Secretary’s Newsletter - May 2023

The opening of Perrot Court took place in March with the Lieutenant Governor Lieutenant General Richard Cripwell CB, CBE performing the honours. The students were already settled in by the time the grand unveiling took place, so it was wonderful to see how the building (which will increase the College’s footprint by 40%) was being used realising the true potential unleashed by the legacy of Roger Perrot (5450). It is only right and fitting that a portrait of the great man hangs outside the Casquets meeting room.  The evening was a phenomenal success, with teachers in their rooms showcasing new facilities and highlighting the vast upgrade from their previous rooms at Upland Road, delicious canapes being served, music being provided by some of the Sixth Form students and the CCF drummers giving notice to the formalities.  Thank you again to those of you who have contributed in any way to making Perrot Court a reality.  This has already made an immeasurable difference to all those who use it and I am immensely proud that the College can provide such world-class facilities to its students. You can see pictures on the Elizabeth College website at www.elizabethcollege/gg/perrotcourt.

The OEA committee had the privilege of holding its first meeting of the year in the Casquets meeting room and although it is a change from our usual venue of the FG Manchester Refectory, I am pleased to report that tea and biscuits were still available!  During the meeting we were able to approve four OEA Awards contributing financially to students' extra-curricular trips, including attendance at the World Scout Jamboree in South Korea in August this year and rugby player developmental trips in the UK.

The 170th OEA Guernsey Dinner was held at the Old Government House Hotel in June 2022.  Pre-dinner drinks were held in the College Hall allowing diners to fondly reminisce of their time at the College before walking through the campus to the hotel.  The Guest of Honour this year was Steven Hillion (7651).  Steven was an 11+ special place holder and had gone on to have a stellar academic career culminating in him being named Scholar of the Year in his final year.  Steven was then awarded a King Charles I scholarship to read Mathematics at Jesus College, Oxford.  After graduating with a First, Steven went on to study for a PHD in California.  The theme of Steven’s speech was fascinating, and he spoke about the deep networks that he had formed both at College and those that led him to work in Silicon Valley.  You can read my report on the Guernsey Dinner in the current edition of the Elizabethan.

After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, we returned to London in October 2022 for the 171st OEA dinner.  Although coinciding with a weekend of national rail strikes, I am pleased to report that almost everybody made it to the venue and home again! The Guest of Honour was George Hartley (Hon Member), immediate past Principal of Elizabeth College. George spoke of some key attributes he thought made a great school and amongst others, he noted that one key attribute was the way in which a school can take students who lack confidence and then turn those individuals into self-assured and emotionally intelligent adults who go onto make a positive impact to the communities in which they live. Again, you can find my full report on the London Dinner in the Elizabethan.

Following the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the football matches that were due to take place between the Old Elizabethans and the College did not take place.  More recently, the annual OEA v College hockey matches took place in April on a glorious evening at Foote’s Lane.  A cracking game ended in a 2 -2 draw with the scorers being Liam Rivers-Moore (11566) and Ant Stokes (9895) for the OEA team and Cam Rivers-Moore (11608) and Adam De La Mare (11521) for the College.  A full round up of the match including photos are available to read on NetWork OE. If you would like to take part in any of the OEA v College sporting events, please keep an eye out for fixtures and call ups on the NetWork OE website and via OEA emails.

In exciting news, having managed to secure a new tailor, members may once more order OEA blazers made to a much higher standard than before. Ladies’ jackets and waistcoats are also available, and all are made bespoke allowing almost limitless sizing options. Committee member Andy Niles (7423) has already taken advantage of this wonderful service and is hugely impressed with his new blazer which he has had discreetly personalised with his school number.  You can find further details and photos in the Shop section on NetWork OE.

Without wanting to wish time away, the end of term will soon be upon us and with the end of term comes the Guernsey OEA dinner, the 172nd.  This year, by popular demand, the committee has gone to great lengths to bring the event back to its spiritual home, the College Hall. This has been no mean feat and requires many people pulling many strings, so fingers crossed for the evening!  We will hold our drinks reception at Perrot Court before moving across to the College.  The Guest of Honour this year will be Andreas Tautscher (6968) who has been involved in all aspects of the acquisition and development of Perrot Court.   It has been four years since we’ve been able to hold the dinner in the College Hall so please start assembling your tables now as we are sure that demand will exceed the supply this year.

Turning to later in the year, the London Dinner has been booked for Friday 13th October once more at the prestigious RAF Club in Piccadilly.  I was fortunate enough to be a part of this last year and can wholeheartedly recommend it if you are able to make it.  We had a fair few of the younger OEs with five digit school numbers turn out and we hope that we can draw a few more of them out this year.

Finally, my thanks go to the outgoing OEA President James Ovenden (7671), who will be stepping down at the AGM this year. Having devoted the past twelve years to the OEA, first as Honorary Secretary for seven years before five years as President, I can say that James’s passion, knowledge and love for the College is infectious.  We all owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude.  It has been an absolute delight learning and working alongside him to develop the OEA and he will be sorely missed by the committee.

