Educational Operations (Simon Croucher) • College-wide rollout of Paxton ID cards. Introduced secure Paxton cards for all pupils and staff, improving campus safety, streamlining access, and preparing the groundwork for QR code integration. • Outdoor Centre restructure and rebrand. Strategic overhaul of the College’s Outdoor Centre, resulting in a clearer operational model, better community engagement, and stronger value-for- money for parents and governors. • Lunch Queue Transformation (Rapid Impact Project). Overhauled the Christison Hall lunch queue system using new one-way flows, queue barriers, and revised Sixth Form timings — delivering an immediate improvement in flow and experience following pupil feedback. Bag issue also resolved. • Accident Reporting System Update. Transitioned incident reporting to the Evolve platform, improving consistency, traceability, and accountability across operational and co-curricular activities. • Staff recognition – Shahara has stepped up to manage all in-house transport and trip logistics during a major systems transition to Vectare.
Rajiv Joshi Teacher of Physics
Frostbite Series—skippering Mimidae with a variety of crew including on several occasions with a blind person as helm. Aside from racing, much of my time afloat has involved volunteering, which has been immensely rewarding. Every other weekend, I skipper for the Andrew Cassell Foundation, with a crew of disabled sailors, often racing against able bodied teams. I also volunteer as Second Mate and Watch Leader with the Tall Ships Youth Trust, helping disadvantaged young people take part in offshore voyages. I was honoured to receive the Perry Plate this year in recognition of these contributions to inclusive sailing. Within the college, I took on the role of Head of Sailing this academic year. I’ve worked closely with a group of OAs to broaden opportunities for pupils and alumni to engage in sailing. We continue to run the Alleynian Sailing Society’s Boys’ Sail Training Week (this year from 6–11 July) and have also established offshore racing for OAs in the 2025 JOG series in partnership with Unity sailing. We’re especially excited about the new Shackleton Trophy—a race between OAs and current students—with the first edition scheduled for August 2025. I have also introduced dinghy sailing as an Upper School games option, with students travelling to Westminster Boating Base in Pimlico to sail on the Thames every Wednesday afternoon. In addition to this I also ran a watersports trip to Poole during Enrichment Week last year with Marcos Lopez, where an enthusiastic group of Year 10s earned their dinghy sailing qualifications.”
“We have a few more spaces for the Alleynian Sailing Society’s boys’ Sail Training Week in the first week of the summer holidays and the Alleynian Sailing Society events are open for staff to join, regardless of their prior experience. I only took up sailing recently — my first time on a sailboat was Easter 2023 — and I’ve had to dedicate a lot of time to catch up with my peers, most of whom grew up around boats. It’s become a bit of an obsession and I spent 126 days on the water over the past 12 months and many evenings after work learning the theory of sail trim, navigation and meteorology as well as training on small dinghies on the old docks in East London. Alongside self-study, I completed the RYA Yachtmaster Ocean theory course this year through weekly evening classes. This followed the Yachtmaster Offshore course as an evening course the previous year. I came second highest in my cohort in the exam and found it an interesting experience to be back in the classroom as a student. Having to learn new topics and submitting homework on time gave me real sympathy for my own students! I’m also grateful to the college for supporting me to complete the RYA First Aid course. I’ve also been learning more about boat ownership and maintenance. I’ve taken on the ongoing restoration and maintenance of my own boat, Mimidae, a 1973 classic long-keel yacht that routinely surprises me with the kinds of challenges that come with a mechanical object that has spent over 50 years sitting in salt water. I’ve learned a lot about diesel engine servicing, fibreglass repair, and how to bail out knee-deep freezing bilge water by head torch on a January Friday night after a full week of work! I’ve participated in several regattas and race series, including Cork Week, Cowes Week, the City Sailing Series, and the Little Ship Club
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