Welcome to the Old Aldenhamian Society

08 November 2013

Trevor Barton (K1971-75), Chairman of the Letchmore Trust was invited, along with fellow Trustees - James James-Crook (M1968-72) Peter Stevens (P1964-69) and Paul Shelton (P1965-70), to a reception and art exhibition in The Apthorp Room of The Wells Centre at the School on Thursday 7th November. The Headmaster hosted the event to celebrate the support given by The Letchmore Trust for the development of Art within the School.

Other invited guests included winners of the Letchmore Trust prizes, Art Scholars and their parents and other members of the Aldenham School Community, including OAs, who work in the fields of art and photography.

The Letchmore Trust was originally founded to own and look after the magnificent Stanley Spencer paintings, which many OAs will remember, hung in the School Chapel from 1958 until their sale in the 1990's. The Trustees have focussed on providing support to the School in the fields of Art and Music, as well as looking after a small number of works that still belong to the School. The Trust manages a portfolio of stocks and shares in order to generate an income which is used for a variety of purposes, including the annual Letchmore Trust Art prizes presented to students for outstanding art work.

The Apthorp Room in The Wells Centre provided the ideal venue for this event and the School will be encouraging local artists to take advantage of this magnificent space to display their own works to share for public pleasure and for sales. Anyone interested in hiring this venue should contact Andy Dawson, Lettings Manager on 01923 851669.

7-1 Win for OA Footballers

05 November 2013

Nick Baker (K1982-87), OA Recruitment and Development Coach, reported on a fantastic 7-1 win for the OA 1st XI against Old Kings Scholars on Saturday 2nd November.
All the stops were pulled out to ensure this match was not lost and huge congratulations must go to two players who scored the 7 goals between them. Gareth Thomas (K2004-09) & Matthew Hudson (M2005-10) played a most pivotal role in this important match and Chairman of the OAFC, Martyn Berg (B1989-94) said: "It was a very strong team effort with every player giving his all to clinch this success".
The Team: Elliott Edwards (L2005-10), Adam Caesari (P2000-07), Tom Hall (B200-07), Thomas Beckley (M2006-10), Andre Sharma (L2001-06), Rob Blackman (P2003-08), Jack Jones (L2011-13), Sam Kaye (P2001-08), Gareth Thomas (K2004-09), Matthew Hudson (M2005-08), Yohei Otsuka (P1998-2003), Martyn Berg (B1989-94), Patrick Harding (L1997-2002), Hamoun Jamali (L2003-08)
Well done and keep up the GREAT work!
You can follow the OAFC on Facebook and Twitter to keep up to the minute with all their news.

OA Lodge Joins Forces for Dinner

01 November 2013

The Old Aldenhamian Lodge had a most enjoyable evening on the 16th October 2013, joined by representatives from sister Public School Lodge Council (PSLC) from Old Pauline, Ardingly College, Old Marlburians, Old Westminster, Old Salopians, Old Tonbridgians and Old Alleynians (Dulwich College). The evening began with Lodge business followed by a splendid dinner at the RAF Club.

Barber Cup Eton Fives

21 October 2013

Barber Cup: Aldenham vs St Olave’s

Despite a valiant effort from Aldenham’s six players, the OAs were knocked out of the Barber Cup Eton fives competition by a strong St Olave’s team in October.

OAs Josh Rose and Carl Rennie (1st pair); Rubel Mallik and Andrew Rennie (2nd pair); and Darshan and Nirav Patel (3rd pair) battled hard but were beaten 1-2 overall.

The OAs faced some of the game’s most highly ranked players. Josh and Carl lost 0-3 to Pete Cohen and Dave Mew. Rubel and Andrew lost 1-3 to Howard Wiseman and Will Phillips while cousins Darshan and Nirav Patel won 3-0 beating Chris Self and Sanjay Kundu.

This was the first time the OAs had entered the knockout competition in many years and, although we had home advantage, St Olave’s competitive fives experience shone through especially on receiving the cut. Both first and second pairs struggled to get the cuts up consistently but when they did were more than a match for their opposition.

Congratulations must go to Darshan and Nirav on their 3-0 win. They took the first two games with relative ease but were set back on their heels in the third when St Olave’s took the first 4 points. But the left-handed duo fought back to take the third game 14-11.

