Jake Olszowski also deserves warmest congratulations for being placed in the Distinction Class for his Eton examination.

He would approve of another alumnus who has recently been ‘running the straight race.’ Chris Wakeford not only took part in the British Universities Athletics Championships, which were the centrepiece of the opening events at the Olympic Stadium the other day, but came away with a silver medal in the Men’s 400m Hurdles. Having gone into the final as the fastest qualifier (indeed he was interviewed on Sky Sports) he had, strictly speaking, been overnight the stadium record holder! Well done, Chris.

Saturday saw the very happy wedding of Katherine Torry to Henri Black in the OBE Chapel at St Paul’s Cathedral. In a wonderful piece of serendipity this was the very venue where in July I had last metTiffer Robinson, when we were all at the christening of his nephew Thomas Hope, son of his sister Nikki and her husband James.

High on the list of ‘other exciting news’ I must include Ade Adedeji, who is rightly over the moon at having received an unconditional offer to study for his Master of Laws at Queen Mary’s London. For one who at Windlesham could argue the hind legs off a donkey, was ever any career path more appropriate!

Monday saw a Windlesham first – we were all actually able to enjoy the May Day holiday, which was tacked on to a Long Weekend. Gary Prior and I both very nearly turned up, for as ‘old lags’ we only spotted this delightful change in routine at the very last minute! Anyhow, it gave me a bit more time to prepare for taking Chapel on Tuesday, an experience which I continue to cherish.

Yesterday’s Olympic Question and Answer Forum provided a great evening. It was a real joy to see and hear dear Johnny Barclay, a great friend of Windlesham, not least to many of our cricketers down the years whom he has coached. However, the occasion was made for me by the presence of Olympic medallist, three-day eventer Tina Cook, returning to the school where she was such a leading light in so many sports. She and Johnny, plus hockey gold medallist Steve Bachelor, gave all those present a most entertaining insight into the life of elite’ athletes, speaking engagingly of the passion and the commitment required for success in any sport.

And so today I sat down to write this, feeling I’d had enough excitement for a while, but this is Windlesham! Lo and behold, at today’s annual Windlesham Challenge event which draws here several schools from London to take part, I discovered that one school group was accompanied by Georgie Staight, who is following her gap year travel with a bit of work experience. Another school had as its member of staff in charge none other than one of Max Lowry’s best friends, unaware that we are hosting a major art exhibition in a fortnight’s time in Max’s memory. He is of course now going to move heaven and earth to join us at the Opening Reception of what promises to be a great event. If there are any out there who read this and would like to join us on May 30th at 7.30pm, then please do so: contact Lucy Thornton at lthornton@windlesham.com

Finally, alumni, please get yourselves sorted out so that you can join us at the annual reunion in Chelsea on May24th. We very much want to see you there and would like to get the catering as close to correct as poss, so please do flag up your attendance with Louisa at lmilne@windlesham.com

 I’m finishing now, quickly, before anything else happens!

The following morning I was delighted to have Laura Biddlecombe on the phone, confirming that she will be here for the Art in Motion exhibition at the end of the month and also is very kindly donating some lovely Picasso prints for the silent auction. However, before that we will be seeing her cousin Tina Cook (nee Gifford), who is visiting for an element of our Olympics awareness activity. She, along with hockey gold medallist Steve Bachelor and former England cricket manager John Barclay, will be taking part in an Olympics Question and Answer Forum chaired by Alastair Eykyn next week.

Facebook activity this week has provided me with the ability to catch up with two alumni from whom I’d not heard in ages. Jocelyn Martin has been back in touch and through him I have re-established contact too with Tanya Wells (nee Rohrbach). A FB entry also reminded me that I had missed out one important detail in my earlier comments on the London Marathon. Alex Kendall’s run was actually the fourth of five marathons inside a month and the fifth was successfully completed at Milton Keynes last Sunday in the amazing time of 3 hours 31 minutes.

