Ian Hatton, a Bloxham legend having taught History (as well as Psychology, Politics and General Studies) here for 38 years, was given a suitable send-off at the weekend when a band of past and former colleagues and a number of his pupils, including a sizeable representation of the many candidates he coached to Oxbridge success, gathered on the Headmaster’s Lawn to wish him well for his retirement. They were joined by Ian’s wife, Fiona, and daughter, Helen, as well as one of his earliest pupils from his first school Bristol Grammar School, Gervase Rosser, now a tutor at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. After speeches from former colleague Bob Axbey and former pupil James Taylor,  Ian spoke honestly and movingly about his time at Bloxham.

It is a mark of the esteem in which Ian is held that the catering staff had made a cake for the occasion and turned out en masse to present it to Ian.

The Bloxham Wine Society, open the members of the Upper 6th form, enjoyed its traditional finale to a year of viticultural exploration at an evening of Champagne tasting at Park Close last week. The dozen society members were joined by staff and guests, the principal guest being Mrs Goldsmith ahead of her move to Winchester House, Brackley as Head  from September . The evening was also enhanced by the presence of Dominique Largeron who made a very welcome return to Bloxham to share her in depth knowledge of this most elegant of drainks and to add gallic flair, charm and authenticity to the whole business of 'sabrage', the removal of the cork and the top of the bottle by means of a sabre! Mr McLellan also uncorked the mysteries of the methode champagnoise with its propensity for explosions in a lively address to the assembled party between tastings.

It was a beautiful summer's evening which seemed absolutely perfect for the occasion. Cheers!

           The serious business of cooling champagne bottles!

      Principal guest, Emma Goldsmith with Andy and David McLellan

                    The names Chamberlain, James Chamberlain

                        Society members gather for a 'team' photo

                 Mary got the evenings sabrage activity off to a great start

                An obviously delighted 'Tash also  hit the mark

                                Sam kept the boys honour intact!

 Park Close graduates, Sam S, Vanessa and Sam J back in the garden with Nick & Nuala Irvine

                    Mrs Goldsmith is inducted into the order of sabrage

              The Wine Society's year draws to a successful close.

There is a revised return time of 8pm today for our Bronze D of E expeditioners today following their 6 hour hike in the sunshine!

The Old Bloxhamist Society is pleased to invite members to the 2014 London Dinner on Friday 19^th September at 7.30pm at the East India Club, 16 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LH ( http://www.eastindiaclub.com ). The evening will begin with a Reception at 7.00pm sponsored by the Headmaster. Dress Code will be Lounge Suit for gentlemen and the equivalent for ladies. The cost for the three course dinner, coffee and half a bottle of wine per person is £65 per head. If you are a recent leaver in full-time education, please contact me for information on discounted tickets. If you are interested in attending, please contact the Resident Secretary, Simon Batten, for details. sjb@bloxhamschool.com

Two of our youngest and most entrepreneurial Old Bloxhamists have agreed to speak at the Dinner. Barney Williams and Sam Ryan both left Bloxham in the last five years and have developed Jumpin, a taxi booking and sharing mobile application for students which started in Leeds, where they were both at university, and has now spread to Newcastle, Liverpool and Birmingham, with plans for further expansion. In the past year they have won a Duke of York Entrepreneur Award and attended a meeting at No. 10 Downing Street for representatives of Start Up businesses. http://www.jumpinstudent.co.uk

Tomorrow (28th June) will mark the 100^th anniversary of the shooting  in Sarajevo of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary, the event which triggered the First World War.

Most Bloxhamists in 1914 would have been much more concerned with school cricket than events in the far-off Balkans. The previous day (Saturday 27^th June) the 1^st XI played Chipping Norton 1^st XI. Four members of the Bloxham side that day would perish in the war, including two members of staff (in those days teachers could play in the 1^st XI for club but not school matches). Term ended in the middle of July in 1914. The OTC (CCF) went off to annual camp at Tidworth after term ended but cut the camp early when Britain declared war on Germany on 4^th August. By the time the school returned in September for the start of the school year, Britain had been at war for a month and had already suffered heavy losses in the first two weeks of fighting. Several pupils and a number of members of staff who would otherwise have returned in September joined the armed forces over the summer, including the two teachers, John Nuthall and James Pastfield, mentioned earlier. Pastfield, a 22 year old Classics teacher, would be the first member of the Bloxham community to die in the war, in December 1914.

