The Annual General Meeting of the Association will be held on Friday, 18th February 2004 at 8.00 pm. prompt at the Old Sulians' Rugby Club, Lansdown, by kind permission of the Rugby 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 his intention in writing to the Honorary Secretary, not less than seven days before the meeting.
AGENDA
19. QUORUM FOR MEETINGS The following number of members entitled to vote shall constitute a quorum at the meeting concerned:- Annual General Meeting, twelve; Extraordinary General Meeting; ten; Executive Committee Meeting, five.
Substitute for twelve, ten, five
Proposal a) eight, eight, four
or
Proposal b) five, five, three.
NEWS
45 members assembled at the Lansdown Grove for an excellent meal, on the occasion of the Annual Dinner. The toast was eloquently proposed by Graham Knight, who once again filled his own table with young contempories.
Ladies Night, at Sham Castle at the end of November, saw 54 gather for a themed '40's' Night. Alex Wood wishes to apologise for giving Harry the idea for his costume; Alan Blake diplomatically under-ranked the President by one stripe; John Grebbell appeared a cross between Glen Miller and Sgt. Bilko; there were sundry Land Girls, Wardens and LDV's and the Grandads Wood, Wing Commander and Lieutenant Commander respectively, followed the excellent dinner with songs of the period. I recall that the Road to Mandalay seemed very long that night! As to the alleged exploits of your esteemed Hon. Sec., I think a veil should be thickly drawn! Pictures of the evening can be found on the web-site.
Events at School started with the annual Piano Concert. The numbers were even larger this year, with virtuoso performers from all years. A varied evening also saw the Headmaster make his concert debut, along with the Head Boy and Head Girl. You needed to be there to appreciate the talent!
Presentation Evening saw David Bell, HM Chief Inspector of Schools making the keynote speech, and a special presentation to Old Boy and Athens Olympic Gold Medallist, Jason Gardener. I had the pleasure of presenting the Sulian Awards; for Literary Achievement to Francesca Heaven, and for Advanced Technology to Christopher King.
Finally, a number of Su's braved the chill to visit the Abbey for the annual Carol Service.
Major news from Beechen Cliff announced at the Presentation Evening concerned the intended retirement of the Headmaster, Roy Ludlow. He will stand down in July after 15 years at School. There will be time for comment later.
I am delighted to report that the Old Sulians' Rugby Club are having a much better time this season. Dropping to Somerset 2 has resulted in 7 wins and 1 loss so far, including victory over the Old Enemy!
An article in the Chronicle last October, gave details of the School's one time entry into the 'Top of the Form' radio show. A none too illustrious performance prompted Peter Jenkins.(1942) to wish it to be known that he was not the Jenkins mentioned! For those ex-pats out there, I am given to understand that The Bath Chronicle web-site, which can be found at www.thisisbath.co.uk often contains items of interest on the 'Down memory lane' page.
Just after the last newsletter we heard the sad news that Marianne Sagar had died. Wife of the legendary 'Jim' she was well known to many of us.
Note from the Secretary.
The Association continues to thrive in numbers but not in servants! The proposed amendment to The Rules would allow the events and activities to continue for as long as they are supported. An influx of volunteers for the Executive Committee would render it unnecessary. The AGM will debate the options. Please do your best to come.
Extra News.
Taking advantage of the room left, I can add that Brian French came up from 'Down Under' last October, dropped in to the Rugby Club and visited old friends. In the next issue, when space is less of a premium I will try to add pictures of the incoming and outgoing Presidents for you to throw darts at or wrap your chips in! And of course the Years Events list.
And finally, a bit of a grovel. Some of you may not have received the last few newsletters. I would like to say it was a computer fault! But, in truth, it was the operator. Described by my sons, both in the IT business, as knowing just enough to be dangerous, I had been using an out-of-date file for the mailing labels. The studiously updated file was in a different place! My apologies. The newsletters appear around the beginning of February, May and September. If yours doesn't, please let me know.
Hon Secretary's Report 2004
2004 was another good year for the Old Sulians' as you will have noted from the Newsletters.
This year I have taken the opportunity to look back at 1971. It was the year that Tony Bowrey suggested a 'Ladies Night' - little did he think that he would still be organising it in 2004!
The first occasion was held at the Assembly Rooms, at £2 a head!