Yesterday I had the immense pleasure of showing round ‘old boy’ Sir Christopher Staughton. He had not visited his old school since he drove out in a coach when we were evacuated to Somerset in 1940! He was only seven years old at the time and yet had retained remarkably sharp memories of many of the places I showed him and spoke interestingly too of the time he spent at Croft Lodge, Ambleside, where the school eventually lived out most of those war years.

Extraordinarily, immediately after that visit, I returned to my office to find an e-mail containing the memoirs of someone who had lived in the school grounds during that very time. His determination to get back in touch had been sparked by reading about our new Walled Garden venture, as he had lived for many years literally just over the wall! It made for really fascinating reading, not least where he spoke of having been adopted by Canadian soldiers at a very tender age as a kind of child-substitute for all their far away sons and daughters!

Finally I must comment on how good it has been to hear from Laura Kenworthy (nee Fergusson), who wrote of the marvellous progress her father has been making since that terrible mugging. It is marvellous to read of Geordie’s determination to take up still his posting as Governor of Bermuda and we continue to hold the whole family in our thoughts.

The Fours visited Tangmere Military Aviation Museum on Thursday 26^th April, as part of studying World War Two in History. Our visit took the children back in time as historians, to the days when Tangmere airfield was one of the most important frontlines of defence for the RAF in Britain during WWII. The children studied a vast array of artefacts at the museum and learnt about the Battle of Britain, the home-front and the vital role of secret agents and fighter pilots. We discovered the legendary WWII flying ace Douglas Bader was based at Tangmere, which was particularly fascinating for all our Fours in Bader House!

The trip gave the children excellent first-hand experience of evidence from WWII and provided them with fresh insights into this incredibly dramatic period in British history. The highlights of the day for many of the children included learning about the courageous work of British secret agents sent out from Tangmere who were the bravest of the brave and also sitting in the cockpit of the flight simulator. The children loved the thrill of flying the Spitfire flight simulator which enabled them to step into the shoes of great Spitfire heroes like the irrepressible Bader. It was a fantastic History visit for all of us. Reflecting on the trip Henry Worsley commented, “Our visit to Tangmere Museum was a great trip because it helped us learn a lot of interesting things about the role of Tangmere RAF Base in the Second World War.”

This week is rushing by, but a couple of other events from last weekend are certainly worthy of mention. On Saturday Rachel and I greatly enjoyed our day at the Firle Garden Show which is organised by Family Sterck and it was lovely to catch up briefly with Jane, Emily and Lucy. The weather was not too bad, but they are certainly hoping for sunnier days at their next Garden Show at Stansted Park in June.

Meanwhile, down in Bath there was a momentous stag weekend going on for Ben Carter (’93), soon to be married to Sarah Dallyn. One printable element of the proceedings was a splendid afternoon at the Recreation Ground watching Bath play Wasps; other racier carryings-on included Roman costumes and I’m sure these are best left with a veil drawn over them!

I received a message from Martha Lambert which gave me a blog-link to her diary about the progress of her blossoming acting career. She was recently in a stage production, ‘Madame du Sade’ and has lately been working on a film ‘King of Soho’ with Steve Coogan. She and I were amused that certain of her ‘Little Notes of Life’ blogs have been censored by the school’s very sensitive screening and will not open here. Oh, Martha!

I do so love cases of serendipity. The latest Windlesham one emerged yesterday when I sent birthday greetings to George Duckett, who was probably too absorbed by Chelsea’s victory in the Champions League to notice! When I later in the day also sent happy birthday wishes to Stephen Goodhart, I suddenly realised that back in 1997, in the Open Day Drake House revue, ‘Windlesham’s Fame,’ the part of Mr Goodhart had been played by none other than George Duckett – how brilliant a co-incidence is that?!

