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OA GOLFING SOCIETY The Old Alleynian Golfing Society was founded on the 11th February 1925 and so we started the year 2025 with a wonderful dinner almost exactly 100 years later at the East India Club to celebrate the centenary of the society. Over 80 OAs and guests attended and a most enjoyable time was had by all with entertaining speeches from our Centenary Captain, Nick Owen (72-81) and guest speakers, Jim Patrick (Glenalmond) and Philip Truett (Cranleigh), excellent food and our Centenary wine. The society had decided to celebrate by having our own label wine for the dinner, and available to the members to purchase at cost. This has been a great success. Golf for 2025 commenced with a match against Royal Cinque Ports for the Brewmaster trophy. A fitting start to the year as Nick Owen is a past Captain at Deal and was a great friend of Tony Brewer after whom the trophy is named. We then held warm up matches for the Halford Hewitt at Royal Cinque Ports and Royal St George’s against Old Merchant Taylor’s and Old Cranleighans. Next was a very enjoyable society meeting at New Zealand in March. This was followed by a triangular match against Tonbridge and Shrewsbury at the ever-popular Tandridge. We then played a match against the school at Dulwich and Sydenham Hill. This is one of our most important fixtures and will be especially memorable as it was the last match arranged by Adrian Barrett-Greene who was stepping down as Master in Charge of Golf at the school after an astonishing 42 years. Adrian has done an amazing job and saw the majority of our competitive teams through their school years. The society owe him huge thanks for all of his outstanding care. This match was followed swiftly by our spring meeting at Rye, where our Centenary Captain appropriately triumphed. We qualified for the Grafton Morrish finals in May and took part in the putting competition at Royal Wimbledon. During the summer we played matches against Loretto and Sedbergh (New Zealand), King Edward’s Birmingham (Chislehurst), Whitgift (Tandridge), Sevenoaks (Littlestone), and Alleyns (Dulwich and Sydenham Hill). We also played in the Cyril Gray at Worplesdon and against Royal Ashdown Forest. Towards the end of the year, we played in the Queen Elizabeth II tournament at Royal Burgess and concluded the year with a society day at The Berkshire followed by our autumn meeting at Swinley Forest, when James Chan (05-10) won the handicap and Jonathan Swinney (77-84) the scratch prize. Unsurprisingly James and Jonathan, who were paired together, won the Camp Candlesticks in the afternoon. Our final match was against Old Uppinghamians at Aldeburgh, which was a great couple of days away. Our last meeting of the year will be our AGM at Wildernesse Club in December. A packed year worthy of our Centenary. Thank you to all those who have supported the society throughout the year, especially Nick Owen who has been a fantastic Centenary Captain. We have had great representation from our under 30s and are extremely grateful to the Old Alleynian Association for increasing our grant for this year to assist our subsidy for our younger players. The cost to the society is over £3000, but we have had a number of new young players this year through this great initiative. Peter Foord. Secretary OAGS
OA RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB Across the men’s senior section, the Rugby Club continues to field four sides most weekends – a significant achievement at this level and a testament to the depth of playing talent and commitment within the playing membership. Competing in Regional 1 South Central, the men’s 1st XV continues to embrace the challenges of level five rugby and are currently placed 5th in the league. Old Alleynians currently playing rugby for OARFC in the men’s 1st XV and 2nd XV include Max Bliss (14-19), Luke Bliss (10-15), Haydn Oakley (13-18), Jem Manning (06-16), Luke Sullivan (07-12), Red Freeman (06-17), Henry Briggs (06-15), Jasper Richardson (20-22), Chris Annous (10-17), Charlie Musgrave (12-17) and Ben Osuntokun (11-16). Our Age Grade section, for U6s to the Colts U18s, remains one of the largest in the country and currently has 670 registered players. To accommodate continued growth of this section we now also have age groups training at The Hollies on Gallery Road and on the outfield of Streatham and Marlborough cricket ground. We continue to uphold the core values of England Rugby – Teamwork, Respect, Enjoyment, Discipline and Sportsmanship (TREDS) – with a strong emphasis on inclusion, ensuring the game is accessible to players of all backgrounds and abilities. This season marks a historic milestone for the club: the introduction of women’s rugby at Old Alleynians, a long-time ambition. The women’s section has quickly become a thriving part of the club, with two established women+ teams and growing demand for a third. The rapid growth of this section speaks volumes about the appetite for inclusive rugby in our community and represents an exciting new chapter in the club’s long history. The Old Alleynian Women+ 1st XV are currently sitting second in the Women’s Championship South East 2 Division. As ever, none of this would be possible without the dedication of our volunteers, coaches, referees, parents and supporters. With growing participation comes increased pressure on our facilities, and planning for the future remains a priority to ensure the club can continue to thrive. We are extremely grateful to our members and Old Alleynians for their continued generosity, whether through fundraising, sponsorship or giving their time to support the club. Phil Kent, Chairman
OA LODGE The Old Alleynian Lodge continues to flourish this year with new members and more in the pipeline. We continue to meet (in the Old Library) and dine (in the Salle) four times each year and to enjoy our many social occasions, including informal suppers and meet-ups outside the College and in the wider Masonic and Public School community . The annual summer BBQ at the Old Alleynian RFC sports ground in June was very successful with over 60 guests, including friends and families both masonic and non-masonic. The Lodge will also continue with our October open dinner (this year on Friday 2nd October) where we are pleased to welcome non-masonic members of the College staff, including the Master and the Old Alleynian Association, as well as other non-masonic OAs who may be considering joining. We look forward to another successful year for the Lodge. Simon Whitaker (70-74) Secretary OA Lodge
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