Newsletter

February 2012

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING.

The Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held at 7.30 pm. prompt on Tuesday 28th February 2012 at the Bath Cricket Club, North Parade, by kind permission of the Cricket Club. Your attention is drawn to Rule 15, under which any member wishing to move a resolution or nominate an Officer at the Annual General Meeting must give notice of their intention in writing to the Honorary Secretary, not less than seven days before the meeting.
P D Powell Honorary Secretary

AGENDA

Apologies
Minutes of 2011 AGM
Matters arising
Hon. Secretary’s Report
Hon. Treasurer’s Report
Election of Officers:
a. President Nomination: A Buss Esq.,
b. Vice Presidents
c. Hon. Secretary
d. Hon. Treasurer
e. Hon. Social Secretary
f. Hon. Correspondent
g. Hon. Auditors
h. Trustees
i. Executive Committee

7. Any other business
NEWS
Two memories this time from new members. Colin Goater, (64-72) reminiscing wrote: “who doesn’t remember the demise of the Grammar School when at the last end of term assembly we got a fellow lower sixth pianist on the honky-tonk at the back of the hall to play Chopin’s Funeral March as the teachers marched out from the stage, and to our delight our feet stamping caught on across all years, much to the chagrin of the teacher left behind with the responsibility to dismiss the students”. Happy days.
And Rodney Cole (51-59) writes: During the Easter term 60 years ago, P E periods often involved a shortened cross country course. It was customary for the good athletes to finish quickly and for the less fit to form disorderly groups and maybe take a short cut home. One such group, noisily passing by a local resident working in his garden, were taken to task with the words “Keep the noise down and show some respect, don’t you know the king is dead”. Obviously they brought back the news and there was no other topic of conversation until we were informed officially. That was how we discovered we were among the New Elizabethans.

In his annual report, the Secretary makes a plea for support for the Association. Terry Lee has had to stand down from the Committee due to ill-health. We have managed to persuade Tony Buss to stand as President for the forthcoming year. Rich Wood has resigned his second year, having served 3! He will stay as Treasurer but we urgently need a few more locals to help on the Committee. It’s not too onerous, it just helps to spread the load and keep us going. This will be a make-or-break year for the Treasure Hunt and the Golf and both need your support. When the dates appear, please put them in your diary.

EVENTS PAST
Annual Dinner
Another excellent evening. The feedback was encouraging and I am so grateful to George and Graham who do so much to encourage their compatriots, and to Glyn Maddocks who rounded up some of his ‘young’ rugby squad to share a table. We had 60+ on the night with a couple struck down by illness at the last moment, and a fair list of apologies. Bath Cricket Club, in the shape of Steward Mark Kingwell and his staff, provided a super meal with first class service. The toasts were proposed by Tony Comer; President Rich Wood, Headmaster Andrew Davies, and the Rugby Club had the last word.
This year’s event is booked, details elsewhere.
Trip to Imperial War Museum, Lambeth.
Super day out for 24 of us. Exceptional weather for the end of October, and of course, it hasn’t changed much since. Peter Powell and Alan Blake recounted their experiences of time in the trenches so we all went downstairs to view that exhibition as well! A very wide range of exhibits and an opportune time because the whole place is closing down shortly for a refurbishment lasting 2 years. Nothing to do with our visit I hasten to add. A couple of pints of London Pride and Sunday lunch at a pub up the road added to the occasion. The only thing I missed was my afternoon nap!
Informal Lunches
Seem to be catching on so there is a new schedule later in the newsletter. If you want to suggest a suitable venue, contact Tony Buss.
School Carol Service
Mike Hucker read the final lesson for us at The Abbey at a very enjoyable and traditional service attended by a number of old boys.
School Presentation Evening
With the President booked elsewhere, Alan Blake represented The Association and presented the usual book tokens and medals to the recipients of the sponsored prizes at a very busy but well organised evening in the Assembly Rooms.

