Old Clayesmorian Society

The Society was sad to learn of the death of J Brian Davies at home on 24 October 2009. A former banker, we was director of several companies and Liveryman and Freeman City of London.

Congratulations to OC and former Head Girl Thomasin Bailey who has been awarded a 1st class honours in her degree in English and Comparative Studies from the University of Warwick. Thomasin has returned to Clayesmore to provide maternity cover in the English department, prior to returning to Warwick next year to study for her MA.

The daughter of OC Brian Durrant has been in touch and would like to make contact with friends of his from his school days. Please contact Louise Smith and she will put you in touch.

OC Charlotte Hewett has won the vocal section of the Serenata Stars competition at the Serenata Festival this weekend. The competition was organised by The Classical Festival Company to show their dedication to creating a serious platform and opportunity for up and coming unsigned classical musicians and vocal artists. With a panel of expert judges, and an award of £10,000 to be shared by the best musician and vocal artist, together with coaching and mentoring from the headline artists and the opportunity to perform live on stage with a full orchestra and the leading performers on the last night, competition was fiercely contested with three "Clayesmore" contestants making the cut of those contestants asked to perform in front of audiences and judges at the festival itself. Along with Charlotte, current pupil Bryony Purdue also made Saturday's final and this year's head girl Laura Fairlie took part in the semi-final.

To see Charlotte's performance on the main stage on Saturday click here.

OC and former head boy Henry Bailey (2003-2005) passed out of RMAS on 13 August 2010. He has been commissioned into the Royal Corps of Engineers. David Cameron was the Sovereign's representative.

The Society is sad to report the death of Dr Sammy Lal on 1 November 2009. After Clayesmore he studied Medicine at the then Polytechnic Institute, now South Bank University and Guy’s Hospital, University of London, graduating in 1962. He would move to Canada where he became an acclaimed Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the McGill University Center for Research in Schizophrenia, Montreal, Canada. Winner of the 1997 prestigious Joey and Toby Tanenbaum Distinguished Scientist Award for Schizophrenia Research. Full obituary to follow in this year's Old Clayesmorian Magazine.

The OC Society was saddened to learn of the death of Jock Beesley who died peacefully at home on 15 August aged 80 years. A former Head Boy and Captain of the School, he was married to Anne and father to Clare and Edward.

The funeral will be held at Bettws y Crwyn at 2pm on Monday 23 August.

The OC Society is sad to report the death of Robin Denson on 10 September 2009.

Old Clayesmorians Laura and Ollie Fairlie have arranged a concert to be held in memory of their friend, Blue May Muller in aid of CLIC Sargent. Blue was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in September 2003 and lost her battle in March 2005 when she was 12 years old. Blue spent much of this time a long way from her home, at Southampton hospital and later on the bone marrow transplant unit in Bristol Children’s hospital. Throughout this time her parents were able to be with her everyday and stay close to both hospitals by “de-camping” to CLIC Home from Homes, CLIC Haven and Sam’s House.

Former head girl Laura is an exceptionally talented singer and has been offered an unconditional place at Royal Northern College of Music – starting in September and was recently invited by Guildhall College of Music to attend special tutorial in Oxford. She will also be performing at the prestigious Serenata Festival alongside of the likes of Katherine Jenkins this summer in Dorset.

The event will be ticketed with sales going to CLIC Sargent – for ticketing information please email Rachel

To donate to this worthwhile cause, please visit the online giving page by clicking here.

The OC Society was sad to learn of the death of David Crossley on 17 June 2010. A former head prefect, he was living in Scotland at the time of his passing.

The 2010-2011 Clayesmore Season Booklet has arrived back from the printer and will shortly be distributed to all members of the Clayesmore Society. A downloadable version is available by clicking here.

