Old Sulians' Association

Newsletter – September 2011

OLD SULIANS’ ASSOCIATION

Newsletter

September  2011

www.oldsulians.org.uk

As I write this in the middle of another ‘English Summer’ it is cold and drizzling (I put this in so that our antipodean members can gloat!). The Annual Dinner is the next big event. Attendances at the golf and treasure hunt have been low and next year will be a make or break time. It is very dispiriting for the organisers and the events must be at risk if not supported. Hopefully the Annual Dinner will fare better and recent years have been very encouraging. Full details are found elsewhere so please book early.

On 14th July, 13 members of the 5th Form of the old City of Bath Boys’ School who took their School Certificate in 1949 gathered at The George at Bathampton for a reunion lunch. Organised by Mike Hucker,  they tried desperately to remember old times and old friends.
The photo can be found by downloading the pdf copy on our website and shows l – r: P Dyer, P Powell, B Thomas, D Francis, M Hucker, C Bush, A Blake, T Light, C Windsor, M Moore, C Shackell, M Challenor, and C Hallett.

NEWS

Raymond Leppard

The distinguished former pupil visited School in May to sign copies of his autobiography “Music Made Me”, the UK proceeds of which will go to the School’s Music Centre project. A goodly number of us met and chatted with him, were entertained by the School Big Band with some members coming straight from exams, and then had an external tour of the new music block. Paul Calvert, the Head of music, was busy measuring up for curtains for his new penthouse suite!

And talking of music, a reminder that if you have any musical instruments stashed away in the loft/garage/box-room that you no-longer play or use, then a good home could be found for them in this new project, the Head’s own ‘El sistema’.

EVENTS PAST

9th June  Association  v NHSOB.  Alan Blake reports: The weather was excellent and due to the absence of a couple of Sulians. we fielded a team which comprised two guest players. An excellent lunch, ploughmans of course, preceded what turned out to be a good round of golf for 5 teams of 4. The course was in particularly good fettle as the Newport Golf Club was about to host it’s Open Championship, so we were very lucky. The afternoons  golf was enjoyed by all concerned and resulted in a win for the visitors. {We tend to gloss over the actual scoreline]. After a good shower to ease away the aches collected during the afternoon, we sat down to a superb dinner. All in all a good day for Mick Moore‘s team.  .

17th June Association Golf Day.  Mike Wood reports:

Sulian golfers took to the fairways of Bath Golf Club in testing, wet conditions on Friday June 17th to continue their annual battle for the trophies and prizes. It’s not known if Roy Aust has any ‘Irish blood’ but he emulated Rory McIllroy’s feat in the US Open by taking all before him and winning the Tony Bowrey Trophy for a best gross 75, The Association Cup with a best Net 68, the ‘Longest Drive’ and the ‘Nearest the Pin’. If protocol had permitted, he would have also won the Old Tossers Tankard but that went to Robert Hill and on count back, Roy lost out to Barry Marsh who won the Rose Bowl with 39 stableford points. As usual, the prizes were spread around and shared by those who followed closely (or not so closely!) in Roy’s wake. With the Club Championships being played the following day, the course was in splendid condition and the fare served up by House Manager Richard Lennon and his staff matched their normal high standards. Our thanks go to Bath Golf Club for their continued support and hospitality. Numbers unfortunately continue to dwindle! If anyone likes to plan their year early and to pre-empt anyone suggesting they didn’t have enough notice, get Friday June 15th 2012 in the diary now!

6th July  Approach Golf. Rich Wood reports:

Five players braved the rain and wind. Two completed all 18 holes, the other three retiring after the first 9 due to worsening weather conditions. The result, scored over the first 9 holes, was: 1st Rich Wood,  2nd Peter Beach, and  3rd Alan Blake. The Approach Golf tournament, which has been running since 1953, will run for a further two years making a nice round 60 years, at which point we’ll also have run out of room for names on the cup.

Treasure Hunt or ‘Robert’s Ramble’.  Rich Wood reports:
Four teams headed out on a treasure hunt organised by Robert Hill around some of the lesser-known parts of Bath. Fortunately the rain held off for the evening. Unfortunately there was a rather poor turnout, partly due to clashing with the 49ers gathering held the same day. The results were:
1st Peter Beach,  =2nd Peter Powell,  =2nd Rich Wood, 4th Alex Wood.
£11 was raised, to be donated to a charity of the Presidents choosing.

Trip to Imperial War Museum, Lambeth.