1^st July 1914: In the aftermath of the assassination in Sarajevo, Bloxham School’s Camera Club visited Shipton for its annual outing. On a beautiful summer’s afternoon, boys lounged in the garden of Ellen Hinde (daughter of the Founder, PR Egerton), blissfully unaware of the effect that events unfolding in the Balkans would have on their lives. By the time the school returned from the summer holidays in September, Britain was at war and several of these pupils had chosen to leave school immediately in order to join up.

Bloxham School and the First World War

The first day of the 2014 summer holiday (June 28^th) marked the 100^th anniversary of the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, the trigger for the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. Bloxham pupils were more likely to have been concerned by cricket and the approaching end of term than by events unfolding in the Balkans. By the time pupils returned to school in September 194 from their summer holiday, Britain had declared war on Germany and the first, costly battles of the war had been fought. The first Bloxhamist to die in the war was not an Old Boy but a master, James Pastfield, who joined up in August 1914 and was killed in France on 21^st December near Hazebrouck in Northern France.

Bloxham’s commemoration of the centenary focuses on two main events:

• The centrepiece of our 1914 commemoration comes in November 2014, with a dramatic production entitled ‘79’, an ambitious collaboration between the Drama, Music and History departments. The piece incorporates music and drama to tell the stories of some of the 79 Bloxhamists who died in the Great War. This is an original piece based on research material used by the cast to devise the production, which our Head of Drama, Sam Brassington will refine into a final script. The production will take place in The Great Hall from 20^th-22^nd November at 7.30pm with a Friday matinee at 2pm.

• The School Choir will be touring Belgium in March/April 2015, visiting Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges and giving a number of concerts. The tour will culminate in the party visiting the Ypres Salient at the very heart of the Western Front and the choir singing at the Menin Gate Last Post ceremony in Ypres on Wednesday 1^st April. This is a great honour for Bloxham School and the choir, and we are very grateful to OB Matthew Dixon for his help in enabling this very prestigious engagement to happen.

• The School’s chosen charity for the Michaelmas Term will be SSAFA (the Soldiers’, Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association), which was founded in 1885 and does excellent and unheralded work for the armed forces and their families.  In November, at the school’s Remembrance Day service, the name of another Bloxhamist, JC Wilson, will be added to our new Roll of Honour for the First World War (see the Old Bloxhamist section in this magazine for details).

The next in the school’s continuing programme of lectures on aspects of the First World War will take place on Wednesday 3^rd December, when Old Bloxhamist Edward Dixon will talk on the artists of the Great War. This talk, which is open to anyone, will take place in the Vallance Library at 7.30pm.

Congratulations to Bloxham A Level students!

Well done to all Bloxham students for achieving excellent A Level results. Their months of hard work and focus were justly rewarded, with many exceeding all expectations.

There were some really strong individual performances, with good results secured in maths, the sciences, humanities, arts and languages. Overall, these were a very positive set of results, with all but two students gaining entry to a university of their choice.

Paul Sanderson, Headmaster, said:

“I feel very proud of all of our students today. They have worked really hard, achieved their best and – in nearly all cases – got into a university of their choice.

“I am also delighted that our Lower Sixth students performed so well in their AS results, with many awarded the highest grades, providing a solid basis for success next year.

“Congratulations to them all.”

We wish them all well as they embark on the next, exciting stage of their lives.

Grace Hopkins has excelled in the novice dressage event in the National Pony Club Championships lifting the title.

 Grace has competed at County then Area level,winning all and culminating in winning the national competition at the end of the season.

We offer our hearty congratulations to Grace on this wonderful achievement. Grace is pictured here with the spoils of her success.