Five Years On: Year of 2021

It was a pleasure to welcome the Year of 2021 back to King’s for their Five Year Reunion, with OVs joined by some of their former teachers for an evening of celebration, reminiscence and reconnection.

The Mulberry Marquee was soon filled with familiar faces and lively conversation as the Year of 2021 came together to reflect on their time at King’s and to share stories of the five years since leaving School. There was a wonderful sense of familiarity as old friendships were renewed, memories revisited and new achievements celebrated.

Joining the OVs for drinks and canapés were a number of their former teachers, providing a special opportunity to catch up and hear about the different paths the cohort has taken since their schooldays. This included Hon OVs Duncan Branchett, Richard Chapman, Simon Cuthbertson, Mark Dorsett, Gilly, Chris Haywood, Oliver Heydon, Richard James, Jonny Mason, Andrew Maund, Ronan McLaverty-Head, Tom Pearson, Mark Poole, Donna Salkeld, Graham Ward and Chris Wilson.

From university and careers to travel, new experiences and life beyond King’s, there was plenty to talk about, and no shortage of memories to share.

Those gathered were welcomed by current Head of Foundation, Ben Charles, who then handed over to former Deputy Head of School Tom Angell (Cr 16-21), who shared memories of the cohort and offering his thoughts on the five years since they left School. His speech prompted plenty of laughter and nostalgia, as well as a chance to reflect on the friendships, experiences and milestones that have shaped the OVs since their schooldays. You can read his speech in full below.

For many, the evening was also a chance to pause and recognise just how much can happen in five years. While some things may have changed, the friendships and shared experiences formed at King’s remain an enduring part of the OV community.

As the formal reunion drew to a close, the evening continued beyond the School gates, with OVs and Hon OVs heading into Worcester to continue their celebrations and taking the opportunity to make the most of being back together. Naturally, there was also the small matter of attempting the Nine Dots!

It was a fantastic evening of friendship, memories and celebration, and we look forward to welcoming the Year of 2021 back to King’s again in the years to come.

All the photos from the evening can be found on the Galleries page in the Vigornian Hub. If you need help with your login, please contact the Alumni Office.

King’s Reunion Speech – Thomas Angell

Good evening, everyone.

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years. Walking back under Edgar Tower and across College Green tonight, some things feel exactly the same. Others feel completely different, mostly us.

Let’s be honest: ours was not a normal final year. We were the year of lockdowns and laptop screens, of lessons from our bedrooms and exams that never happened. We said goodbye to this place in a way none of us had imagined. But despite that strange ending, we never lost what made King’s special: friendships that have endured, and teachers who shaped us more than we may ever fully know.

And look at where we’ve gone since.

If you’ve scrolled through LinkedIn or Instagram lately, you’ll have seen it too. We’re scattered across the country and beyond. Some of us are building careers in law or finance, others in healthcare, teaching or business. Many of us have travelled, some have changed direction entirely, and some are still working out what comes next.

What strikes me is how varied and how bold many of those paths are. That doesn’t happen by accident. King’s gave us more than grades. It gave us the confidence to try things, to say yes to the unfamiliar, and believe we had something worth offering. The curiosity and outgoing nature I see in this room was nurtured here, by people who believed in us.

It also gave us each other. Looking around tonight, I see friendships that have survived different universities, different cities and different lives. Yet they are still going strong. Some of the people in this room will be at each other’s weddings, will be the first call in a crisis, and will still be reminiscing about their time at King’s in fifty years. That’s a rare gift, and one that we shouldn’t take for granted.

Now, at risk of this sounding a bit like a Monitors’ address, if I could leave us with one thought tonight, it’s this: stay ambitious. Five years is a long time, but it’s also just the beginning. There will always be reasons to settle or to play it safe. Let’s not. Let’s keep the same excitement we had when we left here, keep aiming high, and keep supporting each other along the way. And let’s make sure that when we’re back here in another five, ten or twenty years, we have even more stories to tell.

Thank you, and enjoy tonight.