23rd October. Tony Buss has arranged a group booking on a coach trip to Lambeth. Further trips are being mooted. If you have any thoughts please give Tony a ring on 01225 404625 or e-mail:  bussstop@sky.com

Informal Lunches

Have proved fairly popular so we are carrying on for the Autumn. The schedule is:

September 14th  at The Mill at Rode,

October 12th at The Globe at Newton St Loe,

November 9th at The Boathouse at Bathwick

Contact Peter Powell for any directions. Make your own arrangements, pay your own bills. Meet from 12 noon, and give yourselves a treat and enjoy lunch with friends.

Membership

Whilst attending the reunion mentioned on the front,  Peter Dyer, Chris Shackell and Cecil Hallett were painlessly relieved of a Life Members sub by our silver tongued  Secretary. All ‘49’ers obviously!

Old Sulians’ Rugby Club

Celebrating 50 years on Lansdown and the start of another season. We wish them well and you are assured of a welcome up on the hill. I understand that Brian French will be up from down under and is hoping to be there on the 10th September. What better excuse for those of you who remember him or owe him a pint!

Headmaster’s Newsletter

I am very grateful to the Headmaster for his comprehensive end-of-term report that you should find enclosed. I also note from The Chron that this year’s crop of exam results look to be very promising, particularly the ‘A’ levels.

And finally  -  the next newsletter will be out for February 2012 if we are spared! If you have any news you would like to share please get in touch. My thanks to my current correspondents and I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible at the Annual Dinner.

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

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Headmasters Letter – September 2011

July 2011

Dear Old Sulian,

Another year draws to a close and we prepare to release the boys into the care of their very enthusiastic parents for five weeaks of sun….

Much has been achieved over the last few months, allowing the School to move closer to its goal of providing the very best ‘rounded education’ for boys. The Governing Body of Beechen Cliff have re-iterated the intention to create depth and range in the provision offered; both in terms of the curriculum and extra-curricular life. In addition, there is a significant aspiration to develop stronger links with those in the community who are associated with the school, utilising their talents to provide ‘services’ to the school for short projects. This support may well include the support to additional rugby, football and cricket teams or even helping the school with professional issues to help complete a project required. It will be interesting to see how this particular area develops over the next year.

The summer has been busy – the School became an Academy over the Easter break and we have headed off into the “Independent School” world full of hope for the immediate future. The start of the era has seen a number of building projects being developed; the Music Centre will be ready for occupation in September and will provide some much needed inspirational accommodation for our musicians. We anticipate an official opening some point in September – hopefully supported by a musician who will be known to the boys. I had not heard of any of the names put forward – so they must be perfect.

During the same month we will open the new ‘astro turf’ and 3G surfaces. These will be exceptionally popular facilities and allow us to alleviate the wear on the upper field pitches. They really are magnificent to behold and I extend a general invitation to you to wander up and have a look during August – I’m sure they will look at their best prior to the boys being ‘unleashed’ upon them!

We anticipate a further build project being undertaken over the next few months, allowing us to remove the RS Centre ( a very dilapidated hut) and to replace it with a building housing six new classrooms. The old rugby pitch will be transformed. You will be heartened to know that we have no intention to update any element of the Main School building; rather the opposite, in fact, as we start to try and ‘strip back’ the horrors of 1960s additions to move towards a look which is slightly more faithful to the 1930s building. I was disappointed to be over-ruled on the subject of wooden floors on both corridors – teachers complained that it would be too noisy when one thousand boys walked along them. For my part I really couldn’t see the problem ….

Future aspirations include a large pavilion to replace the temporary building which greets you as you enter the site, and a large changing area/clubhouse near the old redgra site. If you know anyone with three quarters of a million pounds to spare, please feel free to point them in my direction. You can rest assured that all the changes we make are always planned around ensuring we can maintain the ethos and sense of tradition which is fundamental to the success of your school. I very much doubt we would ever be seen as one of the soulless glass and aluminium ‘palaces’ which have been erected to alleviate the ills of modern education.

The Chef continues to inspire our young charges, his foray into animal husbandry having provided eggs for the masses and pork for the hungry schoolboy diner. Our first two pigs departed in early July and returned to us a week later. They were very well received. When Ofsted came to visit in February they were very taken with the quality of Tim Fletcher’s work, particularly his ability to inspire the boys, many of whom have decided they would like to pursue a career in food. In October Tim will be running a ‘game week’, allowing the pupils to sample the joys of pheasant, partridge, pigeon, venison, duck and rabbit. The week is sponsored by BASCL and a generous parent, determined to give children a chance to find out what is available beyond the ‘everyday’ fare.

