Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 84 Page 85 Page 86 Page 87 Page 88 Page 89 Page 90 Page 91 Page 92 Page 93 Page 94 Page 95 Page 96In total, there were 116 attendees, including 7 guests and 11 former members of staff, at the OCA’s 93rd Annual Dinner, held in the King Henry VIII School Hall on November 21st, 2015. The company welcomed and congratulated the most senior former pupil, John Miller (Class of ’44), and the newest ‘Old Boy’ was Philip Cresswell (Class of ’03), which went some way towards affirming the Committee’s aim and growing success in broadening the age-range of those attending and welcoming younger Old Coventrians to the Dinner. We would love to see more recent former pupils at future dinners. The Master of Ceremonies this year was Paul Fernandez-Montes, adopting the role for the first time as new Chair of the Association. There was a very positive atmosphere of conviviality and it was generally agreed that the occasion was a great success, as the conversations flowed and the memories abounded! After a very acceptable meal, generally rated as excellent value for money, and the Toast to Her Majesty The Queen, the MC proposed the Toast to the Fallen, with specific mention of Trevor Webb, former Chairman of the Governors, who had died on the morning of last year’s Dinner, and Jeff Vent, whose contributions on behalf of the School were immense and to whom all present owed a huge debt for the continuation of the Annual Dinners in the past. Harris Qureshi, Head Boy, proposed the Toast to the School and the Headmaster, Jason Slack, responded, attesting to the ongoing success of the School, both academically and in extra-curricular events, as teams and as individuals, both at home and abroad. Such success was set in perspective by the tragic loss of two members of the School family during the year: Rob Howard, Head of Geography, and Leanne Goodlad, a Year 12 student, both of whom had courageously and cheerfully borne illness, the former for a relatively short time and the latter for longer, and both of whom were an inspiration to all those who knew them. Both will be very sadly missed. The Guest Speaker was Chris Millerchip (Class of ’73), who started at King Henry VIII School in the same form as the MC. After studying Law and playing rugby at Oxford University, Chris worked briefly for a city law firm, before setting up the Practical Law Company in 1990, which took him to the USA. Having sold the business, he now focuses on charity, family and his passion for Bruce Springsteen. He is the founder of “Engage Coventry”, a charity which promotes rugby and its values to children in disadvantaged communities within the city. In his speech, he paid tribute to his father, Tony Millerchip, a regular at the Annual Dinners in times gone by, before attesting to the very wide-ranging skills and values attributed to former pupils of the school; he went on to acknowledge the huge influence that especially rugby and Classics at the school had had on his life, mentioning in particular Jeff Vent, including the effect that the arrival of girls had had on him and the School in 1975, and Ted Norrish, who was attending the Dinner and had celebrated his 80th birthday this year. After thanking Greenaways caterers for the food and service, the OCA Social Sub-Committee for arranging the Dinner and members of the OCA Committee for their support on the day, the MC made presentations to Pam Nicholls and Jan Butler for their exceptional efforts in making the evening such a huge success. The formal programme of the evening concluded with the hearty singing of the School Song, although conversations and sharing of memories continued for some time afterwards. old CovenTrians’ assoCiaTion – 93rd annual dinner held on 21sT november 2015 old CovenTrians’ Cross-CounTry Our Old Boys and Girls continued to fly the flag with distinction at the 63rd Alumni Race at Wimbledon Common just before Christmas. This historic five mile race attracted 220 past pupils from 28 schools all over the country. Our team of 19 runners was the second largest grouping, and seven more than last year. In the open race (four to count) we came 5th, and in the V40 race (three to count) we also came 5th. Our team aggregate times improved by over three minutes in both categories and, apart from the eight runners new to the race, eight ran PBs for the course. Ed Gazeley had an excellent top ten finish, and Penny Oliver was the third placed female runner. Other ‘counting’ runners were Alistair Galt, Alex Forse, Aaron Bodycote, Paul Barnes and Neville Chapman. Amongst our supporters on the course was David Glassborow, who, when at Henry’s, broke the world mile and 1500m U16 records. The enthusiasm and momentum is growing, and we aim to make even more of an impression next year. A week later, the annual Old Coventrians’ Run (race for some!) over the school’s Crackley course was won by Ed Gazeley in a new event record of 20.19 for the revised 5.5k course, with Penny Oliver winning the ladies’ trophy. The ‘House’ prize went to Whites, and amongst the guests we had Sheila Carey (MBE and double Olympian) to present the trophies. With twenty- seven runners, and fifteen competing for the first time in recent years, the ‘family’ atmosphere continued into the afternoon with lunch at the Kenilworth Sports’ Club just round the corner. Mr Butler Mr Butler Mr Butler 2015 To 2016 | 19