At the AGM, Tony Bowrey was elected President; Derek Smith, Secretary; Bill Wood, Treasurer; Ken Burt, Dance Sec.; Bert Marquiss, Dinner Sec.; Peter Jenkins, Hon. Correspondent; and Peter Beach, Tennis Sec.
A concert was arranged to be held at the Assembly Rooms. Initially the response was poor despite many posters and adverts in the local press. In the end it proved to be a great success thanks to the efforts of John Ruddick, Alan (Basher) Bennett and Glyn Maddocks. Peter Bolton, the Headmaster, gave his full support. Amongst the performers was Raymond Leppard. A profit of £300 was recorded which was later donated to the School Orchestra fund.
This was also the year that City of Bath Boys' School became part of Beechen Cliff School. The Memorial Room was to become a Masters Common Room, but then changed to a Sixth Form Common Room. The chairs were stated to have 'gone missing' from the Memorial Room, and the Memorial Plaques were transferred to the main staircase. BUT what happened to the 'Sunburst' clock, and the carved oak Memorial Room doors? Does anyone know? If you do, please let me know.
During the past year we were sad to lose Dr Keith Hoskins, in a tragic accident. He was a former master at School and a regular supporter at the Dinner.
And finally, as always, we are very grateful to the Rugby Club for the continued use of the Club House at Lansdown, for our Committee meetings.
Peter Powell. Hon. Secretary.
Hon Treasurers Report 2004
2004 was an exceptional year financially, with a surplus of about £320. We do not set out to make large amounts, merely to cover our costs, but the difference between profit and loss can be a few tickets up or down at the Dinner and Ladies Night. This year both were well attended and all who promised to come, came or paid! Once again we had generous sponsorship from Patchway Autoparts towards the Dinner. There were 17 new members and 1 deletions, giving a net membership at years end of 251. This was helped by the School's 100 Year Exhibition, which attracted a lot of visitors. Our Hon. Auditor, John Foster, has audited the accounts and I am, again, very grateful to him. The Balance Sheet will be circulated at the AGM.
Ties are still available from the address on the newsletter, at £4 each, or £4.50 by post.
Rich Wood. Honorary Treasurer.
Dear Old Sulian,
A Personal Statement
As most of you will be aware, I have now announced that I shall be retiring at the end of the current academic year. I informed Mr C J Oldham, Chairman of Governors of my intentions in the summer, and consequently thereafter informed all Governors and colleagues before making a public announcement at Presentation Evening at the end of November. For me, it has been a great privilege and pleasure to be Headmaster of the school, and indeed, it still is. However I have now turned 60 and God willing will have completed 15 years in post come Easter. I had always felt that this would be the right time to stand down. I hope still to be young enough to enjoy retirement - I hope I am not deluding myself! May I emphasise how much I have always enjoyed my contacts with Old Sulians, both on an individual basis and in terms of the Association. Moreover I have enormously appreciated the support I have received from you all in my work. I was recently granted the singular honour of being asked to become an Honorary Vice President of the Association, and this I have been delighted to accept. I am most grateful and shall look forward, all being well, to continued contact for many years to come. While talking of Old Sulians, it is a pleasure to report that two Old Boys of the school have recently made contact with me. One is Dave Coles, who was at school during the Second World War and who has written some interesting material on his early childhood, his schooldays and his early days at work in the civil service. The second Old Boy to contact me is Raymond Moon. I met Dave Coles at school recently and am looking forward to meeting Raymond Moon in March as he is to spend the day in the school when the concert band and other groups will be rehearsing for the March concert. Needless to say, I have recommended both of them to contact Roger Wood, and sign on the dotted line! I have often spoken to Roger about commission, but sadly your subscription is such that it would not add greatly to my retirement pension!).
Autumn Term
There is no doubt that the highlight of the Autumn Term was the visit by Jason Gardener, MBE, Old Boy of the school and Olympic Gold Medal Winner of course, to the school on Friday 15th October. Jason had lunch in my study with a group of staff and sixth formers and then spoke to the whole school in the sports hall. I don't think any of us present will ever forget the reception the boys gave Jason, for they stood and cheered for minutes on end. He was visibly moved, and said it was the finest reception he had ever received. Dave Morrell, Assistant Headmaster had the inspired idea of projecting a video of the race onto the sports hall wall. This we did both at the beginning and the end of the assembly and it added enormously to the occasion. In addition the concert band played Chariots of Fire and then Jason spoke of his experiences in winning the gold medal, both before, during and after, and answered questions. I have rarely seen the children so excited. All in all, it was a splendid and memorable afternoon. We are enormously proud of Jason, not simply because of his athletic achievements, outstanding though they are, but because of the standards by which he lives his life both professionally and personally. The success could not have come to a finer young man.
