News Submitted – March 2012

If the idea of an afternoon on the Mercedes-Benz World test circuit at Brooklands appeals to you – then why not get a team of 4-5 of you together and enter the Henry Surtees Brooklands Team Challenge Event?  This 2-hour endurance race is taking place during the afternoon of Wednesday 4th July 2012 and is a charity fund-raising event, in aid of the Henry Surtees Foundation.   It is being organised by John Surtees, father of the late Henry Surtees (C’09), and the racing will be followed by a champagne reception, prize-giving and interviews.  The entry cost per team is £1,000.  For further information about the event, do visit : www.daytona.co.uk.

Congratulations to Ewan Ward-Thomas (B’77) who married Beatrice de Cizancourt on Saturday 17th March 2012 in London.  They will be dividing their time between living in London and France.

News from Jake Ambridge’s (C’07) parents – Paul and Ali – to tell us that the Wellcome Trust has awarded Jake a £5,000 bursary and all fees covered to spend a year doing Veterinary Pathology at the Royal Veterinary College.  He will graduate in Veterinary Pathology at the end of this academic year, before finishing the last three years of his Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine degree.  This is a great achievement as only nine people from all over Europe are selected for this course, and only five bursaries are offered. 

Further news from Paul and Ali Ambridge to let us know that Tom Ballard (F’07) got accepted to study Law following his first degree at Durham University.

Andrew Cloud (B’00) has just told us about the launch of his new website which aims to help people learn about different jobs so they are better prepared to choose a career and gear their current learning and attitude appropriately.   The website is called www.JobAdviceRoom.com and is well worth a visit.  If any Worthian is interested in adding an entry to the site, then Andrew would very much like to hear from you at : Andrew@JobAdviceRoom.com. 

We welcomed around 35 Worthians back to Worth on Sunday 18th March 2012 for our fourth annual Football Tournament (click here to see List of Attendees) and our second Squash fixture for the 2011-12 season (click here to see List of Attendees).  Thanks to the sterling efforts of Andrew Taylor for football and Jeremy Dowling for squash, a great afternoon was had by all.  In the football tournament, the School 1st XI beat the Worthian U21s to retain the Henry Surtees Memorial Trophy, while both Worthian teams and the Staff played in a Round Robin tournament.  The Under 21s beat the Staff 1-0;  the Over 21s beat the Under 21s 2-0;  and the Over 21s beat the Staff team 5-2.  Over on the Squash courts, Desmond Calnan’s (R’69) 25+ years additional experience evidently worked in his favour with the pre-2000 leavers coming out on top and Desmond as the overall winner.  Paddy Keane (R’94) came second and Richard Stephens (C’02) third.  Everyone gathered for Match Tea in the Pitstop following the matches and John Surtees, father of the late Henry Surtees (C’09), kindly came along to present the Henry Surtees Memorial Tropy to the School 1st XI.  Thank you to everyone who attended and contributing to a really great afternoon.

We were absolutely delighted to welcome 58 to the 2012 City Lunch – 50 Worthians and 8 Honorary Members and guests – which was held on Thursday 1st March at Vivat Bacchus in the City of London.  If the noise levels at the Event itself – and the feedback that we have received following it - were anything to go by, then it was an afternoon enjoyed by everyone who attended.  Click here to see the List of Attendees.  We are hoping to find a venue next year that will be able to accommodate greater numbers, so we will no longer need to operate a waiting list.

The Friends of Worth have just announced plans for their next big event – the Jubilee Jamboree will celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee and is taking place on Saturday 26th May 2012 at Worth School from 12 noon to 4pm.  This giant street party-style day will have many traditional attractions, musical entertainment , a beer and pimms tent, tea tent, and some high octane rides for those with strong stomachs!   There will also be a huge hog roast and BBQ and lots of family-friendly stalls for all ages to enjoy.  Worthians and their families are most welcome to come along and join in the fun.

Worthian, Nick Barnett (G’73), has commissioned a beautiful pendant as a memento of Her Majesty’s Diamond Jubilee.  Exclusive to his company, HandMadeJewels, the design has been approved by the Office of the Lord Chamberlain.  It can be made in platinum, 18ct gold, or silver and can be diamond set – as shown in the photograph.  Although shown here as a pendant, it can also be made as a brooch or cufflinks.  For more images and information do click on : http://handmadejewels.co.uk/2011/12/the-queens-diamond-jubilee.

