC for Worcester and Councillor in                                                                                                                     Benson (Cl 43-47) visited King’s and
                                                   attending university, and the Prime                the effects of weather & climate change                                                                   Liz and Christopher took some time to visit
Cathedral Ward, Lord Faulkner of Worcester-                                                                                                                    Worcester for the day. Christopher has
                                                   Ministerial leadership contest. It was great to    on plant development at the botanic                                                                       Worcester Cathedral. Christopher has been a
Labour party peer and currently a Deputy                                                                                                                       strong memories of King’s and in particular
                                                   see OVs including Tim Burgess (S 10-17),           garden in Edinburgh and previously was                                                                    lay Canon at Salisbury Cathedral and he was
Speaker of the House of Lords and Deputy                                                                                                                       of some of the teachers at school in the
                                                   Edd Peckston (K 10-17) Aaron Daniels               an entomologist & evolutionary biologist at                                                               very interested to see the newly renovated
Chairman of Committees, Beverley Nielson-                                                                                                                      1940s. He attributes his decision to join
                                                   (K 09-16) and James Simpson (K 09-16)              Edinburgh University.                                                                                     West Window at Worcester. Christopher also
Chair of West Midlands Lib Dems and Lib                                                                                                                        the Navy to his teacher, R Pedder. However
Dem PPC for West Worcestershire and Cllr           supporting the debate and contributing to                                                                                                                    admired the rood screen in the cathedral, as
                                                                                                      Geoffrey came back to King’s recently to                 Christopher says that he was ill-prepared for    Salisbury does not possess such a screen.
                                                   the questions.
                                                                                                      revisit some of the school buildings he knew             the Royal Navy entrance test which meant
                                                                                                      from his days at school and he also attended             he was obliged to join the Merchant Navy,        Christopher has had an incredibly interesting
                                                                                                      the political debate held in The John Moore              where he recalls a total lack of discipline      and varied career, holding numerous
                                                                                                      Theatre. Geoffrey also very kindly gave                  amongst the lower ranks, leading him to          Chairmanship and Director roles within a
                                                                                                      King’s copies of two of his books, the most              appreciate the discipline from King’s (even      number of high profile companies, such as
                                                                                                      recent being ‘Democracy & the Biosphere                  if at times, it had been somewhat harsh).        Boots PLC, Costain PLC, London Docklands         OV Lloyd Daniels (Cr 46-56) had been
                                                                                                      Crisis’. Annabel Jeffery (Hon OV), School                As Christopher toured the school with            Development Corporation, MEPC Property,          meaning to come back to see his old school
                                                                                                      Librarian, was delighted to take receipt of              Development Director, Liz Elliott, one of his    Royal & Sun Alliance Insurance Group plc         for a little while and so it was a real delight
                                                                                                      the two books.                                           most vivid memories came when entering           and House of Fraser to name a few. We were       for Liz, Development Director to welcome
                                                                                                                                                               the current Humanities block, encapsulated       delighted that Christopher was able to come      him and his partner, Margaret back to King’s
                                                                                                      During his visit to King’s Geoffrey also                 in the feature of the green tiled walls, which   and spend some time with us at King’s and        recently. Lloyd was keen to meet Harriet
                                                                                                      visited Harriet Patrick, King’s Archivist, who           brought back memories of much time spent         share some of his earliest memories from his     Patrick, our archivist and to see what records
                                                                                                      looked out some of Geoffrey’s writing in The             in this building, where Christopher’s form       boyhood days in Worcester.                       Harriet was able to share with him. Harriet
                                                                                                      Vigornian from 1962 and 1963, when, even                                                                                                                   showed Lloyd a number of Creighton House
                                                                                                      during his schooldays Geoffrey showed an                                                                                                                   photos in which he appeared and she also
                                                                                                      interest in social politics, in his article, entitled,   Catch up with arts OV                            OV Dentist inspires pupils                       shared entries from the Vigornian magazine
                                                                                                      ‘Oh for a new moral code’. Geoffrey said of                                                                                                                during his time at school, which detailed
                                                                                                      his visit to the archives, “The various articles         Tony Dyson (Br 56-65) attended the               Year 3 at St Alban’s have been learning          Lloyd’s participation in school activities and
Wedding bells for visiting OV                                                                         and poems in the magazines brought back                  funeral of John Turner (Hon OV) in
                                                                                                                                                               September and whilst he was in Worcester
                                                                                                                                                                                                                all about teeth with their teacher Mrs
                                                                                                                                                                                                                Atkinson this term. They were therefore
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 promotion to house monitor.
