A message from Chairman, Geoff Wright

Dear Old Bristolian,

We are writing to you hot on the heels of what has been a busy time for the Old Bristolians’ Society and the School celebrating both the OBs’ Annual Dinner on 12 March and then Charter Day on 17 March. 

The Old Bristolians’ Society Annual Dinner (the 110th such occasion - the first Dinner having been held in 1900!) was a fabulous evening attended by close to 160 people from the OBs’ community including former pupils, staff, parents and Governors.  

The Dinner traditionally sees the installation of the new Society President, and Kate Redshaw (84-86), taking over from Rich Berry, was delighted and honoured to take up this role. Whilst Kate is not the Society’s first female President, she is the first former female pupil to hold the role and is looking forward to meeting many OBs during her term. You can read a message from Kate and what she’s looking to achieve as President beneath this letter. 

All BGS pupils become members of the Old Bristolians’ Society automatically (and at no cost!) when they leave and, with the world reopening, we thought now was as a good time to send you a brief reminder of what the Society has to offer. 

The Society, run by a Management Committee, chaired by Geoff Wright (56-66), works closely with the School and the Development office, to support many different activities  It aims aims to promote and preserve friendship amongst all former pupils as well as giving the School support with prizes, bursaries and careers advice.

Look out for OB networking and other events that are hosted throughout the year. Peter Jakobek, Alumni Relations Manager and Caitlin Spencer, Alumni Events & Communications Officer, who lead on organising events, run the OBs’ social feeds including on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook, so do join/follow the OBs groups on those platforms for all the latest information on what’s happening. 

Another great way to stay in touch with what is happening is through the Society’s publication ‘Bristolienses’, crammed full with reminiscences, OB news and developments. Please get in touch with Geoff Wright, Editor if you have articles or news to contribute. 

For those of you in Bristol, the Society’s monthly Friday lunchtime lecture series is a very convivial occasion - details and booking information can be found on the Old Bristolians website.

The Society is also active in terms of helping OBs with careers and professional development touchpoints and Committee Member, Rob Hagen (Class of 2001), is our lead for this. 

For OBs who have recently left we have a discretionary grant scheme to help support those on student electives and others in full time education working on community-based projects. Visit our Careers & Mentoring page to find out more and click here to submit your application. 

And of course, there is the War Memorial Ground at Failand which means a great deal to many of you, none more so than to our many OBs who play or whose families play, for the various OBs’ Sports Clubs for whom the Ground is home.

If you would like to know more about what the Society has to offer or are interested in joining the Management Committee (this does not have to involve a significant investment of time - we recognise many of you will be time-poor) or of you just want to say hello, please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you.

Geoff Wright, Chair, Old Bristolians’ Society

A message from Kate Redshaw, President

Hello everyone

It truly is an honour to be appointed President of the Old Bristolians Society. I have a number of close ties with the School not only having been a pupil at BGS, but also a parent and currently a governor – in fact the only thing I haven’t been is a teacher at the school – something which is definitely to everyone’s benefit!  

Whilst I am not the Society’s first female president – that honour went to the school’s archivist, Anne Bradley, and of course, Melanie Guy, well-known to many of you, followed hot on Anne’s heels. But I am the first former female pupil to hold this office which I know, from the messages and conversations I have had means a great deal to many of you. And it has been a busy start to my term with Charter Day, Lunch Club, school plays and a concert, coming hot on the heels of the Annual Dinner.

We all know a child’s education can have a truly life-changing impact on their future. I know the important role this school played in my future choices and that we have such an engaged OBs’ Society is testament to just how important the school is to you as well.

Having always worked hard to help those without the financial means to access an education at the school, as many of you will know, more recently the school committed to more than double the current bursary provision so that at least one in four of senior school children will be able to receive significant means-tested fee assistance. If you follow BGS on social media you will have seen the mayhem and fun which ensued on Giving Day as the school raised awareness of (and funds towards) this goal. During my term as President,  I am really looking forward to working with the Society and the school to move this vision forward.

But the Society also has other very important aims which include offering channels through which past pupils can maintain their friendships and provide careers and professional development support to former pupils. So I am also very much looking forward to continuing to contribute to those aims as well.

The School and the Society run a number of events for OBs throughout the year and I would really encourage you to come along if you can. Often in beautiful and interesting venues they offer a great opportunity to reconnect with old friends and to make new ones. You can find details on the OBs’ website of what’s happening and when.

I am really looking forward to meeting many more Old Bristolians as my term continues – feel free to message me either through LinkedIn or via the Alumni office if you’d like to get in touch or are interested in finding out more about the Society and how to get involved.

Kate

President, 2022-23