Dame Alice Owen's School

400th Concert at the Royal Albert Hall - see our new Royal Albert Hall webpage for your feedback!

Due to a change in circumstance, the date for this prestigious event is now Thursday 31st October 2013, not Monday 28th October 2013. Please amend in your diaries now and see more details on how to sign up to receive an invitation on page 15 of the end of March 2013 Old Owenians Newsletter! Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Saturday 9th February - Quiz Night £10 per person includes curry or chilli with rice, tables maximum of 8 people, start time 8pm.
Thursday 14th February - Three course Valentines meal includes glass of Proseco £20 per head.

Please BOOK for both or either events by asking at the club bar or call 01707 644211 or Lynn 07766 535 567 or John 07828 502 027.

John Sullivan is organising a 6-a-side event on 25th August 2013 at Old Owen's. He would ideally like an entry for each year from the 1987 joiners to the 2013 leavers. He hopes "if we get a team for each year, there will be 20 teams of players who have attended the greatest school in Potters Bar.. Age will clearly be a factor in the winning team.."! He has emailed 1st XI Captain's from this era to invite them to take part, with the help of Ian Breeze, so if you know of anyone who could track down that tricky winger or hard nut left back, please get in contact with him on JOHNDSULLIVAN@HOTMAIL.COM or ring him on 07971 965 269. Also see the Poster he has provided below! Details will also be repeated in our Old Owenians Newsletter at the end of March! Come and join in the fun - we're only 400 once!

400th Anniversary Cake Cut/400th Anniversary Launch and Unveiling of Historical Display - see Latest News w/c 21st January 2013

New Science Building - Cutting of the First Turf - see Latest News w/c 14th January 2013

"Our eighth Old Owenians Newsletter is now ready with news of our recent and forthcoming school and 400th events as well as your historic accounts and views – another bumper edition of essential reading! Thank you to our valued contributors once again, especially Gareth Randall, who has kindly submitted a missing chapter from our History Book, called “Student Voices”, which is now available to read on our Newsletter page.

As 2013 draws near, we’ve also got details of your invitation to our launch afternoon on the 22nd January (see page 2) and there are two requests from Old Owenians who want to organise reunions for Leavers in 1953 and 2007 (see page 29). We hope many of you will take the opportunity of our quatercentenary to get together, whether at one of our school events or by arranging your own. So, before our special year begins it just remains to say we really appreciate your on-going support and have a very happy Christmas and successful New Year!

Your Old Owenians Team!"
(Tim Rayner, Alan Davison, Bill Hamilton-Hinds, Derek Webb, Mandy English and supported by Louise Nicholaides, Malcolm Moyse, Nicky Williams)

Many thanks to organisers Stan Gould and Michael Harold for arranging yet another magnificent occasion on Monday 24th October 2012 at the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London. It was very well supported and to quote an Old Owenian "one of the best ever"! Some photos from the event are displayed below (tagged with labels) and a full report will be given in the December Edition of the Old Owenians Newsletter.

The Owen's School Association (OSA) have invited our whole school community (including students in Years 12 and 13, otherwise over 18's only) to apply for tickets to the 400th Anniversary Ball in 2013. Tickets will be allocated on a first come first served basis.

Please see their letter of invitation/application form from our OSA Chair, Mrs Ann Potter, on their website: http://www.theosa.org.uk/. We strongly recommend that you BOOK EARLY to avoid disappointment as tables are limited.

September edition of our Old Owenians Newsletter now available - click on the link above!

400th Anniversary Thanksgiving Service at St Paul's Cathedral and Reception at Mansion House

Please see our special webpage to find out how to enter our ballot for these two special events on Tuesday 30th April 2013. We anticipate all our events to be oversubscribed, so book early to avoid disappointment.

DO NOT BUY Royal Albert Hall tickets on resale sites! (posted Thursday 27th September)

We have been made aware that some tickets for our event at the Royal Albert Hall are now being sold on resale sites. These could be false tickets, although some could be Royal Albert Hall members seats. The Royal Albert Hall Box Office have recommended us to advise our school community not to purchase tickets via these resale websites.