Report by
Phil Lyndon (K1976-81)

Regional Lunch Success

11 October 2013

OA ties were out in force on Wednesday 9th October, for a Regional Lunch at Stovells restaurant in Chobham, Surrey. Stovell’s Once again we were able to arrange private dining for the 31 guests in this superb restaurant. The unique environment of a grade II listed, 16th Century, Tudor farmhouse was perfect for the occasion and the contemporary European menu offered a choice of dishes that suited all tastes and requirements. The venue this time came recommended by Tony Engel (P1956-59) and it turned out to be a very popular choice, thank you Tony. The Headmaster, James Fowler joined the OAs for their lunch and enjoyed chatting to them all about their experiences at the School in times gone by. The ages ranged from 49 – 90, with the most senior OA present reciting the School Grace in Latin as if he were indeed still at School! Well done Christopher Leigh-Hunt (B1936-40). Pictures of this popular event are on the School Facebook page Facebook and more will be available for members of the OA Society to view on the Event Galleries. If you do not have, or have forgotten your unique log-in details, contact the Development & OA Office oas@aldenham.com

Regional Lunch - Surrey

09 October 2013

OA ties were out in force on Wednesday 9th October, for a Regional Lunch at Stovells restaurant in Chobham, Surrey. Stovell’s Once again we were able to arrange private dining for the 31 guests in this superb restaurant. The unique environment of a grade II listed, 16th Century, Tudor farmhouse was perfect for the occasion and the contemporary European menu offered a choice of dishes that suited all tastes and requirements. The venue this time came recommended by Tony Engel (P1956-59) and it turned out to be a very popular choice, thank you Tony. The Headmaster, James Fowler joined the OAs for their lunch and enjoyed chatting to them all about their experiences at the School in times gone by. The ages ranged from 49 – 90, with the most senior OA present reciting the School Grace in Latin as if he were indeed still at School! Well done Christopher Leigh-Hunt (B1936-40). Pictures of this popular event are on the School Facebook page Facebook and more will be available for members of the OA Society to view on the Event Galleries. If you do not have, or have forgotten your unique log-in details, contact the Development & OA Office oas@aldenham.com

New Kindle Publication Written by a Young OA

19 September 2013

Congratulations to recent School leaver, Elliott Worsley (L2006-13) on the publication of a document he has written called “University Application Explained”. This can now be purchased through Amazon Kindle for £3 and gives the experiences of a successful university applicant. It contains useful tips and questions to ask when applying for a place at University. Elliott successfully gained his 1st choice place to read Product Design Engineering at Loughborough University. Current students will find this useful as they start their own application journey.

Golf Practice Facility - Sponsord by OAGS

02 July 2013

Michael Capon the current President of the Old Aldenhamian Golf Society was invited to officially open a new golf practice facility at Aldenham on Wednesday 26th June. Michael, along with Ian Eggleden (SHE1958-63), OAGS Hon. Secretary, Bob Coombes (SHE1944-47), who played for 55 consecutive years in the OAGS Halford Hewitt team and Will Kirby (L2006-11),the youngest member of the team, had lunch with the Headmaster, James Fowler, Director of Sport, Andy Stevenson and Masters in Charge of Golf, David Boothby and Alexis Shead. They were also joined by current students who chatted enthusiastically about their mutual interest in golf.
After the ceremony, those present took their chance to tee off across Top Field in an impromptu competition to win a set of golf balls emblazoned with the Aldenham School crest. Bob Coombes had the honour of taking the first swing from one of five bays, but the nearest to the designated red flag and so winner of the sleeve of balls was current Martineau’s student, 12 year old Jamie Gall.
The young Aldenham golfers’ success carried on throughout the afternoon when the students beat the OAs in a golf tournament at Porters Park.
The School would like to publicly thank the OA Golf Society for their contribution to the Annual Fund 2012/13, which made the installation of the golf tee area possible.

John Dewes Cricket Match

02 July 2013

The third John Dewes cricket match was played at Aldenham on Monday 24th June 2013. This match has become an annual event, providing an opportunity for the School's 1st IX to play a guest team and to commemorate the achievement of John Dewes (B1940-45) as an England Test Cricketer. This year all past team players were invited to watch the game and seven of those came along to enjoy the competition, which was eventually won by the visiting side. All OAs are welcome to come and watch this event and to join the teams for a cricket tea. Watch this space for details of next year's John Dewes match or contact the Development & OA Office for details oas@aldenham.com

New Trophy in Memory of an OA

01 July 2013

Joe Balson (K1999-2006) returned to Aldenham on Tuesday 25th June to present a trophy in memory of a school friend, Humair Rahimtula (K2003-05) who died in August 2012 at the age of 25. The trophy will be awarded annually to the top football goal scorer, as Humair was a keen footballer and went on to play professionally in India. The first recipient of the award is Oran Swales (R2012-Present), who scored 25 goals last season, congratulations to him and thank you to Joe for organising the donation to which other OAs who knew Humair had contributed.