                                                                                                      more memories of my friends of the time.”
                                                                                                                                                               he came into King’s. Tony is the Chairman        absolutely delighted to enjoy a visit from OV    Lloyd has many memories from his time at
On the 17th July we were so pleased to             was at King’s. There were also netball and                                                                                                                   Dentist Rupert Monkhouse (Ch 05-12) in
                                                                                                                                                               of The Frederick Ashton Foundation                                                                King’s; notably he remembers very clearly the
see Lizzie Baxter (S -03-10) back at King’s.
Lizzie popped in for a walk around with her
                                                   hockey team photos with Lizzie in and very
                                                   specially, a record of the register from 1946
                                                                                                      Language OVs return                                      and is therefore heavily involved with           October. Rupert really enjoyed hearing           day at school when George VI died and how
                                                                                                                                                               the foundation and the ballet, and he            everything that Year 3 had been learning         the Cathedral bell tolling signalled the death
fiancé Ian and his family who were over to         where her Great Uncle Malcolm Leonard              to offer advice                                          explained to Liz Elliott that he also remains    and he also taught them lots of new things       of the King. He remembers the kindness of
share the wedding of Ian to Lizzie that was        (Dayboys 46-55) was entered.                                                                                                                                 as well as answering questions. Questions
                                                                                                                                                               involved with his architect practice, where                                                       his Headmaster, Mr Kittermaster and also
taking place on the Saturday. Head of Alumni                                                          Sam Ness (W 12-19) and Dan Bell (Cl                      he specialises in the design of urban            Rupert answered included ‘When do most           art classes with Miss ‘Miffy’ Campbell. Lloyd
Relations, Sophie, was delighted to meet           It was an absolute pleasure to see Lizzie and to   17-19) came into school in September to                  hard landscapes and the architectural            people lose all their baby teeth?’, ‘Can I       and Margaret visited the first classroom that
them all and to show them around King’s.           meet Ian and his family. The group left Sophie,    speak to our sixth form Spanish students                                                                  wobble a wobbly tooth?’, ‘Have you ever
                                                                                                                                                               settings of memorial sculptures such as                                                           Lloyd would have been in - at the bottom of
                                                   ready to embark on some flower arranging           about why they chose Spanish as an A Level               the Nelson Mandela Statue, the Mahatma           been asked to give someone a gold tooth?’
The tour started in The Michael Baker                                                                                                                                                                                                                            the current Choir House (these classrooms
                                                   for the big day, which we were assured was         subject and their experiences in the A-Lev-              Ghandi memorial and the memorial of the          and ‘What made you want to be a dentist?’.
Boathouse which impressed everyone, but                                                                                                                                                                                                                          originally accommodated the junior school
                                                   going to be attended by many OVs!                  el examinations. Both Sam and Dan are                    suffragist leader Dame Millicent Fawcett in      An absolute highlight was when one pupil
especially Ian who had enjoyed rowing at                                                                                                                                                                                                                         pupils before they moved on to the senior
                                                                                                      going on to study languages at University                Parliament Square.                               asked, ‘If I swallow my tooth, would I be
University. School House was a particularly                                                                                                                                                                                                                      school). He was incredibly impressed with the
                                                                                                      and were really helpful in passing on advice                                                              able to get it back?’, to which Rupert replied
special place to visit as it had been not only                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Michael Baker Boathouse, from where he could
                                                                                                      about managing A-Level expectations, the                 Tony had time for a quick visit to the Art       ‘It depends how much you want your 50p
Lizzie’s House, but also her Father Andrew                                                                                                                                                                                                                       see across the river to the school sports fields.
                                                                                                      benefits and pleasure of studying languag-               Department at King’s where he was very           from the tooth fairy!’.