Royal Albert Hall members have the choice of selling their tickets via agents but if not sold, they can return them to the Royal Albert Hall Box Office to sell at the original price. We hope further tickets will be available early in the New Year from Royal Albert Hall member returns, which include seats in the stalls and a certain number of boxes, although we cannot guarantee how many or when.

400th Anniversary Concert at the Royal Albert Hall - April 2013 (posted Tuesday 25th September)

Current students meet Old Owenian students at our Old Owenians Coffee and Tour morning!

		Our current students had the privilege of showing off their school to over 120 past students and some of their families at our first ever Old Owenians Coffee and Tour morning on Saturday 26th May. Guests were invited to visit the school for a tour by Year 10 (old Year 4!) and Year 12 (old Lower Sixth!) students, who took them round the original buildings and new additions since 1973, when Dame Alice Owen's was relocated to leafy Potters Bar from Islington. Students really enjoyed listening to Old Owenians sharing stories about their past school days and were proud to tell our visitors of their excellent experiences of education today! Many Old Owenians expressed praise for our students, who were a credit to themselves and the school. Our Head Girl, Helen Rampton, told us “It's so lovely that people who came to the school years ago still feel such a strong connection to it, and still want to be so involved in it today. I really enjoyed giving the tours. It was so interesting to hear the viewpoints and stories of the Old Owenians we showed round, and find out how much the school had changed or stayed the same since they were students. It was a really good experience and gave me a great sense of the history of the school, and I hope in future I'll be able to come back to see the school again and revisit all the memories I have of it!” Deputy Head Boy, Xavier Hussain, also enthused, “The tours were so well received! The weather was perfect and every guide I spoke to took great pride and pleasure in showing Old Owenians around the school.” Long serving members of staff, Mr Bill Hamilton-Hinds, Mr Peter Hutchinson and Mr Richard Morley were delighted to see so many old faces. Dr Alan Davison, our current Head, who is also President of the Old Owen's Association and attends the Harold Moore Annual Reunion Luncheon every October, was very pleased to have such support from past students. Members of our parent run OSA (Owen's School Association) served complimentary refreshments and were excited to offer the new range of high quality 400th memorabilia in an exclusive preview to our guests. If you are interested, details about how items can be ordered will be given in our next Old Owenians Newsletter at the end of June. Governor, Mr Tim Rayner, and Chair of our 400th Appeal Committee, Mr Peter Snow, were also present to show guests our architect's drawings for our new Science Building, planned for 2013/14. The next opportunity for Old Owenians to visit the school will be at our Open Day on Thursday 19th July, 2-5pm, when various activities will be taking place. Mainly attended by prospective parents and students, Old Owenians are also very welcome to join us and tour the school. Please view our mini tour guide that was produced for our guests here: Old Owenians Coffee and Tour Morning Guide Thank you once again to all our Old Owenians who supported this event and we look forward to seeing you again on future occasions!

Please see list below of our students who volunteered their time to give tours:
Year 10 – Lizzie Coles, Bryn Davies, Jessie Young, Sarah Masud, Andrew Bays, Anna Berman, Alice Airey, Sophie Robinson, Philippa English, Xenios Mahilla, Alex Marshall
Year 12 – Helen Rampton (Head Girl), Jordan Shum (Head Boy), Josh Sudell (Deputy Head Boy), Xavier Hussain (Deputy Head Boy), Ellie Shipton (Deputy Head Girl), Phillip Crout, Siobhan Rowland, Tom Proffitt, Emily Casey-Haworth, Daniel O'Gorman, Laura Clee

Congratulations to Old Owenian and chair of our 400th anniversary committee, Gary Kemp

Gary Kemp received the Ivor Novello award for "Outstanding Song Collection" at Grosvenor House in London on Thursday 17th May. We congratulate him on his great achievement - the Ivors are internationally respected for honouring excellence in British music writing. They are judged and presented by the writing community and for over 50 years have been given annually to outstanding songwriters and composers. Gary has recently published "The Lyrics of Gary Kemp" which features all the works that Gary has published in an illustrious songwriting career that has spanned 4 decades.

