St Edward's Chronicle Summer 2018

25 ST EDWARD’S CHRONICLE

‘I joined the Friends Committee two years ago when my youngest child arrived at Teddies. His elder sister and brother had already gone through the School and I wanted to be more involved with the social side now that I no longer had a child at home. I think the Friends is an important way of helping parents and OSE stay connected with the School and with each other. When your children become teenagers, especially in a boarding environment, there aren’t many opportunities to meet other parents at the school gates or talk to teachers on a regular basis. This is of course entirely as it should be – teenagers should start becoming more self-sufficient and they don’t want to feel their parents are looking over their shoulders all the time. That independence is part of the reason families choose a school like St Edward’s. The Friends work to bridge the gap between School and home – our events are a really relaxed, enjoyable way of making connections and building a network. In the future I’d love to see more parents, staff and OSE turning up at Friends events. There are so many exciting changes happening at Teddies all the time, so a Friends event is a fantastic way to keep in touch with what’s going on. St Edward’s has always been a welcoming environment and the Friends is an important part of that.’ Tracy-Ann Neville, Chair members are always very welcome; if you are interested in joining the Committee, please do get in touch - contact Emma Grounds on friends@stedwardsoxford.org or telephone 01865 319239. It is not onerous and it is certainly a lot of fun.

Redundant Teddies sports kit being put to good use

What’s coming up in the autumn? Look out in the Autumn Term calendar for ‘Steeplechase Tea’, theatre events in The North Wall, and Christmas mulled wine and mince pies. Who are the Committee for the 2018/19 academic year? Tracy Ann-Neville has just taken on the role of Chair. Her husband James is an OSE and they have three children: Megan who left Mac’s in 2015; Huw who leaves the School this summer and Ben who is going into the Fifth Form in Segar’s. Jules Flory will be the Vice-Chair this year. Her daughter, Susanna, who left the school in 2015 was in Oakthorpe and her son Fergus is going into the Upper Sixth of Field House. Other members of the Committee are the Warden (President), Celia McLachlan, Sally Atkinson, Clare Coull, Alice Emmott, Tracy van der Heiden, Sarah Jackson, James MacDonald-Smith, Inga Taganova and Neville Creed. New Committee members joining us in September are Susan Burton, Sarah Churchman, Alice Scales, Melanie Slocombe and Jenni Walker. How can parents get involved? The Friends Committee meets once or possibly twice a term and aims to have one or two events per term, which include theatre events, drinks receptions and the very popular Quiz Night. Committee members tend to plan the events, help spread the word amongst the school community and then welcome guests on the night. New

The Friends’ remit is primarily social, but it is worth noting that there have been several successful charitable initiatives. Over the years events have raised money for various school charities and the Bursary Fund, while huge piles of sports kit have been shipped to the East Africa Cricket Foundation, and computing equipment and mobile phones have been recycled and upcycled. Thank you to all who have supported the Friends in these endeavours. What does the future hold? Over the coming years we are looking forward to broadening our events to appeal to the wonderful and diverse Teddies community. This includes welcoming back more former parents and staff to events, as well as encouraging former pupils to come along too.

Richard Murray and Judy Young at the launch of the Friends in 2008.