OV Reunions, rowers & reminiscing

116th Annual OV Reunion Weekend

The 4th & 5th May saw over 200 OVs and Hon OVs return to King’s for the annual OV Reunion Weekend. The 116th event this year was filled to the brim with laughter, memories and plenty of reuniting. The events began with Bubbly Brunch in the Dining Hall where we were especially pleased to invite Hon OV former and retired staff to meet with each other and OVs. The OV Club AGM followed, and tours of school were enjoyed greatly by all the OVs who had fun revisiting familiar spots as well as exploring the newer facilities on site.

It was a particular pleasure over the weekend to meet the year of 1979, where they had, all bar one, managed to reunite their rowing crew. The group took to the water courtesy of the King’s Boathouse, 40 years after they had last rowed together. It took no time for the group dynamic to re-establish itself and Liz and Sophie from the Development Office were particularly impressed (and relieved!) to see that the crew were evidently all still active, capable and fully coordinated.  Nonetheless, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the boat, (and all those inside it), returned to the water’s edge in one piece, looking to have had a wonderful time together again!

The black-tie reunion dinner in College Hall was a spectacular evening . It was wonderful to be joined by OVs from all eras, and it was an especially lovely opportunity for those marking special reunion years to gather large groups together again. An archive display filled with photos prompted many memories and reminiscences, and it was a pleasure to see so many OVs back together enjoying being in College Hall again. Dinner was followed by some short speeches and toasts and it was nice to welcome OV David Ogle (K 76-86) as the newest President of the OV Club and to hear him say a few words of reflection on his experiences as an OV.

The dinner was a huge success and tremendous fun, continuing late into the evening. For many, College Hall wasn’t the end of the night, with the reuniting moving on from College Hall and into Worcester city!

The photos from the weekend can be found here.

 

Rugby World Cup Announcement

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that OV Rowan Kitt (Ch 77-87) has been selected to be a TMO at the Rugby World Cup in Japan later this year! Rowan joins Team21 – the match officials who will oversee all 48 rugby fixtures in Japan. The World Cup kicks off in September and we will be looking forward to hearing all about it!

Rowan is always delighted to meet up with OVs so if you will be attending the Rugby World Cup or are living nearby and would like to meet up with fellow OV Rowan please do let us know at alumni@ksw.org.uk and we will be able to put you in contact.

(Photo courtesy of Rowan Kitt)

 

OV Rowers on form at BUCS REgatta 2019

The KSW Boat Club were well represented by the OVs at this years’ BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Regatta, Europe’s largest student regatta, held at the National Water Sports Centre over the May Bank Holiday weekend.

Alex Styles (W 08-15) rowed for Oxford Brookes University and she had a super weekend at BUCS winning the Intermediate Woman’s 8, (the first time Oxford Brookes had done this) and was also part of the crew that retained the lightweight woman’s quad title by a huge margin of 15 seconds!

Also rowing for Oxford Brookes was Rufus Tilt (Cr 10-17) (pictured 2nd to left) who had a successful time too. Rufus said, “Coming into the final the only boat ranked above us was our other boat in the category so it felt amazing to be part of such a dominant programme. My favourite part of the regatta though was how many people I knew from KSWBC, seeing this made me so proud to have been part of such a special programme with no one I spoke to having a bad word to say about it. But on rowing terms, I was happy with the result and I’m looking forward to the rest of this season culminating in Henley Royal Regatta.”

OVs Henry Marles and James Beattie also rowed for their universities and it is fantastic to see that OVs stay on the river after they leave King’s. Well done to all involved!

(Top photo courtesy of Alex Styles, right photo courtesy of Rufus Tilt)

huge investment for Ov company

Congratulations to Ben Chatfield (Ch 99-06), CEO and co-founder of TEMPO who have just secured £1.75 million in funding! TEMPO is an intelligent, video-based hiring platform and has gone from strength to strength since its launch in 2017. Tempo has built a community of 40,000 candidates more than 2,000 employers and this funding will make a huge difference to what they can achieve and shows just how much confidence businesses have in Ben’s company.

On their company blog Ben said, “Moving jobs or hiring a new employee should be the most exciting part of your professional life – it’s the start of a new journey and new opportunities. Unfortunately, most of us have been left jaded by slow, monotonous and demoralising recruitment processes and agencies,”

“It doesn’t need to be this way – our vision is to turn recruitment on its head. Today’s announcement means we can share our platform with more people. We can give job seekers more options, more direct access to the employers, and ultimately the opportunity for a job they truly love. It is a testament to the progress made by the Tempo team in building a platform that works for candidates and companies, and their demand for greater choice and control in recruitment.”

(Photo courtesy of Ben Chatfield, Ben pictured on left)

OV puts his mark on game of thrones

We are always so pleased to hear how OVs are getting on in the world of work and to see the diverse range of careers and professions OVs find themselves in. Harvey Smith (Cr 02-09) has always been passionate about art and has carved his niche in the art world by becoming a Special effects artist and technician. Harvey has worked on several huge films including Harry Potter and most recently has been involved on the Game of Thrones scene!

Harvey was already a fan of the books and says he has been honoured to work on the show for the last four seasons in the prosthetics department working for BGFX. Harvey’s main role was making the silicone appliances that would then get stuck to the actors on set.

If you are a Game of Thrones fan make sure to look out for Harvey’s name in the credits!

(Photo courtesy of Harvey Smith)

OV helps LAUNCH pupil’s music career

As guests joined us at the OV Reunion Dinner on 4th May, they were entertained by musician and King’s Sixth Form pupil, Nicole Sherwood who performed some amazing songs on the stage of College Hall. The OVs really enjoyed listening to Nicole, and said how lovely it was to be able to see all the incredible work and talent of current King’s pupils.

Everyone here at King’s is really excited for Nicole who recently launched her first ever music solo and EP called ‘Back to Front’. This includes three covers and two original tracks. The EP launch took place at the Imperial Tavern, Worcester on the 12th April. The Imperial is, we were delighted to find out, owned by OV Fred Jones (Cl 77-82)! Fred and his wife have been hugely supportive, and first spotted Nicole when she was busking in Worcester city centre. They then asked her to perform gigs at the Imperial Tavern. With her EP, Nicole made a dedication to Fred, as she is so very grateful for all the support and encouragement he has offered her. Nicole and Fred still enjoy working together, with Nicole regularly performing sets at the Imperial Tavern.

The EP title ‘Back to Front’ came about as Nicole has a rather unique approach to song writing; lyrics first, and then the music. Well done Nicole, and thanks to Fred for all the encouragement.

A Visit From Across The Pond

We love an impromptu OV visit, and were absolutely thrilled when Max Farthing (Ch 07-12) popped in to see us last week, to re-connect with both King’s, and the OV network.  Max has been living and working in the hospitality industry in the USA, having first moved to America when he gained a soccer scholarship at Cardinal Stritch University, Milwaukee, where he gained a BA in Business Administration and Management. He graduated in 2017 and has since been working managing two restaurants in Milwaukee and he has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the USA. Max is now back in Worcester for a little while and he decided to come in and see some of his former teachers and the school too. Jon Ricketts (Hon OV) was particularly pleased to see Max and to hear about everything he has been doing since leaving King’s, and we were very happy to touch base again with Max again too.