Entrepreneurs of the future got a real taste for the dynamics of business ‘The Apprentice’ style last week at Clayesmore as part of an intensive three day enterprise programme. This inaugural event was the brain child of Business Studies teacher, Cath Hayter who is this year’s Young Enterprise Dorset area winner of the Best Link Teacher Award. It was hosted by Hannah Towner of Young Enterprise South West and expert volunteers from local companies, as well as former Clayesmorians who are currently studying business degrees contributed their time to assist the young pupils.

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Parents at the Prep School Prize Giving day have heard how the school has increased in size, stature and success once again this year. Head of Prep, Richard Geffen was able to report that, against the harsh backdrop of recession, the school had retained its firm foothold at the beginning the year with 10 more pupils than last year. Currently only four beds remain in the boarding house and the Pre-Prep, with over 40 children, is the largest it has been for a few years. Read more

On the 24th of July Old Clayesmorian Hugh Blandy, along with his cousin John and friend Edward are setting out on a challenge to cross some of the toughest terrain on the planet, ranging from ranging from the driest desert in the world, to the most dangerous road in the world, to the biggest rainforest in the world. The route starts in Cusco, Peru and finishes in Asuncion, Paraguay and is in aid of Operation smile which is a charity that gives surgery to children born with cleft pallets.

To support them please use the link below to donate.

Just Giving

The OC Golf Day 2010 was again held at The Temple Golf Club, Nr Maidenhead.

Full results and report will follow shortly, in the meantime please see the Photo Gallery.

It was best bib and tucker on Wednesday 16 June for members of the Clayesmore Society who attended Royal Ascot for the second day of the world famous race meeting.

Those present included a mixture of OCs, staff, parents and friends of the school, who enjoyed a mini picnic of bucks fizz, strawberries, coffee and croissants in the park before joining the thronging crowds to place their bets and mingle with the great and good of the racing world, washed down with a cream tea before returning to school.

For photo gallery click here

Preparations are beginning for this year's Old Clayesmorian Magazine. Please send any news, photos, articles etc to the Hon. Editor, SarahJane Newland as soon as possible via the contact us page.

See the photo gallery for Simon Robertson's photos from South Africa and the World Cup.

A Magnificent Seven sat down for another splendid City lunch at the Beaujolais, Lichfield Street.

Once again good food,excellent wine,great service and above all intelligent and well educated company meant that the meal finished long after four. It was agreed that it would be very much same time,same place next year.

Rodney Spokes spoke of the pleasures of supporting Leicester Tigers and a very large family funeral he had just been to in Kansas City. Hugh Thompson hoped that the Maoists would not, later in the year,disrupt his ten week teaching adventure in Nepal. Bob Mash lamented that his follow up on dinosaurs, a book on fairies hadn't taken wing. David Fangen was in serious grief, having sold his large London house to move full time to Bedchester, he had said good bye to a large part of his much loved library. Louise Smith and Christopher Johnston spent some of lunch discussing entrepreneurship. Over all this OC Chairman Andrew Beaton as always presided with quiet confidence and assurance. As he arrived late he bought an extra bottle of wine.

Hugh Thompson

The OC Society is sad to report the death of Iradj Roudiani (also known as Manoucher) who died earlier this year in Iran.

The second AGM of The Clayesmore Society was held at the school on Saturday 29 May.

Full minutes may be read at www.clayesmore.com

Old Clayesmorian Justin Morton is taking part in a 190 mile walk along the South West Coast Path raising funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust this summer.

The walk starts in Minehead on the 28th June and finishes in Newquay around 12th July.

To donate to this worthwhile cause click here

For further information about the Teenage Cancer Trust click here

In an attempt to reduce its carbon footprint and the considerable postage costs incurred in sending out the Old Clayesmorian and other associated papers each year, the OC Society would like to offer its members the opportunity to "go green" and receive only electronic copies of mailings.

From September, all OCs with for whom we have emails and are resident overseas will automatically receive only electronic copies of The Old Clayesmorian. UK residents will continue to receive paper versions for the time being, however this will be gradually phased out.