Jonathan Palmer Brown is a Worth School parent and is Chairman of the Board of CAFOD – the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development.  CAFOD has recently been awarded UK Aid Match Funding – which means that the Government will match pound-for-pound every gift CAFOD receives for its Lent appeal.  Whether you are a long-time supporter of CAFOD or hearing about this for the first time, please do visit their website at : http://www.cafod.org.uk/give where you can find out more about how access to water can change the lives of some of the world’s poorest people, and how your support can help make that change.

The Downside Fisher Annual Boxing Dinner is the major annual fund raising event for the Downside Fisher Youth Cub.  It is a black tie event and is taking place on Wednesday 18th April 2012 at the Troxy – a 1930s art deco former cinema close to Limehouse DLR.  The evening is a display of amateur boxing at its very best and is an excellent way of supporting a charity that has been active in a deprived area of London for over a century.  Attendees will be met with a welcome drink, followed by a 3-course meal and then treated to a demonstration of street dancing and entertainment by members of the youth club, followed by the boxers’ parade and around 10 bouts of three rounds involving both junior and senior boxers. The evening will be rounded off with a charity auction.  Former world champions Terry Downes and Lloyd Honeyghan, who learned their boxing skills as members of the Fisher Amateur Boxing Club, will be Guests of Honour.  You can book a ticket or organise a table for the evening by visiting :  Boxing Dinner 2012 Booking Form

News Submitted – January 2012

Congratulations to Hugh Bett (B’73) and Tom Carew Hunt (S’02) who represented Worthians at Real Tennis in the 2012 Schools Old Boys’ Doubles Championships on the weekend of the 21st-22nd January 2012.  They reached the final of the Henry Leaf Cup Handicap Division.  The  Worthians were defeated in the final 10-7 by Radley.   On their way through, Hugh and Tom overcame stiff competition from Marlborough, Harrow and Bradford Grammar School.   In the main draw, the two Worthians bowed out at the Quarter Final stage, beaten by the eventual winners, Charterhouse.

Congratulations to Tom Mitchell (F’07) - who is in the news once again! – having stepped up from England Students and FIRA series to make his debut for Rugby England Sevens in the next two legs of the HSBC Sevens World Series.  He is to play in the forthcoming tournaments taking place in Wellington, New Zealand on the 3rd and 4th February 2012, and Las Vegas, USA on the 10th and 12th February 2012.  For further information visit : http://www.rfu.com/News/2012/January/NewsArticles/180112_sevens_squad.aspx

Our New Year was heralded by the girls – as we welcomed back to Worth 25 of our 2010 and 2011 Worthian Girl Leavers for their second ‘house-style’ supper in the Cowdray Room on Friday 6th January.  It was a noisy, joyful affair enjoyed by all who attended.

We are very sad to report the death of Oxford Councillor Roger Belson (R’67).  He died on Monday 26^th December 2011, aged 62 years.

We are delighted to have found a new venue for the 2012 Worth Society City Lunch which can facilitate the additional numbers increasingly attracted to this annual event.  It is to be held at Vivat Bacchus, 47 Farringdon Street, Holborn, London, EC4A 4LL : www.vivatbacchus.co.uk on Thursday 1st March 2012.  The City Lunch offers an ideal opportunity for Worthians to catch up with old friends, to network and meet other co-Worthians for the first time.  Every year we welcome attendees who represent every decade – ranging from the 1950s to 2000s.  So why not come and join us?  For more information contact Olivia Henley at : worthsociety@worth.org.uk.

Worthian Tom Mitchell (F’07) was one of the stars of the show for Oxford University as they won the 130th Varsity Match at Twickenham Stadium on Thursday 8th December 2011.  In his first game against Cambridge, Tom scored a crucial second half try to steer the Dark Blues to a notable 28-10 victory.  Tom is reading for a PGC in Historial Studies at Oxford, having already earned a BA in English and Philosophy at Bristol University.