750 Events

Abingdon 750 Events during 2006

JANUARY
20 Jan	New Year Charity Concert in aid of South-East Asia Disaster Relief Fund. Amey Theatre.
FEBRUARY
3 Feb	Story and History: Where Journalism Meets the Past. Ben Macintyre (OA 1981), author and columnist for The Times, spoke to a meeting of the History Society. Charles Maude Room.
6/7 Feb	Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Amey Theatre
8 Feb	Chamber Concert given by some of the School's prize-winning ensembles in the Roysse Room, Guildhall, Abingdon. From 1563 to 1870 the Roysse Room was the schoolroom of the old grammar school.
MARCH
2 Mar	The Vindolanda Writing Tablets: Professor Alan Bowman, Camden Professor of Ancient History at the University of Oxford, addressed an open meeting of the History Society. The writing tablets are post-card sized slivers of wood, used for record-keeping and letter-writing. They provide a rare and fascinating insight into 1 st and 2 nd Century life at the Roman hill fort of Vindolanda, near Hadrian’s Wall, where they were excavated. The first Camden Professor of Ancient History, appointed in 1622, was a former Headmaster of Abingdon, Degorie Wheare.
5 Mar	Haydn's Creation, performed by the Joint Choral Society of Abingdon and the School of St Helen and St Katharine.
27 Mar - 1 Apr	Josca’s orchestra visited François Truffaut Collège, Argentan, France, where they gave two concerts. The visit was a celebration both of Josca’s 50th anniversary and the 50th anniversary of the twinning of Argentan and the borough of Abingdon.
29 Mar	Founders' Day. The School marked this special Founders' Day with a service in St Helen's Church where the preacher was the Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Reading. At the Foundation Dinner in the evening for invited guests, the guest of honour was Dr Ralph Townsend, Headmaster of Winchester and a former member of Abingdon Common Room.
APRIL
21 April	Any Questions The School hosted a live broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions under the chairmanship of Jonathan Dimbleby. Amey Theatre.
22 Apr	OA Open Day 11.00 am onwards - Registration and coffee in the Ingham Room 11.30 am 1st XI v Eton War Memorial Field 12 noon to 1.30 - lunch in Dining Hall 2.00 pm No Tumbled House (1955) Amey Theatre 3.00 pm Letters to America (1963) Amey Theatre
26 Apr	Evening reception held in the Terrace Pavilion, Palace of Westminster hosted by the Right Hon. Francis Maude OA.
MAY
5 May	An evening with Henry Olonga Henry Olonga is the former Zimbabwean cricketer who, with his team mate Andy Flower, drew attention to the human rights abuses of the government of Dr Robert Mugabe by wearing a black armband during the Cricket World Cup in Zimbabwe in 2003. Forced to flee the country, he is now pursuing a new career as an artist and singer. More...
11 May	William Huddesford (OA 1749) and the Rescue from Oblivion of the 18th-century Ashmolean, lecture by Dr Arthur MacGregor, Keeper and historian of the Ashmolean. Held in the Museum of the History of Science, Broad Street, Oxford, the location of the 18th Century Ashmolean Museum.
17 May	AFU New Films Abingdon School Film Unit proudly presents a screening of the new documentary and animation films made by their members during the past year.
17 May	Josca’s Summer Concert A 50th-Anniversary Concert involving all boys from year 3 upwards, showcasing many of our year 8 leavers alongside emerging and established talents from other year-groups.
17 May	School Bands' Concert, Amey Theatre
19 May	School Bands Concert Abingdon School presented its annual display of Wind, Brass and Big Bands in a vibrant evening of music and rhythm.
20 May	Barbecue and Regatta Friends of Abingdon School Boat Club An informal Regatta held during the afternoon and including events for boys, OAs, parents and coaches.
20 May	Josca’s Open Morning Open Morning providing current and prospective parents with an opportunity to see academic, music and sports lessons in full swing, as well as some of the School’s extra-curricular activities that take place during the year.
24 May	Combined Cadet Force Biennial Inspection Parade Brigadier Patrick Davidson-Houston CBE, late of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Light Infantry, conducted the Biennial Inspection of Abingdon Combined Cadet Force.