(S 70-75)’s and Uncle Michael (S 70-80)’s                                                             es and their Spanish experiences. Head of                impressed to see artwork by the current
too. Lizzie really enjoyed finding her old                                                            Alumni Relations, Sophie, was delighted to                                                                Rupert then enjoyed a walk around the
                                                                                                                                                               Upper Sixth students, one of whom has been
house room , as well as showing Ian and his                                                           see them both and to have a catch up before                                                               Biology building at King’s Senior School with
                                                                                                                                                               focusing on architecture and another on dance
family the classrooms where her father and                                                            they headed off to their respective universi-                                                             Head of Alumni Relations, Sophie where
                                                                                                                                                               – both of which encompass Tony’s passions, so
uncle slept as boarders. The group finished                                                           ties and Freshers Weeks! Current sixth form                                                               he also was delighted to see his former
                                                                                                                                                               it proved to be a very fortuitous visit!
with a visit to the Art Department, where                                                             were very grateful for                                                                                    teachers Matt Parkin (Hon OV) and Nicki
Lizzie had spent most of her time at School.                                                          the advice, were able                                    We are very grateful                             Essenhigh (OV). After a nostalgic lunch
                                                                                                      to ask questions and                                     to Tony for donating                             in the Dining Hall, Rupert sat down with
Sophie was delighted to finish by showing                                                             felt better prepared                                     a generous auction                               Stephen, a current member of the U6 who
Lizzie some records that had been found                                                               for the Spanish ad-                                      lot of tickets to a                              hopes to study Dentistry. Rupert is kindly
by Harriet Patrick, King’s Archivist. These                                                           ventures ahead as                                        ballet at Covent                                 coming back to help with the Healthcare
included School House photographs with                                                                they continue their                                      Garden        Opera                              Conference in February.
her in, but also some from when her father                                                            studies this year.                                       House.

14 I Connect 47                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Connect 47 I 15
The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
Returning to King’s
It was a beautiful sunny day when Henry
Shouler (H 49-56) came to visit King’s
                                                   1st XI Hockey, he was a member of the
                                                   Athletics throws team, Captain of the school
                                                                                                                                                     Barnabas
School early in the summer holidays – a            Badminton team and was awarded colours
wonderful way to view the school and re-           playing in the 1st XV. From the prow of
visit some familiar buildings like College Hall    the Boathouse, Henry was able to see the
and the Reading Room (Chappel Memorial             cricket and rugby pitches across the river,
Room) and also to see some of King’s new           where he spent many happy hours. Henry
buildings: the Michael Baker Boathouse and         also recalled time spent in Hostel House and
the Keyes Building.                                he visited what is now the Staff Common
                                                   Room part of which had been The Hostel
During Henry’s time at King’s he was actively      Common Room, where the boarding boys
involved in sports of all kinds, playing for the   used to meet for study and evening prayers.
1st XI Cricket and also the 1st XI Football,

OV encourages next generation of engineers
John Weston CBE (S 62-69) spent the
afternoon at King’s in October, talking
with a number of students who were
interested to hear about his wealth
of experience in industry. On leaving
King’s John went to Cambridge to study
Aerospace Engineering and after a Masters
in Engineering from Trinity College, he
started as an undergraduate apprentice in
what later became British Aerospace and
now BAE Systems. He worked for BAE for
over 30 years, ultimately becoming Chief
Executive of the company in 1998. John             Ricketts (Hon OV), Assistant Head, Katie          are looking to apply to Oxbridge, where
subsequently held various Chairman roles           Beever (Hon OV) and Development                   questions ranged from “Do you think Europe
for a number of companies, ranging from            Director and OV Liz Elliott and there was         should do more to co-operate on matters
the design and manufacture of optic fibres         an interesting discussion over the course on      of defence?” to “How do you envisage the
to one that designs technology to reduce           lunch when John talked about some of the          future of the British Aerospace industry?”
CO2 emissions in vehicles.                         engineering concepts related to Concorde.         and also included questions about gender
                                                                                                     diversity in engineering and the impact on
Over lunch, John met Head of School,               After lunch, John held a Careers talk with        climate change of the aerospace industry.