Those who do not have an email address will continue to receive paper mailings.

If you are resident in the UK and would like to opt in to the paper free system, please email Louise Smith, with the subject title "Paper Free" and giving your name and years at the school.

Thank you

A Clayesmore parent is the team principal of Project RunningBlade - the team behind the lawn mower that has just broken the world land speed record for a lawnmower.

On Saturday 22nd May 2010 the lawnmover broke the record achieving a speed of 86.069mph!

For full details visit project runningblade

Rain stopped play in the OC cricket fixture vs the School on Sunday 16 May. In a rain interrupted fixture the OC team batted first scoring 208 all out in 42 overs - Ed Calver's 40 the highest batting total.

In reply the school team reached 98 for 2 after 16 overs when the heavens opened and the match was abandoned.

During tea Hon. OC and retiring Geography master Roger Denning was presented with a miniature cricket bat and thanked for his support to the both the school and the OC cricketing teams over the years.

To see photographs from the match click here

On Saturday 15 May OCs gathered at the school to remember David Spinney. In an event organised by The Spinney Memorial Trust, chaired by Stephen Levinson and led by Robert Mash and Jim Tilden, former students gathered to discuss the legacy of David Spinney, 20 years since the creation of the trust in his memory. This was followed by the OC Summer BBQ on the terrace of the main house.

The session was recorded and will appear here as a download shortly.

Having spent the last 6 years working and cruising throughout the Caribbean and South America, OC John Burnie and his partner Ann Louise, currently in Bermuda, are sailing their 16.5m sloop INDABA across the Atlantic to the UK via the Azores. They will spend the summer based in Poole and Lymington before setting off again "towards the south" and will visit the school in the summer hoping to meet up again with old friends and OCs.

A service of commemoration and thanksgiving was held in the school chapel on Friday 7 May 2010 to honor Clayesmore's VC - Lt. Cdr. Geoffrey Heneage Drummond.

For full story click here

OC Alex Morton will complete a 10,000ft tandem skydive in June 2010 to raise money for the MS Trust.

If you would like to support her, please visit her sponsorship page by clicking here

"Dorset Day", an event organised by the Clayesmore Society was held at the school on Sunday 25 April. There were over 2,000 visitors to the show, including many Old Clayesmorians from all ages, former staff and current pupils and their families, as well as those visiting the school for the first time.

Highlights of the day included the family dog show - best in show was won by "Bay", a Basset/ Springer cross owned by the Peterson family and the hawk display by Mere Down Falconry. Special thanks to the Coles family, in particular Jenny Coles (OC) for arranging the showman's organ and steam engine. In addition, entertainment was provided by the Wessex Morris Men, a St George's Play performed by the Child Okeford Mummers, dancing from Steps in Time and an "open mike" folk tent. With stalls too numerous to mention arranged by The Anonymous Travelling Market selling everything from a Hog Roast to beautiful homeware, there really was something for everyone.

Gate and King's were the winners of the Inter-House Tug of War Competition.

All proceeds from the day will go to the school's nominated charities for this year which are:

Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance Blandford Opportunities Group Cancer Research UK The British Red Cross

Old Clayesmorian Nick Morrall (93-98) will walk 90 miles along Hadrian's Wall from Friday 30 April, raising money for the Help for Heroes charity.

Nick has recently served for 6 months in Afghanistan, and has seen first hand the devastation injuries cause to soldiers and their families.

If you would like to support him in this worthy effort, please visit his just giving page by clicking here

There will be a special service in the School Chapel on Friday 7 May 2010 to mark the unveiling of a plaque commemorating Old Clayesmorian Geoffery Heanage Drummond VC.

The Service will start at 4.30pm and will be followed by refreshments in the Main House.

All Old Clayesmorians are warmly invited to attend, however places will be limited so please request your own invitation by contacting Louise Smith either by email or on 01747 813160.