JUNE
7 June am	In Search of the History of Abingdon School. Nigel Hammond (OA 1957), Honorary Archivist of Christ’s Hospital, Abingdon, conducted a walk through the town taking in St Nicolas’ Church, the Abbey ruins, the old schoolroom, St Helen’s Church and Christ’s Hospital, using the streets, houses, churches, monuments and ruins of this ancient town to illustrate the School’s long history.
10 June	The Glorious Golden Unicorn Ball Josca’s 50th-Anniversary Ball held in a splendid marquee beside the Cricket Pavilion on Cox’s Fields. Bellini Champagne Reception Mediterranean Feast Band: Dancing Easy
23 June	Jazz on a Summer’s Evening High Summer, jazz, champagne and strawberries - an intoxicating combination that saw Abingdon Jazz stars of yesteryear performing with the School Big Band under their leader, Simon Currie. Amey Theatre
28 June	Joint Lower School and Josca's Concert. Amey Theatre.
29 June	Evening reception, Pembroke College Michael St John Parker, Headmaster of Abingdon 1975-2001, began the evening with a talk on the history of the association between Pembroke and the School, followed by a reception in the College gardens. A Disputed Inheritance: A History of the Pembroke Abingdon Connection
30 June	Josca’s 50th-Anniversary Street Party Josca’s Pre-Prep celebrated the School’s Golden Jubilee in the manner of previous royal jubilees - with a street party!
30 June	Sound and Fury Exploring the origins of language, top jazz, the eloquence of the great orators and the triumph of harmony. This celebration of sound closed with an outdoor fire display designed by Tristram Bainbridge (OA 2005).
JULY
1 July	Prize Giving and Leavers' Day, guest of honour Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
1 July	750th Anniversary Griffen Ball Pink Fizz Reception; Dinner: featuring the new Abingdon Glory dessert; Magicians, Casino, Dodgems, Fireworks, Live Band, Jazz Disco.
3 July	A Morning in the Life of an 18th-century Schoolboy. The First Years learned something of what it was like to be a schoolboy in the 18th Century. Lessons took place in the Roysse Room, now part of the Guildhall, Abingdon, but from 1563 to 1870 the schoolroom of the old grammar school.
3 July	1st Orchestra Pre-China Concert St John's Smith Square, London. A selection from their repertoire was played at this pre-tour concert held in this beautiful Wren church, damaged in the Blitz and now converted into a concert venue. 6.00 pm
5 - 15 July	1st Orchestra toured China and Hong Kong. Sponsored by Smiths Group plc.
7 July	Lord's Taverners v Abingdon Alligators, War Memorial Field. The Lord's Taverners team, including former Test cricketers and celebrities, played the Abingdon Alligators formed from OAs and current School players.
8 July	OA Weekend Abingdon Alligators v Headmaster’s XI
8 July	750th-Anniversary OA President’s Dinner OAs and former members of Common Room were invited to a special dinner hosted by Julius Green (OA 1982).
SEPTEMBER
1 Sept	Josca’s Old Boys’ Dinner
9 Sept	Heritage Open Day The School Library and Chapel, built between 1870 and 1903 in the scholarly Victorian Tudor style, was open to the public as part of Heritage Open Day, a celebration of England’s architecture and culture, which offers free access to properties that are usually closed to the public.
13 Sept	The History of English Fairs, Markets and Shops From Bartholomew Fair to Marks and Spencer via Petticoat Lane and market crosses, a fully illustrated lecture by Andrew Davies, exploring the lively 1,000-year history of ‘shop ‘til you drop’. An Abingdon Decorative and Fine Arts Society lecture; part of the town’s Charter 450 Celebrations.
15 Sept	Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited the School as part of our 750th anniversary celebrations. She met members of the School community when she dug the first sod for the foundations of our new £8 million sports complex and unveiled a plaque commemorating the past 750 years.
15 Sept	Stalin’s Terror Dr Philip Boobbyer OA 1981, Senior Lecturer in the School of History at the University of Kent, addressed an open meeting of the History Society. Dr Boobbyer is the author of Conscience, Dissent and Reform in Soviet Russia and of The Stalin Era, a wide-ranging history of every aspect of Stalin’s dictatorship.
16 Sept	John Roysse Lodge Dinner Formed in 1963 for Old Abingdonians, the John Roysse Lodge (7957) originated as part of Abingdon School’s Quatercentenary celebrations. The Lodge meets four times a year. Following each September meeting at the Guildhall, Abingdon, an open dinner is held at the school. All masonic OAs and members of the school community are welcome at both the lodge meeting and dinner. All non-masonic OAs, parents of boys in the school, former parents together with their families were made welcome at this non-masonic dinner.
