The 120th OV Annual Reunion Weekend

On Saturday 16 September, we were delighted to open the doors to College Hall and welcome OVs from across the generations to the 120th Annual OV Dinner.

The evening began with Welcome Drinks, kindly sponsored by OV David Mills (H 44-53) and OVs Charles (Cl 78-88) and Julia Annable (nee Simcock, Co 85-87) of Brockway Carpets. Guests, resplendent in their black-tie best, enjoyed champagne and ‘Nozeco’ while catching up with their old school friends and being serenaded by the incredibly talented Year 11 violinist, Rosie B, accompanied by King’s Head of Music, Simon Taranczuk (Hon OV) on piano.    This year’s Chappel Memorial Award Winner, which recognises the oldest OV present who has not previously won, was OV David Clark (Cl 50-56). David was visiting Worcester for the weekend not only to attend the Dinner, but also to run in the Worcester City Run 10K in aid of the King’s School Worcester Bursary Campaign. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to recognise David’s support of the School. David was accompanied by Headmaster, Gareth Doodes, and the new President of the OV Club, OV James Smalley (Br 10-17), as he signed the Chappel Award book.

There was a fantastic turnout from the years of 1983, 1993 and 2003, with a special mention for the 1963 cohort, all of whom were celebrating milestone anniversaries. The ‘Archives’ Boards, up on the College Hall stage, helped resurrect many long-forgotten memories!

The compére for the evening was due to be OV and Hon Secretary of the OV Committee, Nick Stephens (Br 77-84), however, as Nick was convalescing from COVID, the OV Committee’s Chair, Julia Annable (nee Simcock, Co 85-87), graciously and eloquently stepped in. We were honoured to have OV, The Rev’d Martin Loveless (Cr 54-64) offer the Grace before the delicious three-course dinner began.

Following the Dinner, all those gathered toasted The King, before the new President of the OV Club, OV James Smalley (Br 10-17) took to the lectern. James had been officially voted in at the OV Club Committee AGM which had preceded the Dinner, so this was his inaugural duty in the role. His speech drew many cheers from the attending year groups as they received their namechecks; James then continued his speech by drawing on his own experiences of King’s and life beyond. He took time to consider what makes King’s so special, explaining, “It’s the unquantifiable feeling that you are part of something bigger than yourself, that stretches beyond the boundaries of lessons or sports practice…this additional component, this unknown, unmeasurable feeling that nowhere else seems to be able to conjure up, could I think be distilled into the moment when you and a stranger realise that you have King’s in common.”

James concluded his speech before handing over to Gareth Doodes, with a resonating quotation from soft-rock band, Bowling for Soup, which was met with resounding cheers: “The whole damn world is just as obsessed with who’s the best dressed and who needs a rest. Who’s got the money, who gets the honeys, who’s kinda cute and who’s just a mess. And you still won’t have the right look, but you’ll still have the same three friends. Nothing changes but the faces, the names, and the trends… High School Never Ends.”

On behalf of the School, Gareth welcomed all present. In particular, he thanked everyone for their support of David Clark’s 10K run and fundraising for the School’s Bursary campaign, which had inspired him and others on the King’s staff to join David and donate their fundraising activities for their half-marathon the following morning. Gareth gave special thanks to the OV Committee, who are donating the proceeds both from this Dinner and the 119th Dinner in support of David’s fundraising and the bursaries. The opportunity was also taken to introduce the Vigornian Hub, the new OV online portal, which is being launched soon, so watch this space.

The weekend was completed with the traditional Sunday Eucharist in Worcester Cathedral. It was wonderful to have OV James Smalley and Hon OV Richard Chapman representing the OV community with their readings during the service, while Headmaster Gareth Doodes ran the Half-Marathon, also in aid of the King’s School Worcester Bursary Campaign!