OC Douglas Reed will conduct the London Primavera in a charity concert on Saturday 13 June at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Cobham. The concert starts at 7.30 and tickets cost £30. The programme will include Chopin's 2nd Concerto and a Mozart Piano Concerto and Syphony.

All OCs are welcome! Please visit the Menuhin Hall website for further details.

Proceeds from the event will be divided between the Royal Hospital for Neuro-Disability, Reedham Trust, Royal Wanstead Children's Foundation and and Reeds School Foundation.

OC Ruth Gemmell (1997-2002) is running the Edinburgh Marathon this May to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

To support her and this worthwhile cause, visit her fundraising page by clicking here.

We are sorry to report the death of Roy Nesford Barnes (1943-1944) on 11 December 2008. A retired manufacturing representative and IT teacher, Mr Barnes had lived the majority of his life in British Columbia and visited Clayesmore as part of a trip to the UK in October 2007.

To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Clayesmore Cormorants, there will be a dinner held in a marquee at Clayesmore School on Saturday 10th July 2010, at 7.00pm for 8.00pm. The dress code will be jacket and tie, and tickets are available at £30 each.

All Cormorants, Old Clayesmorians, School Staff, Friends of the Cormorants and their partners are welcome. If you would like to attend this very special event, please book early as the number of places is limited. The closing date is 31st May 2010.

To book dinner tickets please click here

Lastly, the OC Society would love to hear from you with your memories, photographs and any anecdotes of the Cormorants that may be published in the next edition of The Old Clayesmorian and/or displayed at the Dinner. Please send these directly to the event organiser Nick Goumas.

The Society is sad to report the death of Simon Leney.

Many congratulations to year 11 pupil, James Fuller, who completed his milestone first solo flight on his 16th birthday recently. James has been flying for two years and hopes for a career either with the Royal Air Force or as a commercial pilot.

Click to read more

The Society is sad to report the death of Captain Kenneth Arnfield-Michie (1955-1959) on 14 March 2010. Captain Arnfield-Michie was a retired helicopter pilot.

His funeral will take place at the church of St Mary the Virgin, Howe on Monday 22 March at 12 noon followed by committel at the Earlham Road Crematorium Norwich. Family flowers only please byt donations for research to the Alzheimer's Society gladly accepted c/o R B Copping Funeral Service, Chapel Lane, Shotesham, NR15 1YP.

Jack Corbett and Will Rolfe represented Dorset in the U14 West of England Counties JAC (Junior Assessment Centre) hockey competition at the weekend and helped the side to victory in a close tournament against teams from Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire.

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The Society is sad to report the death of David William Norman in August 2009.

The Old Clayesmorian Society is sad to report the death of John Martin Booker in Vancouver, British Columbia on 19 March 2007.

Recording under the name of Johnny Martyn, John was lead singer with the Vipers skiffle group.

To read a full obituary in The Independent click here

Over 80 guests celebrated Margaret Glazebrook's 90th birthday at Drayton Golf Club, near Abingdon on Saturday 6th March. The surprise party was organised by Simon and Helen Glazebrook. Generations of Clayesmorians will remember her and her late husband, Hugh at Clayesmore Prep School. They were involved in the inaugural Clayemore Cormorants' tour to Cornwall and in many subsequent Cormorant cricket weeks. Amongst the guests were OCs Roger Ward, Anthony Watts, Colin Redston and Charles Price.

Thanks to Charles Price for this item of news.

OC Michael Phillips will run the West Lothian Half Marathon on 23 May 2010 and is raising funds for the Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (Hart).

To support him in this worthwhile cause, please click here

Two Old Clayesmorians Jenny Coles and Catherine Farwell are part of the Tractor Girls 2010 team. 10 girls will drive 10 Tractors over 1000 miles in the UK and Ireland in June and July this year to raise money and awareness for four charities - CLIC Sargent Caring for Children With Cancer 1107328, Breast Cancer 1089464, The Motor Neurone Disease Association 294354 and The Irish MND Research Foundation CHY1722.