Thanks also go to the other OEA committee members, Dot Carruthers (now retired), Sara Wright and Jennie Doucy in the Foundation Office and the Bursar James Couchman for all their help and assistance over the last year.  We also welcome our new College representative, Kate Earl (Head of Development & Marketing) and we very much look forward to working with her to continue to support the students and alumni. 

K C Tang (8786)
Honorary Secretary OEA

Secretary’s Newsletter May 2022

It has been just over a year since I was first appointed as the Honorary Secretary of the OEA and it has been a fascinating journey so far for me. I joined the Committee at an exciting time with some historic events taking place in the College’s history with the move to a fully co-educational offering and the development of Perrot Court. Some of you may be aware of what the OEA has been up to in the last year or so but for those who aren’t here is a quick summary.

Funded by the Elizabeth College Foundation, the new St John Robilliard Learning Garden was formally opened on a chilly November afternoon by former Bailiff Sir Richard Collas (5699). The garden is named in memory of a friend and contemporary of Sir Richard’s, St John Robilliard (5765) a member of the Dead Donkey Club who left a bequest to the Foundation on his passing. It provides an excellent outdoor and covered space for students and staff to study and socialise.  The space is part of the wider re-purposing of existing buildings and areas to ensure that the College site is being used in the most effective way.

The committee approved financial contributions towards two projects at the College Field, namely the creation of a pétanque terrain and also a croquet lawn. We look forward to heated battles between OEs and the College in both sports. The committee also agreed to pay for replacement barrels for four rifles to enable members of the Elizabeth College Rifle Club to continue to remain competitive in the upcoming season. 

Turning to OEA events, we were fortunate to avoid COVID lockdowns for long enough to enjoy the 169th OEA Dinner at the Old Government House Hotel in June as scheduled. Pre-dinner drinks were once again held in the College Hall. The Guest of Honour was Charlie Cottam, who was retiring after thirty-nine years of service to the College, his entire working life. Charlie was proud to have worked with five Principals during his time at College and as Master of Athletics saw the College beat a great number of better funded public schools both in Jersey and the UK.  My full report on the Guernsey Dinner can be found in the current edition of the Elizabethan.

Steve Sharman (7555) and Emile Thompson (9792) continue to do an excellent job organising OEA sports fixtures against the College.  The annual OEA v EC football matches in September saw the College 1st XI as defending champions eager to retain the title and bring in a strong squad.  Kevin Gilligan (8692) and Steve Sharman (7555) took the responsibility to select the OEA teams that successfully saw the OEs taking 4-2 victories in both games.

In cricket news, on a sunny evening at the College Field in June, the OEA 1st XI took on the College 1st XI in the annual past v present match. The current students looked fired up and started positively with Ben Johnson taking the first four wickets including removing the College 2020 Captain Nathan Le Tissier (11208), current teacher Tim de Putron (6704), Carl Pugh (9895) and Matthew Merrien (10202) to leave the old boys struggling at 33 for 4.  Christopher Peatfield (9448) and Damian Walllen (8792) began the fightback for the OEs and combined well to take the score to 57 before the former was removed when caught behind off the bowling of Ollie Clapham.  The OEs posted a score of 157 for 6 in their 20 overs.  The students began with their reply and soon slipped behind the run rate and were restricted to 34 for 3 after 8 overs.  The OEs came out on top for the 11th year running with James Hudson (10988) the pick of the bowlers with impressive figures of 2 for 18 off 4 overs.  The OEA won the cricket match by 64 runs in the 20 over game.

October saw the inaugural ED Thompson Trophy golf match against the College.  The OEs were victorious 5.5 points to 0.5 and whilst the score line looks comfortable, the contest certainly wasn't.  Credit must go to the College boys as their handicaps collectively were far superior to the OEs meaning they gave shots in many of the matches.  The matches were played in great spirit and to top the day off, a Sunday lunch carvery was provided, which didn't disappoint. Emile Thompson (9792) proudly retains and polishes the trophy on a daily basis.

If you would like to take part in any of the OEA v College sporting events, please keep an eye out for fixtures and call ups on the NetWork OE website and via the OE emails.

For those of you who still feel the chill in the air, our new OEA scarves are now on sale in the NetWork OE shop (www.oea.org.gg/shop).  Sadly they didn’t make it here in time for the winter but make sure you grab one for those chilly spring and summer evenings.  We also have new OEA lapel badges as well as other memorabilia in the online shop.

Finally, my thanks go to the OEA President James Ovenden, the previous Honorary Secretary Rupert Pleasant, the OEA committee, Dot Carruthers, Sara Wright and Jennie Doucy in the Foundation Office and the new Bursar James Couchman for all of their help and assistance over the last year.

K C Tang (8786)
Honorary Secretary OEA

Kin was born in Guernsey in 1981 and has over 15 years experience working the financial services industry having worked in Fiduciary, Investment Management and Family Office sectors.  He holds qualifications in Trust and Estate management, Family Business Advising and Investment Management.  