Hamish and also other Upper Sixth students:        a packed room of pupils, talking about his
Mark, one of our aspiring engineers as well
as Ellie and Liberty, both of whom are
                                                   time at King’s and the confidence inspired
                                                   in him whilst at School, which helped him
                                                                                                     We are very grateful to John both for the
                                                                                                     time that he spent with the students at
                                                                                                                                                     Derek Bell MBE (S 56-58)
Arkwright scholars, who have set up an             throughout his career. There followed             King’s and also for his very generous support   We enjoyed a visit from OV British sports      Derek is now a speaker and sports                 Maths, Drama, and Design Technology. It
Engineering Club for girls at King’s. They         a stimulating discussion with some 30             of an enduring bursary place at King’s.         car driving legend Derek Bell MBE (S           commentator and he remains much in                was a particular pleasure for him to meet
were joined by Acting Headmaster, Jon              Upper Sixth students, a number of whom                                                            56-58) on Thursday 26th September              demand at racing events around the                sixth formers Toby Weymouth and Ed
                                                                                                                                                     as the newest member of our Barnabas           world. In 1986 Derek was awarded an MBE           Cosson. Toby and Ed were part of King’s 4x4
                                                                                                                                                     Group. OVs who have excelled in their          for services to motorsport, in 2012 he was        Challenge team ‘Edge’ who won 1st Place at
Inspirational gap year speakers                                                                                                                      chosen careers are invited back to join the    inducted into the Motor Sport Hall of Fame        the National Finals for the JLR 4x4 in Schools
                                                                                                                                                     Barnabas Group, named after St Barnabas,       of America and in 2014 he was presented           Competition in 2018. Ed and Toby were able
In September, current U6 Pupils benefited          he learned.                                                                                       son of encouragement, to share their           with Honorary Life Membership of the AA in        to showcase their prize-winning vehicle
from meeting three OVs who came                                                                                                                      life experiences and to offer advice and       recognition of his 50 years in Motorsports.       to Derek and to speak about the process
into Key Skills to share their Gap Year            Finally, James Austin (Os 16-18), spoke                                                           inspiration to the school body.                                                                  of designing, building and testing the car,
Experiences. Francesca Descher (Cl 10-             of his experiences. James enjoyed time                                                                                                           Derek experienced a packed day back at            as well as discussing how they secured
17) spent her gap year working in Cairo            working in a Borneo Eco-Lodge owned by                                                            In 1956 Derek joined The King’s School         King’s, where he had enjoyed his schooldays.      sponsorship and marketing support.
at Malvern College Egypt. It was really            OV Howard Stanton (S 84-91), Vietnam,                                                             Worcester where he enjoyed Maths, Physics      At 8.30am the school playground vibrated as
interesting to hear all about her experiences      Russia, Peru, Bolivia and Columbia. James, a                                                      and playing for the 1st XV rugby team. After   Derek entered through the school gates in         Derek enjoyed lunch with Acting
in the Marketing department there, working         self-confessed non-organiser, faced language                                                      leaving school Derek was encouraged to         his 911 ‘Racing Legends’ Derek Bell Porsche       Headmaster, Jon Ricketts (Hon OV), Head
and living abroad and learning a new               barriers (resulting in paying for a hostel room                                                   enter racing and he won his first race at      (one of just 15). The car continued to garner     of School and Captain of the 1st XV Hamish,
language.                                          twice), a lost passport, and lengthy flight                                                       Goodwood in 1964 in a Lotus Seven.             admiration and attention throughout the           current pupil and budding racing star Theo
                                                   diversions, so he encouraged everyone in the                                                                                                     day. Derek gave an inspiring address to the       who is looking forward to his racing season
Nish Rai (K 11-18) travelled far and wide          room to plan more than he had!                                                                    Derek’s record on the track is astoundingly    School in Worcester Cathedral, speaking of        ahead and Head of Sixth Form, Josh Hand,
on his year, with a European Interrailing                                                                                                            impressive. He won Le Mans 24 hours five       his time at King’s, as well as his professional   as well as Development Director Liz Elliott
trip, time in America, and also India. He also     It was a pleasure to hear Francesca, Nish                                                         times, in 1975, 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1987.     career highlights and times of challenge, as      and Head of Alumni Relations, Sophie
fitted in time to commit to FDSSUK (Fibrous        and James speak, and by the end of session,                                                       He also won the Daytona 24 three times, and    well as words of advice and encouragement.        Borrillo-McLellan.
Dysplasia Support Society). Like Francesca,        everyone (staff included), was itching to                                                         the World Sportscar Championship twice.
Nish was able to offer lots of advice on Gap       get a rucksack on their back and go on an                                                         Derek has raced for the Ferrari, Wheatcroft,   Derek enjoyed visiting King’s pupils in many      A special day indeed for Derek and for
Years, especially why he took one and what         adventure!                                                                                        McLaren, Surtees and Tecno teams in the        lessons throughout the day including              everyone at King’s
                                                                                                                                                     Formula 1.