All Old Owenians are invited by the Old Owen's Association, to attend a Wine and Cheese get together on Sunday 20th May between 1-3pm at Old Owen's Sports Ground, Coopers Lane, Northaw. The Old Owen's Cricket Club Sunday XI will be playing if anyone's interested in cricket! Why not pop along and enjoy a sociable afternoon event - for directions, see our Old Owen's Association webpage.

Held during National Careers Week 2012, 5-9th March, we were delighted to receive 21 visiting guest speakers - all past students, some from when our School was based in Islington and some from our current site in Potters Bar. The talks really inspired our current students, who having had a taster last year, were even more keen to attend our talks this year! For more detailed news, see our Old Owenians Newsletter, due to be published 28th March 2012 on pages 4 and 5.

Special thanks once again for this years talks to: Dr Helen Green, left 1989 (Medicine and Drug Development, Roche Products), Graham Bailey, left 1965 (Marketing Consultant), Sheenagh McKillop (Accountancy Practice and Recruitment), Caroline Crewe-Read, left 1990 (English Heritage), Jenny Daniel, left 2004 (BT Recruitment), Fiona Jacob, left 1984 (IT Company Secretary with Civil Service experience), Graham Steed, left 1989 (HMRC), Richard Adams, left 1989 (Global Citizen), Roy Chenery, left 1965 (Marine Engineer, Merchant Navy), Gavin Flook, left 1985, (Deloitte), Jack Shenker, left 2003 (Journalist, The Guardian), Graham Simmons, left 1956, (Construction), Amy Larkin, left 1998, (Advertising), Andra East, left 2003 (Gabrielli Consort), Rob White, left 2001 (Recruitment in Financial Sector), Professor Jack Levy OBE, left 1943 (Engineering), Ben Vickery, left 1978, (Architect for Olympics 2012, Populous), Catherine Pewsey, left 2004 (Stage Management), Glenn Taylor, left 1985 (Estate Agency), Trevor Mose, left 1994 (Local Government) and Samantha Holliday, left 1995 (Local Government).

Our 4th Edition of the Old Owenians Newsletter is now available - click on the link above and remember to use the bookmarks as an index! With a special Christmas message from our Head, Dr Alan Davison, news of our 400th anniversary and contributions from thirty four Old Owenians, it's a packed 41 pages of interesting reading! We wish all our Old Owenians a happy festive season!

University entrants from Dame Alice Owen’s School are eligible for a number of Awards from the E H Thompson Bequest and one award annually from the F E Beecham Award. These Awards also apply to ex-students from Dame Alice Owen’s, currently in higher education. Those Old Owenians who are eligible and wish to apply need to contact PA to Dr Davison, Ms V Duverge at: duvergev@damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk. More outline details are given below.

E H Thompson Bequest - This trust was established on 27 September 1969. On 1 January 2006, the assets of two other Trusts that were set up for the benefit of Dame Alice Owen's School pupils undertaking university studies were transferred to the E H Thompson Bequest. These were the G A H Beams Bequest and the Maurice Daphne's Bequest (Students' Fund). The Trustee of the E H Thompson Bequest is the Brewers' Company. Normally you may apply for only one award during your course of studies. However, if you undertake a post-graduate degree you may, if funds allow, apply for a further award. All awards are competitive. Applications can only be made after successful qualification for university. Applications may also be made after or during the first year at university.

FE Beecham Award This award is available only to students of Business Studies at a university who intend to enter the business world upon completion of their degree. There is only one award to the value of £400 and it will be allocated on the basis of financial need.

Please note: All awards are typically in the region of £400 to £500 but this may vary according to the number of successful candidates in any one year. These awards are competitive, and the Head is responsible for drawing up a shortlist of 10 candidates from all applications received for the Thompson and Beecham awards each year. Shortlisted candidates will be invited for an informal interview at Brewers’ Hall with an awards panel, which will make the final decision on the allocation of awards.

