January 2009
Hon. Secretary:
Kevin Cossar
3 Howard Close
Rugby CV22 6PU
Tel: 01788 815236
e-mail: kevin@cossar.me
Dear Fellow Old Laurentian,
May I wish all of you a happy and healthy New Year and inform you that the Old Laurentian Society Annual General Meeting and Dinner will take place on Saturday 4th April 2009; the AGM at 6.30pm in the Sixth Form Centre and the Dinner at 7.30pm for 8.00pm in Big School. The cost will be £20 and £15 for those in full time education; contact a friend, or better still several friends and make up a table. I look forward to seeing you there.
As I approach the end of my presidential year I am pleased to report that it has been a very successful period. I have benefited from the advice and support of the Committee who have been very diligent in attending meetings and have never been too shy to contribute. That said we are always looking for younger blood on the committee. We managed one younger member at the last AGM and he’s 50!
I have been proud to represent you at the Junior Prize Giving and Founder’s Day Service in Big School and also attended the memorial service for Gareth Redd and the funeral of Bob Jinks who both worked hard over many years to further the aims of the Society.
The new Astroturf surface at the Hart Field is now in use and I had hoped that a Presidents XI would take on the School First XI in order to christen it but we were thwarted by floodlight failure. I am now planning to organise a fixture at the end of the spring term possibly on the day of the AGM and dinner. Sadly new changing facilities at Hart Field have not yet materialised but will be taken forward when funding allows.
The facilities at Fenley Field are now used by Rugby & East Warwickshire Hockey Club for after-match entertainment which has helped to sustain the viability of the club. Games are played on the new Astroturf pitch at Bilton School in Lawford Lane every Saturday. The club runs 8 men’s teams and 3 ladies teams and new members are always welcome.
At the time of going to press both the rugby club and the hockey club are having reasonably successful seasons with both first teams challenging for promotion. This all helps to create a buzz at Fenley Field on a Saturday afternoon so if you are in Rugby and at a loose end on a Saturday why not pop along as you’ll probably meet someone you were at school with.
The School has once again been able to take advantage of the facilities at Fenley Field, which has been used both for school cricket and rugby. Again we were able to provide meals and cheer the lads on. It is hoped that the cricket square might also be utilised by a local club in the summer so that the facilities are in use all year round thus further improving viability in terms of bar takings but also helping in terms of security.
I had great pleasure in joining members of the Old Laurentian Golfing Society for dinner after their tournament in October. This year’s winner was Julian Marks who was quite good at hockey in his younger days but now prefers more sedate exercise!
At school the magnificent new Learning Resource Centre is now completed and in use. The academics amongst you will probably say “about time too” but the cricketers who enjoyed parading their skills on the school field will probably be a little sad to see another chunk of the field disappear forever.
Academically the school continues to thrive as evidenced by its impressive position in various league tables. Dr Kent and his staff must be congratulated for their good work – long may it continue. That said the success of the school also depends on the hard work put in by the students who also deserve to be congratulated for their efforts.
The Society has (rather belatedly) taken ownership of its own web domain name, and so the web address and email address have changed to those shown in the letterhead. Apart from giving us a better web identity it will allow us to change web-hosting services if we need to without losing contact with members.
Please note: that after this newsletter all notices for general meetings will be made solely on the website; this will allow us more flexibility to introduce items to the agenda without the expense of mailing all members. In a similar vein: if you are receiving this newsletter by post please consider sending the society your e-mail address to allow us to communicate more cost-effectively with you (it is also true that we send more and more “incidental” e-mails between newsletters these days).
In conclusion you will be pleased to know that the Society is still thriving but as I said earlier we do need some younger blood on the committee to ensure its future prosperity. By this summer all but two of the committee will be over 50 years old. Please contact Kevin Cossar if you wish to put your name forward.
Don’t forget to put the date of the AGM and Dinner in your diary and contact your contemporaries to make up a table – the more the merrier.
Best wishes for 2009.
Yours faithfully,
Jon Bass
President of the Society
1970 - 1977