Griffen 2014

3 www.oaclub.org.uk It’s always a very happy moment for me when I first turn the pages of a new issue of the Griffen . I think that all of us associated with the OA Club feel a sense of pride and belonging as we read the latest news. Here is an update on the work of the Committee, news of OAs, thoughts on future directions and all at the heart of life at Abingdon. I am grateful to all OAs who serve on the Committee, attend events, offer mentoring support for current boys and support the School both financially and by speaking warmly of their experiences at the School. I hope that you feel proud of your alma mater as we, in turn, acknowledge the contributions of our OAs in life beyond Abingdon. I hope that you enjoy reading this edition and I very much hope to see you at a forthcoming event. With every best wish Felicity Lusk F ROM THE HE AD Well, it has been another year of tremendous progress for the OA Club, as we continue to match the Foundation’s ambition to become the kind of alumni association a school of Abingdon’s calibre deserves. How encouraging it was this autumn to see some 900 OAs participate in an online survey designed to guide the future direction of their Club. You can read a summary of the findings from the survey – and the enhancements to the Club we intend to make – on page 2 of this issue of the Griffen . The OA events calendar will continue to grow, and there is a strong and very welcome trend emerging for groups of OAs, bonded by a common experience, to meet up and reminisce, sometimes after many years. The Abingdon Alligators Cricket Club recently assembled almost all of its former players for a reunion lunch and past oarsmen met in London. But it is not just sport that brings OAs together for reunions. The thespians have recently met and there is a reunion planned to celebrate the 20th anniversary of an expedition in Pakistan led by Hugh Leach (OA 1953). So if you were part of a group which would enjoy a get- together to savour old times, let the OA Club know. You will need to take the lead on organising the event, but the OA Club Office will give you whatever support you require. On other fronts, the OA Club careers advice and internship programmes offered by OAs to pupils are gathering pace, and we continue our commitment to awarding small grants to OAs for worthwhile individual and group endeavour. We have also completely reviewed and updated the OA Club Rules so that they embody Abingdon School – and the wider world – today. The new rules, endorsed at the AGM, are online, and significant to OAs will be the fact that your Club Committee is embarking on an orderly changing of the guard so that every decade of leavers is represented by a Committee member. Thank you all for being proud of the School that set you on your way and thank you for giving of your time to come to events that keep you in touch with your alma mater. Best wishes John Bunce (1962) FROM THE OA CLUB CHA I RMAN