16 I Connect 47                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Connect 47 I 17
The magazine for the Old Vigornians of The King's School, Worcester - Winter 2019 Issue 47
King’s Today                                                                                                                                      OVs in the News                                                                                       HAYLEY & LIZZY
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        REPRESENTING
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        GREAT BRITAIN
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        September saw the start of the 2019 UCI
Our Headmaster Matthew Armstrong
tragically died in August. The School
                                                 The British National Championships were
                                                 held in Glasgow this year. To reach this
                                                                                                  At the end of the summer term, 50 King’s
                                                                                                  senior pupils took practical music exams
                                                                                                                                                  OV STEPHEN CLEOBURY KNIGHTED IN THE                                                                   Road World Championships. The World
body and King’s family had opportunity           prestigious competition the swimmers             with the majority gaining merits and            QUEEN’S BIRTHDAY HONOURS                                                                              Championships sees some of the world’s best
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        cyclists competing alongside each other and
to remember and celebrate Matthew in             must rank in the top twenty-four in the          distinctions. For most pupils, practical
an incredible Service of Thanksgiving in                                                                                                          We are thrilled to report that OV Dr Stephen                                                          we were so proud that not one, but two OVs
                                                 country, in their age group. Two King’s          exams finish at Grade 8. Those who wish
Worcester Cathedral on 21st October.                                                                                                              Cleobury (Ch 58-67) was knighted in the                                                               were selected to compete for Great Britain!
                                                 pupils accomplished this. Gabriella qualified    to take performing to the next level have
                                                                                                                                                  Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to                                                              Hayley Simmonds (Cr 99-06) competed
                                                 in the 50m Butterfly and she achieved a          the option of studying diplomas and in
                                                                                                                                                  choral music. Former Director of Music at                                                             in the Elite Women’s Time Trial and Lizzy
                                                 credible thirteenth place. Hannah, also a        the summer term, four pupils achieved this
                                                                                                                                                  King’s College, Cambridge, Stephen said, “I                                                           Banks (Ch 02-09) in the Elite Women’s Road
                                                 Junior County record holder, qualified in        impressive feat and are now able to add
                                                                                                                                                  am profoundly honoured to have received                                                               Race. Lizzy currently cycles for the UCI team
                                                 the 50m and the 100m Freestyle. In the 50m       their qualifications after their names.
                                                                                                                                                  this award. I have sought to nourish and                                                              ‘Bigla Pro Cycling’ based in Switzerland and
                                                 Freestyle, Hannah cruised into the National
                                                                                                                                                  support the precious choral tradition                                                                 Hayley for ‘BTC City Ljubljana’ in Slovenia.
                                                 final with a personal best of 27.12 seconds.
                                                 Later, she swam a stunning race and placed                                                       that we have in this country, and to be an
                                                 fifth in a blistering 26.88 seconds, smashing                                                    advocate for the innumerable benefits of
The year’s worth of training and preparation     the current Junior long course record.                                                           singing and choral music”.
culminated in a fantastic National Schools’
Regatta for the King’s Boat Club in May. For                                                                                                      We were saddened to hear of Stephen’s
some it was their first, and for some their                                                                                                       death in November 2019.
last time at Eton Dorney Lake. The Boat
Club achieved eighth place in the Girls’                                                                                                          OVS CRICKET JOURNEY FROM UK TO AUSTRALIA
                                                                                                  It was a very successful weekend for the KSW
Championship Four, tenth place in the J16
Girls’ Double Scull, eleventh place in the J16                                                    CCF Army Section in the 11 Signals & WM         It was wonderful news to learn that                                                                   NEW UNIVERSITY
Boys’ Quadruple Scull and tenth place in the     In early July a Rugby tour party of 45 players   Brigade Military Skills Competition on the      OV Simon Insley (Br 99-06) has just been
                                                                                                                                                  appointed as General Manager of High
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        CHALLENGE NEWS
J15 Boys’ Coxed Quadruple Scull.                 from years 11 and 12 travelled to South Africa   Nesscliffe Training Area. The team won the
                                                 for two weeks to sample the culture and          Military Skills Competition, and was placed     Performance of Cricket Tasmania and the                                                               We were excited to spot OV Josh Holland
On Thursday 27th June a group of King’s          wildlife and play eight games of rugby. The      3rd in the March and Shoot Competition.         Hobart Hurricanes. Simon says,                                                                        (Br 03-10) on University Challenge as he
students travelled to Cromhall Quarry to put     tour started in Johannesburg before making                                                       “The (current) role is to report to the Chief                                                         represented the University of Southampton.
into action the training in diving which they    its way to Durban via KwaZulu Natal. Notable                                                     Executive on all the cricket departments to                                                           Josh is currently studying for a PhD in
have been receiving over the course of this      moments for the pupils included helping                                                          ensure that the state is striving for excellence                                                      Theoretical Computer Science.
