At the Past Presidents’ Lunch, I also had the honour of presenting Dr Jan Piggott with a Fellowship. Jan has been associated with the College since he joined as an Assistant Master in 1972. He was Head of English for ten years, and Keeper of the Archives until 2006. After studying at Magdalen College, Oxford, Jan completed his doctoral thesis on Yeats at the University of California at Davis and taught in Kuala Lampur. He is author of, among other books, Dulwich College , A History 1616- 2008 and Wodehouse’s School Days, the first volume of the College’s Quatercentenary Series. Jan is a first-class academic, who also turned his skills to mounting exhibitions on Turner at the Tate Gallery (1993), Shackleton in The Old Library (2000) and ‘The Crystal Palace at Sydenham’ at Dulwich Picture Gallery (2004). His love of literature, art, drama, architecture, and music pervades everything he has done for his pupils and the College: Jan revivified Founder’s Day, and we also have him to thank for the restoration of the Honours Boards in the Great Hall. Jan is a man of principle, a social and cultural historian, and a colleague renowned for his “astonishing generosity,” as Alan Ronald remembered him in The Alleynian . From staging productions in the Clump, to protesting the potential conversion of the North Cloister into a classroom block, Jan’s industry and dedication have long served as a model to his pupils and fellow Masters. An exemplar of scholarship and service, Jan is a welcome addition to our esteemed group of Fellows.
And on Founder’s Day 2017, I welcomed George Farha (83-88) to the Fellowship. George is also the father of two Middle School boys. He studied chemical engineering at University College London (UCL), after which he started his career with Dow Chemicals. He then returned to his home country of Dubai in 1992, and used his entrepreneurial approach to tap into the business services industry. From a modest hospitality services business, he expanded Intercat, the company he founded, into one of the leading companies providing support services in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and across the Gulf region.
Speaking to our pupil benefactors at the opening of The Laboratory George spoke of the attributes of the entrepreneur, a curious nature, and one critical trait that he learnt at Dulwich: the ability to take risks. With this fellowship, we recognise George’s contribution as a cornerstone donor to The Laboratory, and his ongoing commitment as an advocate and ambassador for the College, amongst OAs and the wider community. His philanthropy is already inspiring future generations of Alleynians. Innovation It is fitting, therefore, that The Laboratory was the venue for a June Entrepreneurs’ Forum, the first Professional Networking Event to give pupils and OAs the opportunity to discuss and develop their ideas with a panel of experts, including Alex Coates (92–99), Oliver Rowland (94– 01), Mat Heinl (90–97), Alex Griffiths (86–95); skyping in from Chicago), Adrian Bott, a friend of the College, and Simon Williams, a current parent. Joe Peyton (93-04) brought samples of his coconut yoghurt; Pete Lester (78-84) shared details of a joint to make scaffolding both more flexible and safer; and boys and OAs discussed a host of other ideas from Italian street food, to sun cream that fights acne. The panel fielded practical questions like, “How soon should I seek professional advice?” and “What is the best way to advertise my product?” to those more concerned with the welfare of the entrepreneur, “Just how do you find a work-life balance?” The forum continued late into the evening with ideas pitched and discussed, new contacts shared and made, and the appreciation that ideas are easy to have, but “overnight successes” have often been years in the making. The key message was, “Just start and be prepared to fail – more than once.”
George is now Chairman and Founder of a private office investing in real estate and private equity called GSP, which he founded here in London in 2012. True to his entrepreneurial spirit, he continues to invest and build value in new ventures worldwide in areas including technology, real estate and the food and beverage sector, bringing us at Dulwich into association with some of the leading international providers in these fields. George is quick to offer work placements to boys, and open his network of contacts for the benefit of the College. George made a transformational gift to The Laboratory in recognition of the importance of learning about science and research at a young age. He understood and promoted our vision to create a facility that would transform the boys’ learning environment, and his generosity is acknowledged in the George Farha Auditorium, and other named spaces including The Farha Laboratory of Science and Entrepreneurship and The George Farha Innovation Suite.
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