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When I sat down to write my message for last year’s OA Magazine , I expressed a hope that the College would soon return to normal in terms of the extent of our activities and ability to entertain OAs at Dulwich. At the end of the summer I was able to report that, to all intents and purposes, the campus was fully open. A wonderful Founder’s Day concert, attended by many of you, was probably the finest expression of that. The best news of all is that the 2022-23 academic year has continued in the same vein, with a real buoyancy about the place in the wake of excellent public exam results and university placements, and with more highlights than I can fit on to one page. Our first full-scale OA Reunion since 2019 took place last June. 250 OAs were joined by a good number of current and former teachers to catch up and reminisce. All our guests reported on an evening of good conversation and good company. I look forward to this year’s reunion, and hope that those celebrating significant Dulwich anniversaries in 2023 will be prominent among the OAs accepting our invitation. A number of College events have been enhanced by the support and presence of Old Alleynians. November’s Creative Industries Networking evening organised by the Careers Department for around 80 current DC pupils (and 40 visitors from the schools of the Southwark Schools Learning Partnership) would not have been as successful as it was without the engagement of the 20 or more OAs, making up the bulk of our professional guests, who returned to share stories of their career journeys. Many other OAs have returned in an individual capacity to address our various societies, talking passionately about their areas of expertise and inspiring the next generation to aspire to excellence in their potential vocations and avocations. There was also a strong OA presence at the Courses and Careers Convention on 4 February, for which we are most grateful. Our first in-person OA networking event for over two years took place in October. OAs working in the law and financial services met at White & Case LLP to renew old acquaintanceships and make new connections. Our next networking event will be focused on entrepreneurship and showcase some of the many impressive ventures that OAs have embarked on since leaving school. We are planning to host a series of talks from the Archives and a string of OA receptions, dinners and lunches both in and beyond the UK. I am also pleased to announce that we will again be launching Wild Arts’ Summer season with Opera in The Orchard in the beautiful setting of the gardens of The Orchard boarding house. Last year the inaugural concert raised more than £10,000 for the Bursary Appeal 2022. These funds edged us a little closer to our aspiration of becoming a needs-blind school, and helped us to become the Independent School of the Year 2022 for our Contribution to Social Mobility. I am writing to you shortly after my return from my delayed sabbatical expedition to Antarctica, following in the footsteps of Sir Ernest Shackleton. Speaking about 'Shackleton, Dulwich and Leadership' to members of the James Caird Society and others from the Final Quest expedition party at the Whalers Church in Grytviken, South Georgia, was one of the greatest honours I've had and merely one highlight from a voyage from which there are many tales to tell. The boys are beginning to hear some of those stories in a run of assemblies and I look forward to sharing more of them with you, both in our electronic communications and in person.
For now, I wish you and your families a happy and healthy 2023.
As ever
Dr Joe Spence The Master
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