Kin started his career at Credit Suisse Trust Limited in Guernsey after completing a degree in Business Management at Plymouth University.  Thereafter, he went onto become a Partner of privately owned fiduciary and investment company's based in Switzerland as well as holding a non-executive position in an asset management firm in Singapore.  He also acted on the board and on the investment committee of those companies as well as investment advisor to a fund listed on TISE.  Kin was extensively involved in the restructuring of these companies liaising with tax advisors and appropriate regulators on an ongoing basis.  His client base have been predominantly UK Non-Dom/corporate, Hong Kong and Swiss based.

Kin is married with two young children, Rupert and Beatrice.

Secretary's Newsletter May 2021 

Sadly this will be my last year as the Honorary Secretary. As some of you may know, I was appointed the CEO of Guernsey Finance last year, the promotional body for the Guernsey financial services industry, which (should!) involve a high degree of travel. We are hoping that our events in the likes of New York, Hong Kong and Cape Town will be able to go ahead later in the year, and so I will be unable to give the OEA the commitment that it deserves and needs going forwards. These are very exciting times for Guernsey, and especially for our financial services industry, as we firmly believe that the safety, security and stability that the island offers will be seen as a hugely important by our international business partners.

I have to say that I have massively enjoyed being the Honorary Secretary and it has been a privilege to be a part of such a distinguished and respected association. I have learnt a great deal about the workings of Elizabeth College, both past and present, and it is heartening to see that as an institution it continues to adapt to prevailing economic and social factors thereby going from strength to strength. Although I am stepping down, I am not leaving the committee, and so will be on hand to assist the proposed new Honorary Secretary Kin Tang (8786).

Kin left College in 1999 to study Business Management at the University of Plymouth. On graduating, he entered the financial services industry, working first in Guernsey and then moving to Switzerland for a period of eight years and then onwards to Singapore for a brief stint, before returning to Guernsey in 2016. Most recently Kin has started his own businesses on the island showing a very entrepreneurial spirit! Kin is married with two children, and I have no doubt whatsoever that, should he be elected, he will make an excellent Honorary Secretary.

Turning to OEA events, the 2020 Guernsey Dinner was delayed from June to November due to the Covid-19 public health emergency, and sadly the London Dinner had to be cancelled; however the rescheduled Guernsey event was worth the wait. The 168th dinner was a splendid occasion at the Old Government House Hotel, with pre-dinner drinks in the College Hall. The event was again a sell-out, being all the more impressive due to the capacity of the OGH being 150 diners and so the largest Guernsey dinner since the 154th dinner held at St James in 2013 to celebrate the College’s 450th anniversary.

The Guest of Honour was Peter Ferbrache (5823) who had recently taken on the role of Chief Minister of Guernsey. Peter joined Elizabeth College in 1962 and left in July 1970. During his time at College he was a member of the junior athletics team, a member of the BBC Sporting Chance Team, and was made a sub-prefect in 1969. On leaving College, Peter studied Law at London University and became a member of Greys Inn in 1972, returning to Guernsey and joining the Guernsey Bar in 1981. A full account of Peter’s speech will be in the next copy of the Elizabethan.

As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and the necessary restrictions on normal life, only one OEA award was made in 2020/2021 namely the provision of funding to the College to purchase three new target rifles for the Elizabeth College Shooting Team.

Despite a somewhat muted 2020, the OEA committee has been busy organising events to keep the membership entertained. In glorious late Summer weather, a large number of OEs came together to watch Guernsey play our air tunnel partners, the Isle of Man, at cricket at the College Field, with cold drinks and a delicious barbecue. Guernsey was set a relatively low target to win and reached it with plenty to spare; many thanks to committee member Glen Broadhurst (7642) for organising the event so well.

Steve Sharman (7555) continues to do an excellent job organising OE sports fixtures against College. In the football, the 1st XI game over the past few years has been a tight affair with matches drawn at the end of normal time and the lottery of the penalty shoot-out being required.  This year’s match was no different with a 4-4 result after 90 minutes.  However, following a wonderful save from the keeper, the College took the victory, and after seven years of hurt the trophy now resides in the College Hall again. In the 2nd XI match, the OEA team eventually came to grips with the incredibly small pitch and goals to run out 4-1 winners after being 1-0 down at half-time.

In hockey, the OEA 1st XI beat the EC 1st XI 8-0. Whilst the score line seems uncharacteristically heavy in favour of the OEA it must be recognised that the team consisted of seven current full Island players and actually is a reflection of the outstanding hockey programme that has been in place at College over many years. The 2nd XI teams drew 1-1 in another exciting game.

The committee has given the green light to a joint OEA/College cricket team which will play in the island league this year as part of a new OEA Sporting Club. We are currently considering similar proposals for OEA football and hockey teams to play in island leagues depending on whether there is a demand from our members. Steve Sharman has already sent out emails to gauge the level of interest from the membership so please do watch out for news and updates on the OEA website.

Finally, my thanks go to the OEA President James Ovenden, the OEA committee, Dot Carruthers, Sara Wright and Jennie Doucy in the Foundation Office and the Bursar Mike Spiller for all of their help and assistance over the last year

R J Pleasant (7313)
Honorary Secretary OEA