On Tuesday 30th March we were lucky enough to hear from Andrew Cayley CMG QC FRSA (Br. 1977-82) when he was interviewed by Brighton College's Head of Politics, Rob Murphy.
As part of our commemorations of Brighton College's 175th anniversary, our College Archivist, James Harrison, gave a wonderful Zoom presentation on the history of the College.
On Saturday 6th March, we hosted the annual Brighton College Professions Conference which this year, due to the pandemic, was entirely virtual.
On Thursday 11th February, we hosted a fantastic evening with Clare Connor (W. 1989-94).
This year’s Professions Conference kicked off with nine different panel sessions, catering for a broad range of sectors specifically hosted for the Lower Sixth Form. Pupils had the chance to join in with discussions from a diverse range of sectors, such as law, medicine, finance, architecture and the arts.
We really enjoyed hosting our annual London universities dinner on Thursday 28th November.
On Wednesday 27th November, we held our annual Pioneers Club London Luncheon at the Savile Club, Mayfair.
Our annual Remembrance Service was held in the College chapel on Sunday 10th November.
It was wonderful to see so many Old Brightonians back at the College for our 30-year reunion dinner on Saturday 5th October.
On a balmy Wednesday night in Hong Kong, we hosted a drinks event at the China Club, in Central. Cathy, from the OB office, along with Mr Nick Fraser, Mr Steve Marshall-Taylor, Mr Michael Sloan and Mr Chris Fowler were delighted to meet with 20 Old Brightonians currently living and working in Hong Kong.
On Tuesday 10th September we welcomed back 20 OBs to the College to share their experience of applying to, and studying at, Oxford and Cambridge.
It's finally happened. The boys from Brighton College have won the cup at Littlehampton for the first time! In a tight final against Crawley, they were losing 1-2, but after some stern words from player-coach Aidan Phillips-Cragg and captain Alex Brown, the tide turned. Tries from Ollie Kirwan, Henry Mason and Alex Bushell (all only 18 years old) changed the game, and the boys came out on top 4-2. It was a testament to the Old Brightonian's spirit that they managed to turn the game on its head.
Last Saturday Los Pelicanos Hermanos played at the Burgess Hill 7s.
Our Hong Kong OBs have struck once again with a successful drinks meet up at the trendy Bread and Beast in Wanchai last Friday night.
Last month's Midnight Mass was a huge success. With a congregation numbering in the hundreds, it was a wonderful way to herald in the Yuletide season.
Our 2018 Pioneers Brighton lunch took place on Saturday 12th of May and saw our alumni who are over 60 and linked through their memories of the College.
Our Spring OB Hong Kong Drinks were a huge success at Mezcalito, a newly opened and exciting bar specialising in the Mexican Mezcal, on Central's On Lan Street, home to some of Hong Kong's finest bars and restaurants.
With some many OBs attending Universities in the West of England, we decided that it would be only be fitting to host a dinner in Bristol following on from our OB London, Cambridge and Oxford dinners.
The OB London Drinks is a fun and relaxed event which takes place every year in February. This year we visited Karma Sanctum Hotel in Soho, bringing together Old Brightonians of all ages, houses and professions.
The Jesuit motto was ‘Give me a boy until he is seven and I will give you the man.’ Well, until 1977 Brighton College had this group until they were 17 and after 40 years it was clear that by 17 the die was cast and little had we changed. Sure, much of the mens' hair had moved from the scalp to the chin but, that apart, little had seemed to change especially amongst the girls for whom the years had been kinder.
This year saw the third OB London Universities Dinner and we were joined not only by teachers from the Common Room, but also one of our governors, Andrew Cayley (Br. 1977-82) who himself attended UCL. The Old Brightonians is strongly supported by the College Governors, and it was brilliant that Andrew was able to join us.
This year’s OB Pioneers London Luncheon was held in the newly restored Ballroom at the historical Savile Club in Mayfair, hosted by Gavin Henderson CBE (Le. 1960-65).
Tuesday night saw a reunion of the Bremer family in Kingsbridge Devon for the joint exhibition of work by Nick Bremer (Director of Art, Brighton College, 1969-00) and his son, acclaimed Berlin Artist Patrick Bremer (BCJS. 1992-96).
David Dunn's memorial was held in the College Chapel on Friday 3rd November 2017.
It was fantastic to see some of our 2012 Leavers at their 5 Year Drinks at BOUNCE in London on Friday 16th June.
It was fantastic to welcome back our Pioneers to the College on Friday 19th of May for a tour of the College, a talk with Head of History- Joe Skeaping, and a delicious lunch at the Ginger Dog.
Following the introduction of our Law Conference in 2016, this year's conference took place on Thursday 4th May, which was attended by our current Sixth Form pupils and those from local state schools.
It was a lovely evening to host our first "Happy Hours" drinks in Hong Kong where there is a growing number of OBs who have returned to the city for work.