29 Sept	Chamber Concert This chamber concert saw our musicians – newly returned from their tour of China – perform in the delightful Unicorn Theatre, which has been created out of one of the few surviving parts of Abingdon Abbey. The event formed a charming link between our medieval past and our 21st-century present. Unicorn Theatre, Thames Street Abingdon
30 Sept	Open Day Open Day: A 21st Century School In the year in which we celebrate our 750th anniversary, Open Day provided visitors with the opportunity of seeing our 21st-century School
OCTOBER
4 Oct	Robert Harris – Imperium Robert Harris, the best-selling author of Fatherland, Enigma, Archangel and Pompeii, spoke about his new novel, Imperium, published on 4 September.
NOVEMBER
2 Nov	Choral Mass St Helen’s Church
7 Nov	Louis Davis (OA 1877): the Last Pre-Raphaelite The School’s art exhibitions are named after Louis Davis, OA 1877 son of an Abingdon merchant of East St Helen’s Street whose stained glass graces the windows of many cathedrals, churches and country houses. Davis was a book illustrator and water-colourist before turning to the design of stained glass. Peter Cormack, Curator of the William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow, gave what was believed to be the first lecture on this notable Arts and Crafts figure. During November there was an exhibition of Davis’s work, including some of his sketchbooks, in the School Library.
14 Nov	Edmund Society, Open Meeting Reflecting the School’s origins as the secular school attached to the Benedictine Abbey of St Mary the Virgin, Abingdon, Dom Leo Chamberlain OSB, Master of St Benet’s Hall, Oxford addressed an open meeting of the Edmund Society.
16 Nov	Vespers and Compline To celebrate the feast day of St Edmund of Abingdon, and the Benedictine origins of the School, the Benedictine monks of Douai Abbey sang Latin Vespers in the old Abbey church of St Nicolas in the centre of Abingdon, followed later by Latin Compline in the School Chapel.
20 - 25 Nov	Paul Hobb’s exhibition Charles Maude Room
21 Nov	Edmund Society, Open Meeting The artist Paul Hobbs addressed an open meeting of the Edmund Society about his art, which considers questions of humanity, dignity and faith in the light of biblical values.
24 Nov	Charter Day, Abingdon - the 450th anniversary of the granting of the Royal Charter incorporating the Borough of Abingdon.
24 Nov	Genetic Finger Printing and Beyond Professor Sir Alec Jefferys, Fellow of the Royal Society, addressed a combined open meeting of the Roysse Society and the Biology Society on the techniques of genetic fingerprinting and its future, together with its uses in forensics and in paternity disputes. Professor Sir Alec, the world famous scientist who discovered both Genetic Fingerprinting and Southern Blotting, is currently involved in research on genetic variability and mutation in human and animal DNA.
27 Nov	One Hundred and Fifty Years of the National Portrait Gallery The School’s major art scholarship is named after the portrait painter William Boxall, OA 1817 who was appointed the National Gallery’s second director in 1866. In the National Portrait Gallery’s 150th Anniversary year the Director, Sandy Nairne, looked back at the Gallery's history as well as speculating on the future for portraiture and how the Gallery will develop over the next 150 years.
27 Nov - 13 Dec	William Boxall, OA 1817 Artist and Portrait Painter There was an exhibition of Boxall’s work in the Amey Theatre Foyer.
30 Nov - 1 Dec	The Magic Flute In celebration of the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, the Music Department performed two fully staged and costumed performances of his popular opera, The Magic Flute.
DECEMBER
3 Dec	Abingdon at the West End: a Celebration of Theatre and Performance In review, for one night only, Abingdon stars of the past, present and future trod the same boards as those once trodden by Tallulah Bankhead and Laurence Olivier at the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in the heart of London’s theatreland. For a school that has produced Tom Hollander, Toby Jones, David Mitchell and all five members of the band Radiohead, the home grown talent on show tonight produced a vibrant evening in celebration of theatre and performance.
7 Dec	Grande Finale Christmas Concert Our 750th anniversary celebrations concluded with a bang when, following a gala concert by the School’s finest musicians, there was a spectacular firework display at the front of the School.