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A message from
THE MASTER
It has been my privilege to be the Master of Dulwich College during the 400th anniversary celebrations, and I am deeply grateful to all those who have made it such a success: parents and pupils, Governors, Old Alleynians and staff. Indeed, one of the most rewarding aspects of this year has been in seeing the entire College community come together to create such a memorable programme of events. For Old Alleynians I think there have been two key highlights, both taking place during Founder’s Week in June. One was the Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral, when the entire school community joined with OAs to celebrate the founding of our school. The other was more informal, the reunion event later that same week which saw the largest ever gathering of OAs and their partners. Some 3000 of our alumni body have interacted with the College during this special year – it was an honour to have so many of you revisit us in 2019. Our quatercentenary programme of events and activities sought to be a fitting tribute to the actor, manager and entrepreneur Edward Alleyn who founded the College in 1619 for ‘poor scholars’ so that ‘good learning’ might be available to talented boys, irrespective of social background or financial income. And it is in that spirit that we have rededicated ourselves not only to good learning, both within and beyond the curriculum, but to our social mission. We are committed to having a positive impact in communities with whom we work in partnership (locally, nationally and internationally), and to significantly increase the number of socially transformative bursaries we are able to provide. The Alleyn Club and OAs have led the way with their generosity to our Bursary Appeal Fund, but it has been heartening to see the whole College community respond to their example. Through the kindness of our benefactors we were able to raise over £1.3m for bursaries during the calendar year 2019. This outstanding level of support is humbling and encouraging, and we are deeply grateful to all who have contributed. Of course, we need to sustain this level of philanthropy if we are to become ‘needs blind’ within the next generation. Thank you once again for all of your support during 2019. We will look forward to seeing you again in 2020, and beyond.
As ever Dr Joe Spence The Master
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