Thanks to Mr Stan Gould and Mr Michael Harold for organising a splendid reunion luncheon for all Old Owenians, at the Imperial Hotel in Russell Square, London, on Monday 24th October. Please see a selection of photographs (tagged with labels) from the occasion, kindly taken by our governor, Mr Tim Rayner.

- 21st October 2011 - please read a wide range of contributions from teaching and non-teaching staff about our summer and first half term of the autumn, with a foreward by Dr Alan Davison.

Congratulations to Old Owenian, Gary Kemp, who was presented with the highly prestigious BMI Multi Million award for airplay at the Dorchester hotel on October 4th. True has clocked up 4 million radio airplays in the US, as a result becoming one of the most played songs in US radio and television history. Its popularity has been bolstered by use in a number of television shows, films, samples and cover versions since its release in 1983. Gary is reported to have said of the honour “I am extremely proud to have been honoured by the BMI for what is a mind-boggling 4 million airplays of True. As well as being immensely proud of Spandau Ballet’s success in the US, it shows the strength of UK music over there during that second British Invasion in the early ‘80s and beyond. The continuing airplay over the past 30 years is testament to the longevity of good songs.” The Broadcast Music Inc., BMI London Awards recognise the UK and European songwriters and publishers of the past year’s most-performed songs on radio and television in the United States.

Please see click on the September 2011 link above to read about another special Anniversary for the old Islington Girls' School and 28 pages of news and history... For Old Owenians on our 400th Anniversary E-mailing list, please remember to complete the online survey to give us your feedback on 400th Anniversary Memorabilia by Thursday 13th October. Deadline for contributions to our Christmas issue is Friday 25th November! Simply email our editor, Mrs Mandy English, at 400years@damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk with any articles (and especially photos) that you'd like to include!

Thanks to a marvellous response from those on our 400th Anniversary emailing list, 24 Old Owenians joined us w/c 20th June to speak to our Years 9, 10 and 12 students about a whole range of careers: Career with Physics degree, Primary Education, Professional Engineering, Publishing and Art Direction, Retailing, Accounting/Economics, Journalism, Medicine and Science, Working with MP's as an intern, Theatre and Media, Medicine and Drug Development, Trainee Solicitor, Building Industry, Marketing and Public Relations, HMRC and Civil Service, Building your own Business, Life as Junior Doctor, Career in Classical Music, Life as a Surgeon, Law, Government, Digital Advertising, Football Coaching and Education with Spurs. Our students were very interested in what our speakers had to say and asked lots of questions!

We are extremely grateful to those who took part and apologies to those whom we couldn't accomodate on this occasion. Please see some of our photos below - more details in our next Old Owenians Newsletter, 30th June.

Please continue to spread the word about our emailing list, 400years@damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk - Old Owenians simply need to email their full name and year of leaving to sign up - it could be your turn to inspire students next year!

Ms Christine Eberhardie, an Old Owenian who left in 1965, has very kindly written this article about her career for our students, as she was disappointed not to be available for our Careers Talks Week. She feels she owes her career to the devotion of her parents to a good education and to Dame Alice Owen's and its teachers for inspiring her and believes her choice to train at St George's Hospital London was due to Dame Muriel Powell (Matron of St George's Hospital), who all those years ago, gave out the prizes at Visitation. When Christine won the music prize (a book of Chopin's sonatas), Miss Powell, as she was then, asked her to play them for her one day. During her first year at St George's, they put on a revue and Christine played one of the sonatas for her. Christine appreciates all who have helped her along the way and consequently has an enthusiasm for successful past students giving Careers Talks - thanks for your support too, Christine.

Mr Norman Goldner (1963-1970) has asked us to let you know he is hosting another reunion in Edgware for the 1963 intake this summer. As mentioned after the reunion last December, the date will be Saturday 18th June, 2011 from mid afternoon onwards. He says hopefully the weather will be pleasant to be able to sit outside and that Old Owenians from other years are also very welcome to attend. Please contact Norman for more information at nlygo@aol.com or via Facebook, LinkedIn or even Friends Reunited.