Sixteen OB's of different vintages and abilities assembled into two teams in a friendly match which pits the Secretary against the President. Only on this occasion our Hon. President Chris Pett, had more important business to attend to as he is currently leading the Seniors on tour in Australia. Geoffrey Bush kindly agreed to provide Locum cover.
Our 2017 Medical Conference brought together a fantastic spread of medical professionals, two of whom are currently studying Medicine.
We are absolutely delighted to have been able to catch up with so many of our very missed OBs studying in London at our annual OB London Universities Dinner, which took place last Friday.
Having started all Bloomberg Hong Kong Scottish's games in the premiership this season and following some great performances Marcus made his debut on the left wing for Hong Kong's National Team against Zimbabwe on 15th November 2016. Hong Kong ran out winners 34-11.
We have made a special short feature film to celebrate hosting the England Rugby team last month. It also highlights the philosophy of the Brighton College Rugby Club, which is going from strength to strength at the moment. Record numbers of boys are opting to play the sport and the A teams are excelling nationally. I truly believe that Rugby Union at any level can help boys to fulfil their potential in life.
It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Old Brightonian and past Governor, Ian Wilfred Dodd (Junior School, 1950-1956, Hampden House, 1956-1960). After having suffered a heart attack, Ian died on Monday 17th October, 2016.
Ryan Manyika (Sc. 2002-2007) surprised Director of Rugby, Nick Bouy, with a visit to the College to watch the 1st XV match this weekend.
Thursday evening saw thirteen of our Old Brightonians return to the College to share their ‘Oxbridge experience’ with our current sixthform Oxbridge hopefuls. The evening began a welcome from Mr Majithia followed by talks from Alex Norman (Du. 2009-14), Alex Kolliari-Turner (Ha. 2007-2012), and Hannah Marks (Ch. 2010-15) who all shared their experiences of interview and study at Oxford and Cambridge.
Last Thursday, 8th September, the College travelled to The Dyke Golf Club for the annual match against the Old Brightonians. The sun shone, but a fierce wind was blasting across the downs, making conditions tricky for all parties.
On Thursday 30th June we celebrated at the College with a service for our leavers, and after the traditional leavers photographs on the lawn the College then celebrated with a Graduation Ceremony for Upper 6th Leavers.
On Friday 17th June we gathered to remember the 976 Old Brightonians who served in the Great War and in particular the 149 who died, never to return.
The Old Brightonians were drawn against Charterhouse Friars for the first round of the National Cricketer Cup 2016. We had a home fixture for the game, the first time in many years the draw was favourable for the Old Brightonians with many of the previous winners being in the other half of the draw.
On Friday 13th May, we held our first ever dinner for OBs undergraduates studying in the capital. The dinner took place in the very stylish Emin Room at the 34 Mayfair in London. It was a lovely evening where OBs and members of the common room were able to catch up and find out how everyone is enjoying university life and how they are finding their studies.
For seven years now we have held a dinner for the OB Oxbridge students, alternating between Oxford and Cambridge. The number of OBs currently enrolled at these great institutions is now so large (last two years 29 OBs and 39 to go up in September) that we held our first Brighton College Oxford Dinner on Thursday 4th February, with 'Cambridge' following on 4th March at Downing College.
Thank you to everyone who joined us in Kuala Lumpur, it was lovely to see you all, do stay in touch!
The Savile Club was a new venue for the Pioneers Club London Luncheon this year, courtesy of Gavin Henderson, CBE (Le. 1960-65), and what a beautiful venue it was.
We returned to the Jones Family Project in Shoreditch for our City Networking drinks, one of the many projects run by OB and serial entrepreneur Duncan Watts (Ry. 1979-84).
Rev. Canon William Dawson remains Brighton College’s longest serving Headmaster, having lead the school between 1906 and 1933. He supported the College through the First World War and instigated a significant rise in pupil numbers – so significant that we were apparently bursting at the seams! It was a great pleasure to welcome Rosemary Sidwell and her husband Richard back to the College
Thursday evening saw nine of our Old Brightonians return to the College to share their ‘Oxbridge experience’ with our current Oxbridge hopefuls.
Last Saturday saw the return of our 2005 leavers to the College, a decade on since they graduated as pupils. The group were welcomed back in Scott’s Café (or Café de Paris in 2005) with a glass of bubbles and some familiar faces in the form of Mr Grocott, Assistant Headmaster and Mr Smith (Common Room 1973-2011).
Old Brightonians are delighted to report an emphatic victory in the Sussex Cup held at Walton Heath on Sunday 30th August. In the annual quadrangular fixture against Hurst, Lancing & Eastbourne the OB’s recorded 11 points out of 12, with 5 wins, a half and no losses.
The Cyril Gray tournament is a scratch foursomes School team event for over-50s with 32 schools playing and 6 players making up each team. Owing to there being a good chance of 36 holes having to be played on one day, it is desirable to have a squad of players. This year we went into the main event with a group of seven players, ably supported by Watson Failes who lives nearby and was able to play if needed. Watson turns out to be our secret weapon for the Super Seniors event on Saturday 27th June which requires two golfers with a combined age of 140, with both being over 65.
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