A long summer of sport has seen our cricketers achieve success in a range of matches. The Under 12A team made it to the semi final of the Bristol and Bath Cup, falling to a very strong Bristol Grammar School team. On a tour of South Devon the boys won two matches but were defeated by Exeter School and a strong Under 13 Paignton Cricket Club team. The Under 13, 14, 15 and 16 teams all had mixed fortunes although the Under 14A team won all but one match – unfortunately the defeat was to Kingswood in the third round of the cup. The 1^st XI defeated the MCC and the Forty Club, showing their usual high level of sportsmanship, gathering further admirers of the school. Tom Weaver of our Lower Sixth received a special MCC award as an outstanding young cricketer. Tom’s batting and wicketkeeping contribution has been quite exceptional. It is clear that the young talent coming through the school will continue to form wonderful sportsmen – hopefully able to become the team members of local adult clubs, brining on youngsters of their own and aware of the work that Beechen Cliff undertook in making them the men they became.

We have seen success in local athletics meetings, the Under 15 boys winning the Somerset competition in June. Michael Gardner, 15, is undoubtedly a significant talent at high jump and will be a name to look out for in the future. Given the ditch and puddle-covered fields on which they train, it is remarkable that the boys achieve at the level they do.

Visits to Barbados (supposedly for cricket ….), Moscow Space Centre, Normandy, Spain and Morocco (Duke of Edinburgh) are significant features of the summer enrichment programme and have been very much enjoyed by all those pupils participating. A serious of arduous challenges have now passed – most particularly Ten Tors, sixteen boys acting as wonderful ambassadors for us in the rugged wilds of Devonshire. Some of these boys then put themselves forward amongst the fifty-three who volunteered for the Centurion Challenge. The one hundred miles were completed, in the allotted time scale, by thirty-one of our boys. Footsore, mentally shattered and not wanting to see a canal footpath again, they pushed themselves to the absolute limit.

Beechen Cliff continues to send the boys out to challenge themselves to be more than they first thought possible – something which clearly was a feature of City of Bath Boys’ School. Let us hope it will continue to be an area which thrives and develops. “Dives in Omnia” might mean more than we first imagined!

The Annual Arts Exhibition gave our young artists an opportunity to show off the fruits of their labours and this year was no exception to the rule of excellent annual outcomes. If you were able to visit, you will, I am sure, agree with me that the output is very impressive.

Visits from Old Boys of the school continue to be a feature of life in the summer term. Very often we find gentlemen, generally accompanied by a grandchild, wandering around reception and requesting the ‘freedom of the building’. We are happy to oblige, although, unlike the visit of Raymond Leppard, the visitor is not taken out for dinner after the tour of the site.

The general situation in the Bath secondary schools continues to be one of ‘flux’. The new administration appears to have decided upon maintaining Culverhay School, reversing the decision from the consultation which took place over the last five years. My assumption is that there will have to be another school earmarked for closure as there clearly are not enough children in the city to fill the schools in existence. At post-16 level the same problem is being engineered. The proposed new Sixth Form at St Gregory’s, together with the provision of other Bath schools and within the City of Bath College will mean that we will probably have half-empty Sixth Forms in the next five years. Possibly I am wrong and will be happy to stand corrected if the decisions being made at a local level will really lead to better overall provision. I have my doubts.

You will have had enough of this newsletter by this time, understandably, so I will draw to a close. May I thank you for your long-standing support of our school and wish you a very positive summer.

Yours sincerely,

Andrew Davies

Headmaster

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Old Sulians’ Rugby Club – 50 Years on Lansdown.

On Saturday 27th August the Su’s celebrate their 50 years on Lansdown. The club will be open from 11 am, and a match between a Sulians President’s XV and Bath Combination Vets will start at 1.30. The bar will be open all day and there will be a hog-roast, bands, a bouncy castle and games for children.
As well as an opportunity to catch up on old friends and old times, the club are raising money to upgrade the electrics and the floodlights.
All Sulians are invited to help celebrate the occasion.

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Reminder: Treasure Hunt – Thusday July 14th

July 14th Start from opposite the Pump Room by Bath Abbey from 6 pm.
After many successful events Sue Trude is standing down but has found a willing successor in Robert Hill. He will be aiming to stress you all on what we hope, will be a balmy summer evening. Teams of not more than 4. Modest entry fee. See parts of Bath that you didn’t know existed. Argue, chat with the tourists and try to fit in a pint on the way.

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Approach Golf – 6pm July 6th

A gentle reminder that the annual Sulian Approach Golf tournament will take place on 6th July at the golf course in Victoria Park. Meet by 6pm to pair up and head out for 18 of the finest holes of golf that Victoria Park has to offer, followed by post-match analysis and refreshments in a nearby hostelry.

Let’s see if we can reach double figures this year (I’m not referring to my putting ability).

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Raymond Leppard

Details of the recent visit by Raymond Leppard can be found in the School Newsletter of 25th May on the School website, or by following this link: http://www.beechencliff.org.uk/files/25May.pdf

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PDF Newsletters – May 2011

Newsletter – May 2011

Headmasters Letter – May 2011

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