In addition to the drive, the girls will be appearing at a number of events to raise support and awareness for their mission including Clayesmore's Dorset Day

For more information, or to sponsor them in this worthwhile cause, click here

The new Old Clayesmorian Society website has been launched. This will be a primary contact point for OCs and will feature news, event information, pictures and contact information for committee members. Old Clayesmorian merchandise and tickets can be purchased through the new OC Shop and OCs can reconnect with each other through the secure section of the site.

OC and former Head Boy, Henry Bailey returned to Clayesmore on Friday 5 March to talk to Year 10 pupils.

Since leaving the school, Henry has studied Arabic and Persian at Edinburgh University, spending a year of his four year course in Yemen and Tehran, finishing the course with a 2:1.

Year 10 at Clayesmore have been studying Khaled Hosseini's novel "A Thousand Splendid Suns" which focuses on the tumultuous lives of two Afghan women and how their lives cross, spanning a period from the 1960s to 2003. Henry talked about Afghanistan, giving their study of the novel a cultural context and setting.

Henry has been at Sandhurst since September 2009 and hopes to complete his officer training in August 2010, after which he will join either the Yorkshire Regiment or the Intelligence Corps.

Congratulations to OC John Burnie for again winning the RORC Caribbean 600 in Region Guadeloupe in 2 days, 5 hours, 59 minutes and 3 seconds. John Burnie, skipper of Region Guadeloupe spoke dockside in Falmouth Harbour. "This year's race was more difficult in many respects, especially tactically because of the wind coming from the South. In 2009 we rarely deviated from the rhumb line but in this race we were constantly having to alter course to avoid wind shadow from islands and areas devoid of wind. We got caught in the wind shadow of St. Kitts and Beau Geste caught us up, we were swapping gybes with them for some time before they too hit a quiet patch and we wriggled free".

For further information on the race please click here

This coming Sunday (7 March) OC Alexander Wall will be running the Bath Half Marathon on behalf of QinetiQ's chosen charities - the NSPCC and Help for Heroes. Qinetiq - have agreed to match whatever funds Alex raises so if you would like to support his run for these worthwhile causes, please visit his sponsorship pages by clicking here

OC Anthony Allen is the "March" page of the Young Guns, Rugby for Heroes 2010 Calendar, sold to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Copies of the Calendar are available from Rugby for Heroes

A number of OCs attended the Cookery Masterclasses held at Clayesmore over half term. The masterclasses in Butchery and Patisserie were lead by master butcher Lio and master patissiere Paul - both of whom worked for several years at michelin starred 5* Chewton Glen Hotel and had been organised by The Clayesmore Society and were also attended by current and former parents of the school and were held in the newly refurbished Home Economics Department at the school.

Further classes are planned later in the year - watch the Clayesmore Society section of the school website for further details.

OC and former Head Boy Shannon Falcone (1994-1999) is part of the BMW ORACLE Team that have won the 33rd America's Cup.

BMW ORACLE Racing, the American challenger, representing the Golden Gate Yacht Club, won the 33rd America’s Cup Match in Valencia, sweeping past the Swiss defender, Alinghi, to a 2-0 victory. Race one, a windward - leeward course with 20 mile legs, saw BMW ORACLE Racing's trimaran 'USA' winning by 15.28 minutes. In race two, a triangle, with 13 mile legs, the Challenger crossed the finishing line ahead by 5.26 minutes.

Shannon is no stranger to the sea - completing his first transatlantic race with his family at the age of 3. Since leaving Clayesmore he has ventured off into the Atlantic and Pacific, with six oceanic deliveries and one world circumnavigation before becoming involved with racing, competing in regattas around the world including the Rolex Maxi World Championships.

OC Kim Willis (95-97) was a contestant on the BBC programme "Instant Restaurant" on 17 February. Competing against another amateur cook, Kim transformed her flat into a restaurant for one night only, serving up a British menu with flavours of Malaysia and Thailand.