EVENTS FUTURE
March 18th. Tony Buss has arranged a group booking on a coach trip to the London Museums or shopping. Further trips are being mooted. Any requests or info, please give Tony a ring on 01225 404625 or e-mail: bussstop(AT)sky.com
Informal Lunches
The schedule for the Spring is as follows:
March 14th at Rose and Crown, Limpley Stoke.
April 11th at Bird-in-hand, Saltford
May 9th at The Mill at Rode,
Contact Peter Powell for any directions. As usual, make your own arrangements and pay your own bills. Meet from 12 noon. Leave the gardening (or the ironing) for another day.
Derek Swift (‘49)
Is threatening to visit from Australia in June or July and may provide the excuse for the ‘49ers to get together again. Phone or e-mail Alan Blake who will keep a little list of interested parties. When we can pin Derek down we will print the dates. Will he remember that white fiver?
NHSOB Golf
June 21st is the date. Mick Moore will select his team to defend our honour in the customary way! This year we play at home at Sham Castle
Asociation Golf.
June 15th is the provisional date at Bath Golf Club but the date and venue are yet to be confirmed. All past attendees will be notified direct when details have been finalised. Any potential ‘first timers’ should get their details to Mike Wood so he can add them to his list. 01225 742184 or mike(AT)systemagic.co.uk
Annual Dinner.
October 20th 2012 at Bath Cricket Club as usual. Put the date in your diaries and full details in the summer.
Old Sulians’ Rugby Club
Having a better time around mid-table in Somerset 1, and managing to put out 2 teams most weeks with support from a number of players from Bath Uni.
Headmaster’s Newsletter
My thanks for the usual comprehensive update on School from the Head.
And finally a number of Su’s attended the formal opening of the new Music Block. I managed a tour towards the end of the year and most impressive it is too. Not resting on their laurels, the School has now embarked on a new English Block next door. For those who recall it, these and the sixth from centre have taken over the junior rugby pitch and the notorious ‘bank’, down which the new ‘fags’ were summarily tossed before the days of health and safety!
And sadly I have to mention the passing of Robin Evans and Vic Wood (‘41)

Secretary’s Report
In common with many Clubs and Associations we are finding that there are few who are willing to assist in the running and general organisation – the common saying “If you don’t use it you will lose it” is true for our Association.
Each year we publish our newsletters and AGM dates but in general it is only the few regulars who attend, so please consider turning up at 7.30 on February 28th 2012 at the Bath Cricket Club. (Back in 1955, 34 attended the AGM!)
Appreciating that our members are getting older, (very few ex-pupils from Beechen Cliff have joined) it is heartening that our membership numbers are still strong. With our ageing members in mind, Tony Buss has been arranging ‘Senior’ activities in the last year. We enjoyed a guided tour of St Paul’s Cathedral in liaison with Terry Lee, followed by a visit to the Imperial War Museum. In March we are due to go to the London Museums (or shopping), with a possible visit late in the year to Portsmouth, all by coach with local pick-ups.
There are also regular informal lunches at places in the Bath area with the next at the Rose and Crown, Limpley Stoke. Further monthly venues will be published in the newsletter or can be had from Tony Buss.
We are sorry to have lost the following members in the past year: Charlie Ruff, Frank Wyatt (1947), Peggy Marquiss and Robin Evans.
The new events as noted above were well attended but the Approach Golf and the Walking Rally/Treasure Hunt were both poorly supported. Pebble Beach hopes to keep the Approach Golf Competition going for 2 more years when it will be 60 years old! Even in the days when Ken Green played attendances were thin! And we hope to persuade Robert Hill to devise another Treasure Hunt around the streets of Bath and would encourage all those capable of a short walk to support the 2012 event.
Use these events or lose them!
Peter Powell. Hon. Secretary.

Treasurer’s Report
A quieter year but still a small surplus at the end. The books are with our Auditor, John Foster, to whom I am, as usual, very grateful. I anticipate that we will show a surplus of £169 on the years activities. The full accounts will be produced at the AGM. I still have ties and a few books available at £10 each plus p&p for the book from the address in the newsletter.
Richard Wood Hon. Treasurer.

Hon. Secretary: Peter Powell
11 Kennet Park, Bathampton, Bath BA2 6SS 01225 466608
Hon. Treasurer: Richard Wood
63 Caledonian Road, East Twerton, Bath, BA2 3RD 01225 422210
Hon. Correspondent: Roger Wood.
101 Hansford Square, Combe Down, Bath, BA2 5LL 01225 832207

Alexandra Park, Bath BA2 4RE Telephone (01225) 480466
Fax (01225) 314025 Email headmaster@beechencliff.org.uk

January 2012

Dear Old Sulian,

It only seems like yesterday that I was putting pen to paper to write the Headmaster’s report to the Old Sulians before the onset of Autumn. Much has happened in the intervening period, although I am sure that my brief notes will hardly do justice to the activities being undertaken.