- put the date in your diary now - Monday 24th October, 2011

This event is held in the Imperial Hotel, Russell Square, London and is open to all Old Owenians. Here is a chance to meet with old friends in congenial company, and to enjoy good food. Please see a report about last year's event by Stan Gould here

. Invitations and further details will be sent out early in September. If you have not attended before, why not round up some of your contemporaries. Please send your contact details (preferably by email), and any enquiries, to either of the organisers below:

For your interest, Harold Moore was Head Boy before the Second World War and started the lunch by inviting a few of his friends and contemporaries - it was then called the 1930's Luncheon Club. Ray Coombes then took over the organisation, renamed the event as the Harold Moore Luncheon as a tribute, and Stan Gould and Michael Harold have been making the arrangements for the last 3-4 years - it is now open to all Old Owenians.

- Tuesday 1st February 2011

Gary Kemp (member of Spandau Ballet, Old Owenian from 1978 and Chair of our 400th Anniversary Committee) and Dr Alan Davison, hosted our first Alumni event for many years at the school with over 25 Old Owenian special guests attending. Our current Head Boy, Head Girl and their Deputies also took the opportunity to meet past Senior Team students as well as several members of staff and current parents. We are grateful to those who travelled long distances to join us, including a special mention to Mr Ray Coombes, who drove 200 miles to be with us on this occasion!

The school is keen to reconnect with and support Old Owenians, using our 400th Anniversary e-mailing list (click here to join) to inform you of our celebrations in 2013. We will be producing a quarterly newsletter for you at the end of March, June, September and December each year, with our 2013 events information and other news, which will be available here to read - Old Owenians will be informed via our e-mailing list when it becomes available.

If you would also like to support the school by inspiring our current students with what you've been doing since leaving school, either by writing an article for our half termly school newsletter, talking to Sixth Form students or being interviewed for our annual Arrow magazine, please contact Mrs Mandy English, Communications Officer at: englishm@damealiceowens.herts.sch.uk.

Mrs Helen Uri (School Years 1936-1941) was interviewed in May 2010 by Sixth Formers for an article in The Arrow 2010 and Ms Ruth Goldman (School Years 1953-1958) provided us with memories from school life in the 1950's for our Autumn Newsletter in October.

We have been delighted to receive so many requests since initiating this in December 2010...anyone who has a past relationship with the school is welcome to sign up - past students, staff, governors, parents of students and even grandparents of students!

Usual data protection rules apply - please be reassured that information provided WILL NOT be shared with anyone outside the school and you will need to tell us if you change your email address. We suggest that you add our email address to your "Safe Senders" list to avoid losing information in junk mail boxes or spam filters. We may be sending a general letter to you as an attachment or may use mail merge to personalise contact. You can remove your details from our list at any time by sending us an email with "Unsubscribe" in the subject title - thank you.

***If you know an Old Owenian who doesn't have access to a computer, please could you help them keep in touch***

We really look forward to hearing from you and hope that you can encourage others to join, so we can share the celebrations with as many of our Old Owenians and past parents as possible, as well as our current students, staff, governors and parents. We are proud to have achieved 400 years of learning excellence and our events will reflect the significance of this forthcoming Anniversary. If you'd like to browse our events celebrated for our 350th anniversary, please see our 350th Archive!

Archive Information:

Owen's School Bedford Evacuees 70th Anniversary Reunion

Swan Hotel, Bedford

Reception, dramatised reading and luncheon

Tuesday, 1st September 2009

Formal invitations have been sent to all Old Owenians who were involved in the evacuation, together with their wives/partners, but the celebration is open to any who wish to participate. The Headmasters of Owen's School and Bedford Modern School have already indicated their intention to be present on 1st September, together with a number of Owens Girls' School alumnae and Bedford residents from 1939-45.

How to read PDF's - you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader 5 or a higher version to open PDF files. If you don't already have Acrobat Reader you can download it free from Adobe's web site - click on Get Adobe Reader logo here:

Dame Alice Owen's School

Old Owenians - welcome...

Archive Information:

Owen's School Bedford Evacuees 70th Anniversary Reunion

Swan Hotel, Bedford

Reception, dramatised reading and luncheon

Tuesday, 1st September 2009