Other notable events of the Autumn Term were as follow: The annual Piano Concert on Tuesday 19th October, when no fewer than 26 boys, both pupils and Sixth Form students gave piano recitals. The Presentation Evening was on Tuesday 23rd November in the Sports Hall as ever, when our Guest of Honour was Mr David Bell, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools. He gave us an excellent speech. Also present again was Jason Gardener. Mr Bell, presented Jason with a pair of gold cufflinks which were inscribed with the school crest - the griffin - the concept being of course to link his Olympic achievement with the school. All in all, it was a splendid evening.
You will know that the Old Sulians Annual Dinner had taken place on Friday 29th October and was most enjoyable. In addition, my wife and I were honoured to be the guests of Roger and Marcia Wood at Ladies Night on Saturday 27th November. The term was rounded off as ever, with the End of Term Assembly for the whole school in the Sports Hall, where our Guest of Honour was the Reverend Jackie Taylor, the new curate at St Lukes. This event is always a celebration of the various activities and achievements of the Autumn Term. The Reverend Taylor gave a number of prizes and certificates and there was music from the Concert Band. The following day saw our whole school Carol Service, again in the Sports Hall, where our guest was the Reverend David Perryman, Vicar (Jackie Taylor's Boss!) who gave the Bidding Prayer and also the Blessing. Immediately after this event, we said farewell to Mary Crosland who has been Deputy Headmistress for 14 years and who had served the school splendidly. Her devotion to the cause has been legendary indeed. We also said farewell to Mr J A Scopes and Miss D James. They had been with us for one term only to teach Business Studies and Mathematics respectively. They had completed teaching contracts in Brunei in the summer, and are preparing to teach in South America in a few weeks time. They were both excellent members of staff and their commitment to the school was all the more exemplary given the temporary nature of their posts. We are grateful to them all, particularly of course to Mary Crosland.
I know that many of you will be delighted to learn of an outstanding Rugby Season, especially for the First XV. Victories have been scored against St Brendans (for the first time ever!), Pates (the first time in 30 years!) and the old enemy King Edwards. In addition, the team reached the fifth round of the Daily Mail Vase (the last 16 nationally) where they were beaten last Tuesday 25th January by Crypt School in Gloucester. I travelled with the team for the match and can report that although the score was 29 points to 6, it was a very fair result and Crypt thoroughly deserved their victory. It was a wonderful cup run. The team is still in the Somerset County Cup and we are very much hoping to retain the Trophy that we won so convincingly a year ago.
The New Term
Mr P F Watts, formerly Head of Science has stepped up from Assistant Headmaster to be Acting Deputy Headmaster, and Mr K S Mann, Head of Languages becomes Acting Assistant Headmaster whilst retaining the languages post. It will be for the new Head to have a substantial say in permanent appointments to these positions. We have also welcomed Mr J J O'Sullivan, our new Head of Economics and Business Studies (Mr O'Sullivan joins us from Crypt School, but was unable to give us any inside information on their First XV!), and also Mrs P Harper who is teaching mathematics on a temporary basis until the end of the Summer Term. We wish both new colleagues a happy and productive time at the school.
As far as sport is concerned, hockey and football are now well underway with the Hockey First XI already scoring some notable victories, namely against Kingswood and King Edwards.
Please note in your diaries the school concert which is to be played Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th March. All Old Sulians will be more than welcome of course and please do come and join me for a glass of sherry in my study at 6.45. The concert itself will begin at 7.30.
You will be interested to know that the position of Head has now been advertised and we have had 55 enquiries which is a pleasingly high number. Interviews are to take place on Tuesday and Wednesday 22nd and 23rd February. There is to be an interviewing panel of eight Governors advised by Mr M Young, Director of Education at the LEA and Mr I Thompson, LEA Advisor and formerly Headteacher of Crispin School, Street and also by Mr B Coulshed, currently Headmaster at Parmenter School in Watford . . . . watch this space!
May I close by expressing the wish that you have all had a most enjoyable Christmas and New Year break, and wishing you all a happy and healthy 2005.
Yours sincerely,
R A Ludlow