There’s a huge amount of planning going on right now for various major events later in the term, all of which have a strong alumni connection. Obviously the annual Reunion in Chelsea on May 24^th is pretty central in our thinking and if any readers have yet to commit, we would so love to see you. Contact Louisa Milne at school: lmilne@windlesham.com as us knowing in advance that you’re coming does so help us plan adequate catering! The following Wednesday will see the ‘Art in Motion’ exhibition opening night reception and many of Max Lowry’s alumni friends are intending to be here at school for that and all, whether with an artistic bent or not, are welcome. For this contact our Head of Marketing Lucy Thornton: lthornton@windlesham.com who will tell you more.

Thirdly Saturday 23^rd June will have double excitement in that Sports Day is not only combining with a Hog Roast Lunch for alumni from 2001-2011, but that day will also see the opening of the new Windlesham project, our Walled Garden. This grand opening is to be performed by alumna Laetitia Maklouf, who is now a successful author of books on gardening.

Still, that’s enough update for now. Onwards and upwards!

This week is rushing by, but a couple of other events from last weekend are certainly worthy of mention. On Saturday Rachel and I greatly enjoyed our day at the Firle Garden Show which is organised by Family Sterck and it was lovely to catch up briefly with Jane, Emily and Lucy. The weather was not too bad, but they are certainly hoping for sunnier days at their next Garden Show at Stansted Park in June.

Meanwhile, down in Bath there was a momentous stag weekend going on for Ben Carter (’93), soon to be married to Sarah Dallyn. One printable element of the proceedings was a splendid afternoon at the Recreation Ground watching Bath play Wasps; other racier carryings-on included Roman costumes and I’m sure these are best left with a veil drawn over them!

I received a message from Martha Lambert which gave me a blog-link to her diary about the progress of her blossoming acting career. She was recently in a stage production, ‘Madame du Sade’ and has lately been working on a film ‘King of Soho’ with Steve Coogan. She and I were amused that certain of her ‘Little Notes of Life’ blogs have been censored by the school’s very sensitive screening and will not open here. Oh, Martha!

I do so love cases of serendipity. The latest Windlesham one emerged yesterday when I sent birthday greetings to George Duckett, who was probably too absorbed by Chelsea’s victory in the Champions League to notice! When I later in the day also sent happy birthday wishes to Stephen Goodhart, I suddenly realised that back in 1997, in the Open Day Drake House revue, ‘Windlesham’s Fame,’ the part of Mr Goodhart had been played by none other than George Duckett – how brilliant a co-incidence is that?!

There’s a huge amount of planning going on right now for various major events later in the term, all of which have a strong alumni connection. Obviously the annual Reunion in Chelsea on May 24^th is pretty central in our thinking and if any readers have yet to commit, we would so love to see you. Contact Louisa Milne at school: lmilne@windlesham.com as us knowing in advance that you’re coming does so help us plan adequate catering! The following Wednesday will see the ‘Art in Motion’ exhibition opening night reception and many of Max Lowry’s alumni friends are intending to be here at school for that and all, whether with an artistic bent or not, are welcome. For this contact our Head of Marketing Lucy Thornton: lthornton@windlesham.com who will tell you more.

Thirdly Saturday 23^rd June will have double excitement in that Sports Day is not only combining with a Hog Roast Lunch for alumni from 2001-2011, but that day will also see the opening of the new Windlesham project, our Walled Garden. This grand opening is to be performed by alumna Laetitia Maklouf, who is now a successful author of books on gardening.

Still, that’s enough update for now. Onwards and upwards!

This week is rushing by, but a couple of other events from last weekend are certainly worthy of mention. On Saturday Rachel and I greatly enjoyed our day at the Firle Garden Show which is organised by Family Sterck and it was lovely to catch up briefly with Jane, Emily and Lucy. The weather was not too bad, but they are certainly hoping for sunnier days at their next Garden Show at Stansted Park in June.

Meanwhile, down in Bath there was a momentous stag weekend going on for Ben Carter (’93), soon to be married to Sarah Dallyn. One printable element of the proceedings was a splendid afternoon at the Recreation Ground watching Bath play Wasps; other racier carryings-on included Roman costumes and I’m sure these are best left with a veil drawn over them!