At the end of the summer I reported on the building developments; notably the opening of the new Music Centre and the Astro Turf/3G pitches. These are now both in full use and helping to make a significant difference to the lives of the boys across the age ranges. For Paul Calvert and Alison Nourse it has meant that the music lessons can take place free of interference from the wind howling through broken doors and thin walls or the noise created by the instrument practise taking place in the numerous small and ill sound-proofed rooms which had to serve as home to our skilled peripatetic team. The use of the all weather surfaces has, as you can imagine, been exceptional. The only problem we now seem to have is that we could do with a couple more to avoid the ongoing conflict between hockey, football and rugby coaches who want to train their charges on them! As someone who now supports the coaching of one of the sports on the new surfaces I can testify to the difference it is already making in developing the skills of the boys. In the summer the areas will be transformed during the day, giving access to our growing band of tennis players using new portable nets and posts.

You might possibly have read of the school’s success in attracting enough support for the ‘Pitch In’ project to begin work on re-laying the upper field pitches and installing some new drainage. The massive level of use of these pitches has made it very difficult to keep them in good condition and this project hopes to give the surfaces longevity and to make it possible to pass a football with every hope that it will arrive at its destination without multiple deviations via ruts and potholes!

Over the next few months there will be some further developments to the infrastructure of the school. The new rifle range will be officially opened in the next few weeks, providing access to all our boys and sixth form students to an exciting sport almost completely unavailable to most state schoolboys. The Beechen Cliff coaches, David Lee and Brigitte Yeshim, have worked tirelessly to develop opportunities for the boys and they are very clear the we will be forming teams to shoot regularly in national competitions. We wish them every success.

The new English block is at its half way stage in terms of construction, completion anticipated for April. This new six room suite of rooms and offices will provide the English department with exceptional accommodation and will act positively to support the goal of developing a love of language and literature. The members of the department are very excited about the move and anticipate ‘taking up residence’ in June.

A significant sum of money is being spent on the upgrade of the electricity supply to the school and to improve the lighting and sound systems in the main block – using an infrastructure which has been in place since the 1930s. As you can imagine, this is proving to be quite a challenge.

The school play ‘Lord of the Flies’ comes to the stage of the Main Hall at the end of February, an event to which you are all warmly invited. I very much hope that we can get plenty of support from parents and friends of the school to allow the young thespians to feel they have plenty of support for their efforts. I am sure it will be an impressive spectacle.

Sporting uptake has, as you would expect, been impressive in this academic year. The rugby season saw our boys in every age group do very well, securing strong wins against effective opposition and also attracting more participants then ever. The new boys in Year 7, for example, showed great spirit, more than one hundred of them representing their Houses in the inter- House competition in November. Indeed, so keen were they that more than fifty of them took up the opportunity to represent Beechen Cliff at A,B and C level fixtures. The rugby season is not yet complete, however, and the boys of three of our teams are still competing in the latter stages of their respective county cup competitions. I hope to bring you new of their success in the Spring offering of this newsletter.

Hockey is gaining momentum, helped in part by the fact that the new playing surfaces mean that all boys can participate, rather than just those who can make it to the University of Bath. Phil Ball, our new Master in charge of Hockey, is relishing the challenge of making the sport a significant player amongst the team sports which dominate life at Beechen Cliff School.

The football season began at the start of the Spring Term and there are very early signs of promise; some very good wins against QEH and Clifton High at differing age group level have shown that the ‘friendly’ form should prove effective when applied to the various cup challenges to come.

I suppose it is necessary to turn to the rather more fundamental elements before signing off this newsletter. The school remains as popular as ever; more first choices were recorded for our 2012 Year 7 intake than we have received at any time in the last nine years and the applications for our Sixth Form indicate another bumper crop of exceptional youngsters who want to be a part of the Beechen Cliff experience. I am sure they will enjoy all we have to offer. The Sutton Trust recently reported that Beechen Cliff is in the top twenty (occupying number fifteen spot) of the best state schools in terms of winning Oxbridge places for its students. Coming as this does at the same time as achievement data which cements our position as the strongest school on the area for achieving success with boys in a non-selective school, it is clear that the work of the Beechen Cliff staff does have a very positive impact on the chances for our boys and students.

Let us hope for another successful term. With the ongoing support of the Old Sulians and all those who have the school’s best interests at heart, I am sure it will be just that.

Andrew Davies

Roger W.

Headmasters Letter – September 2011