Kim's guests praised her cooking commenting, "great location and the food was really good", and she made a profit of £117 on the evening.

Music scholar, Tom Highnam (13) has added yet another accolade to his already impressive musical credentials. A member of the National Children’s Orchestra of Great Britain for the third year running, Tom has now become the Percussionist of the Year at the Junior Guildhall School of Music.

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We are delighted to announce the marriage of Toby Conlon (Manor 1993-1998) to Francesca Liloia in August 2009. Our congratulations to them both.

The Society is sorry to report the death of Eric Sutherland on 12 January 2010.

The new Bursar at Clayesmore, Mike Dyer, has impressive credentials. An Army Colonel, former Commander of the Royal Schools of Signals and Blandford Garrison, and a man who has commanded a troop, a squadron and a regiment on operations during his 36 year career was bound to catch the eye of the Governors when it came to making a new appointment – and so he did.

However, it is his work as Colonel of the Army Welfare Service throughout the last four years that he regards as his most challenging yet rewarding appointment and perhaps strikes the most significant chord with his work now at Clayesmore. Certainly it has played a large part in landing him what he describes as a ‘dream job’, taking over the reins from David Little who retired as Clayesmore’s Bursar at the end of last term after 12 years in post.

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We are extremely sorry to announce the tragic and most unexpected death of David Patrick on the 20th November. David taught History and Classics at Clayesmore from January 1986 - July 92, was House tutor in Devine, and contributed to many areas of school life

This photograph was supplied by Tony Chew, also pictured, and was taken at the end of October 2009 when David was visiting Dorset.

As the time of his passing David was head of history at Sydney Grammar School.

Two Old Clayesmorians were interviewed by Paul Robey on his BBC Radio Nottingham Sunday morning radio show on Sunday 31 January 2010. Olivia Cheung (2002-2007) and Louise Smith (nee Ross-Kellaway) (1994-1998) talked about the forthcoming Nottingham reunion at The Pitcher & Piano on 13 February 2010. Olivia said "It's a really great school, and this is a really nice opportunity to stay in touch and meet up on this evening. There are people coming from Nottingham, Loughborough, Leeds and Manchester universities as well so it will be really great to see them again!"

Readers of the November 2009 issue of "Hair Ideas" magazine may have spotted a familiar face. Old Clayesmorian Amy Levinson was the cover model.

The Society is sad to report the death of Philip Michael Haysom in 2004.

Our congratulations to Anne Morgan-Smith (nee Jenkins) on the birth of her first daughter - Amelie Jane on 1st May 2009.

The Society is sad to report the death of David Richard Harrison, a former Chartered Accountant.

The Society was saddened to learn of the tragic passing away of "Spud" Cutting (nee Talbot-Ponsonby) a hugely talented writer (of "Two Feet, Four Paws", and "Small Steps with Heavy Hooves") and much loved Mum, friend and Old Clayesmorian who died peacefully at home following a long, brave and determinted battle against cancer on 14 January 2010.

The funeral service took place at Ednam Parish Church, near Kelso, on Friday 22 January 2010.

The Society was saddened to learn of the sudden death of Tim Mycroft, on 1 January 2010.

Tim was a regular on the Dorset live music scene, most notably playing keyboard but he also played guitar and sang. He also made a brief appearance in D A Pennebaker's documentary film about Bob Dylan, Don't Look Back.

The funeral took place at Poole Crematorium on 13 January and was followed by a wake at The Greyhound in Blandford with contributions by some of his musician friends.

The Society was saddened to learn of the death of Martin Roots, a former teacher of Art at Clayesmore, on 5 January 2010.

The funeral service took place at Hazelbury Bryan Parish Church on Friday 22 January at 1pm followed by an interment at Fifehead Neville and was attended by a great many OCs, staff and former staff of the school.