I received a message from Martha Lambert which gave me a blog-link to her diary about the progress of her blossoming acting career. She was recently in a stage production, ‘Madame du Sade’ and has lately been working on a film ‘King of Soho’ with Steve Coogan. She and I were amused that certain of her ‘Little Notes of Life’ blogs have been censored by the school’s very sensitive screening and will not open here. Oh, Martha!

I do so love cases of serendipity. The latest Windlesham one emerged yesterday when I sent birthday greetings to George Duckett, who was probably too absorbed by Chelsea’s victory in the Champions League to notice! When I later in the day also sent happy birthday wishes to Stephen Goodhart, I suddenly realised that back in 1997, in the Open Day Drake House revue, ‘Windlesham’s Fame,’ the part of Mr Goodhart had been played by none other than George Duckett – how brilliant a co-incidence is that?!

There’s a huge amount of planning going on right now for various major events later in the term, all of which have a strong alumni connection. Obviously the annual Reunion in Chelsea on May 24^th is pretty central in our thinking and if any readers have yet to commit, we would so love to see you. Contact Louisa Milne at school: lmilne@windlesham.com as us knowing in advance that you’re coming does so help us plan adequate catering! The following Wednesday will see the ‘Art in Motion’ exhibition opening night reception and many of Max Lowry’s alumni friends are intending to be here at school for that and all, whether with an artistic bent or not, are welcome. For this contact our Head of Marketing Lucy Thornton: lthornton@windlesham.com who will tell you more.

Thirdly Saturday 23^rd June will have double excitement in that Sports Day is not only combining with a Hog Roast Lunch for alumni from 2001-2011, but that day will also see the opening of the new Windlesham project, our Walled Garden. This grand opening is to be performed by alumna Laetitia Maklouf, who is now a successful author of books on gardening.

Still, that’s enough update for now. Onwards and upwards!

On Sunday 22^nd April the Windlesham Seniors convened for the last debate of the season and what a finely balanced performance it was!  The motion was: This House believes public figures deserve private lives.

Alex Staddon Foster rose for his debut speech and delivered a convincing argument based around the outrages celebrities like the Queen suffer at the end of prying, telephoto lenses.  He felt stalking puts people off seeking public office and referred to world leaders with great public and poor private lives.

George Barbieri returned fire by rejecting the idea that public figures expect privacy. Apart from the reliance of the media on intrusions into celebrity life-styles, George highlighted the hypocrisy of some infamous sportsmen and megalomaniacs who tried to hide private anomalies so as to maintain their pristine or Aryan image.

Robert Gaherty, also a debut speaker, raised the ugly spectre of phone-hacking, and claimed that media frenzies ruined celebrity lives, warped news priorities, contravened human rights and, sometimes, made bad people even worse.

There were many valid points raised from the floor – some reflecting personal or indirect experience of intrusions into private lives of well-known people.

Grace Day summed up for the Opposition by congratulating her team, reiterating their main points and providing some artful rebuttal of points from the Proposers. She added two final thoughts – firstly, that no-one had much privacy any longer in this CCTV age, and secondly, that even God used a prophet to expose the private and sinful life of King David, so, she argued, God would vote against the motion.

Toby Johnston gave a very entertaining summary for his team.  He countered various aspirations made against his fine reputation as a so-called follower of gossip columns and commended his team mates on a grand show.  He rebutted several comments from the floor and even thanked those who criticised his team.  He ended with a moving reference to Princess Diana’s death fleeing the paparazzi and urged the House to vote for everyone and anyone having the right to a private life.

The vote was a 51:56 split with 29 abstentions and so, with no clear majority gained, the motion was not passed and the debate declared a draw.  The Headmaster thanked everyone involved in what was a most successful year of debating inside Windlesham and at other events, like the Marlborough Debating Day.