A big thank you to all of you who attended one of our events over the weekend. It was a very successful reunion with over 100 Old Grovians returning to the school over Saturday and Sunday.
The weekend started with an informal get together in the Hastings-Long Gallery on Saturday evening, this included a supper and disco and the bar was open until late. The evening was attended by over 60 Old Grovians and staff and continued into the small hours of Sunday morning.
As you will see from the picture there were a great deal of Old Grovians back that left in 2001, including Ben Fear, Rhodri Jones, Stuart Vincent, Martyn Bray and Dan Gullick. You may also see Keith Jones (st 78-) on the left. The evening was a great success and we are looking at making this into an annual event (next year this will be Banqueting Dinner in the dining Hall to celebrate the Bicentenary)...
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The Sunday started with the Remembrance Service in Chapel, which included the Laying of Wreaths ceremony conducted by the Chairman of the OGA Matthew Gullick. This was followed by refreshments and the OGA AGM which was held in the Greenwood Building. The AGM included the induction of Lord Michael Walker of Aldringham (58-63) as OGA Chairman for the Bicentenary year.
The day followed with the annual Old Grovians netball and rugby matches. The netball started at 1.30pm and it was nice to see 15 old girls back to play, this allowed us to play against the school and also in a match against each other, with the teams being picked based on age! I am pleased to report that not only did the Old Grovians beat the school but also the older Old Grovians' team beat the younger ones! I was obviously playing in the older team!
The Rugby match Chairman's V President's (Headmaster) XV kicked off at 2.30pm, the teams were also picked by age and despite the younger ones looking better on paper the older team were the wining side (nothing to do with the younger ones being out until the small hours I am sure!).
The new Chairman Lord Walker quickly chose his team as the winning team (following the result!) and the trophy was awarded to the captain Anthony Cadman (87-94). The player of the match went to Tom Gough (92-03), and the new Eastwood-Smith trophy for ‘Spirit of the Game’ was awarded to Dan Gullick (94-01), in memory of Scott Eastwood-Smith (91-00) who tragically died this year. May I thank the Old Grovians’ Rugby club for supporting the game despite having played a league fixture the day before.
The day came to a close after the rugby with a fantastic afternoon tea in the Hastings-Long Gallery where Old Grovians of a variety of different ages were able to relax, take in the atmosphere and enjoy a coffee or a pint from the bar.
May I thank again all those Old Grovians who returned to the school over the weekend and the school staff (still here and those retired) who supported the various events. Next year we are celebrating our Bicentenary and this weekend next year will begin with a Banqueting Dinner in the Dining Hall on the Saturday night , tickets will be available from April.
Until our next Old Grovians' event (2011 Leavers Reunion Friday 16th December) , I wish you well and please keep in touch!
Sam Cadman, Development Manager
For further information on any of the above, please contact Sam Cadman at school on 0113 250 2477 or
The Leavers reunion on Friday 16th December was incredibly successful with over 50 leavers from 2011 returning to the school for a drinks reception in the Hastings Long Gallery.
A big thank you to those who attended . We will be doing this event annually inviting the past 3 years of leavers.