year. Those who satisfied the requirements       out at the Winnie Mabaso foundation and                                                          to achieve its strategic goals.”
have achieved the status of PADI Junior          sampling some of South Africa’s fabulous                                                                                                                                                               On Monday 23rd September they had their
Divers and can now complete their open           Game reserves where most of the big five                                                         KNIGHTHOOD FOR ASHLEY                                                                                 first-round against Goldsmiths, University
water qualification.                             were seen. The rugby was intense playing 4                                                                                                                                                             of London. After a particularly impressive
                                                 different matches in 4 different locations.                                                      Huge congratulations go from all of us at                                                             second half, Southampton won 175 to 95.
                                                                                                                                                  King’s to OV MEP Ashley Fox (K 80-87) who                                                             Sadly, in November they lost to Durham in
                                                                                                                                                  was named in Teresa May’s Resignation                                                                 the second round.
                                                                                                                                                  Honours list to receive a Knighthood for
                                                                                                                                                  political and public service. Ashley was the
                                                                                                                                                  leader of the Conservatives in the European
                                                                                                                                                  Parliament between 2014-2019. He has
                                                                                                  Fourteen students (LR to U6) accompanied        served the European Parliament since 2009,
                                                                                                  by two staff had a very successful weekend at   and was re-elected in 2014, representing
                                                                                                  the 2019 Model United Nations conference.       the South West of England & Gibraltar. We          Parliament for 10 years. I am delighted to
                                                                                                  The team came home with a long list of          were thrilled to hear from Ashley who said         have been honoured with a Knighthood by
                                                 A record number of King’s students undertook     prizes including the much-coveted title of      “It was a privilege to serve in the European       our former Prime Minister, Theresa May.”
                                                 an assessed Gold DofE expedition in the          ‘Outstanding Delegation of MUNCH 19’.
It’s been another year of academic
                                                 Lake District over the summer supported
excellence for the school with some
fantastic A Level and GCSE results this          by a team of King’s staff. All 36 participants   We were delighted that King’s won this          OV ROLE                                            INSPIRING MEETING WITH
summer. In A Levels over 40% of results          coped admirably with 8-9 hours of walking
                                                 and approximately 1,000m of ascent each
                                                                                                  year’s Modus Challenge Cup with a final
                                                                                                  score of King’s 22 - 7 RGS. Following defeats
                                                                                                                                                  AT RUGBY                                           ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
were graded at A*-A, close to 70% graded
A*-B and 87% of results graded A*-C. Over        day. The students are now in the process of      for the last two years, King’s were keen to     WORLD CUP                                          Exciting news from Sally Themans (Co 84-86) who was delighted
25 students achieved three or more A*/A          completing their remaining sections of the       fight back and with a fantastic defence and                                                        to meet the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, as he visited
                                                 Award and are looking forward to an invitation   some brilliant individual performances,         October               saw                          Shropshire as part of his thee-day tour of the Diocese of Hereford.
grades. Students also excelled themselves
                                                 by Buckingham Palace to receive their award.     King’s were able to bring the cup home.         OV Rowan Kitt (Ch
with fantastic Extended Project Qualification
                                                                                                                                                  77-87) working hard at                             Sally’s company, Good2Great, works with start-up companies in
(EPQ) results, achieving the highest results
                                                                                                                                                  the Rugby World Cup in                             Shropshire so it was a wonderful opportunity to talk with the
to date. It was our biggest ever cohort with
                                                                                                                                                  Japan in his role as TMO.                          Archbishop about the challenges facing businesses, particularly
24 students completing the EPQ with 63%
receiving A*s and almost 90% A*/A. The                                                                                                                                                               with the looming Brexit debate going on.
                                                                                                                                                  Rowan works alongside the referee to ensure
good news continued with our GCSE results.                                                                                                        that fair decisions are made with regards
An impressive 66% of entries were graded                                                                                                                                                             Sally said, “He really listened and engaged and offered practical
                                                                                                                                                  foul play and allowing tries, penalties etc. It    solutions. He was very inspiring.”
9-7 (or equivalent), 42% A*/9-8 grades and                                                                                                        is a fast-paced and high pressure job and it is
over 97% 9-4 grades (or equivalent).                                                                                                              a huge honour and responsibility for Rowan.
18 I Connect 47                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Connect 47 I 19
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