On Friday 1 December, the Development Office held its annual London Dinner at the RAF Club in Piccadilly.  It was the largest attended dinner in London to date with a wide range of years.  Dick Paden (OH 1949-59) had the honour of being our oldest attendee, while Charlotte Cooper (OH 2012-22) and Eleanor Bird (OH 2020-22) represented the more recent leavers of the school.

Southern President, Bansari Patel (OH 1999-2001) welcome the guests to the dinner before Headmaster, Justin Stanley gave his speech updating attendees of how the school has progressed over the last 12 months and what the future holds. Before dinner, Will Hairsine (OH 1992-97) gave his own Hymers version of Grace, which we may hear again in the future.  Later in the evening, Laura Saunders, née Williamson (OH 2000-03) interviewed Phil Batty (OH 1998-2008) about his career since leaving Hymers College and also his memories of his time at the school.

Former Music Teacher, Andrew Penny (OH Staff 1977-2022) also joined us for the evening and caught up with many students that he taught at the school.  This year, we also had three guests who came as part of a new sponsored university student initiative, giving them their first chance to experience this annual event.  Also in attendance were a number of our recent Notable Alumni, including Sam Hairsine (OH 1994-97), James Horncastle (OH 1992-2002) and Chris Bradfield (OH 1960-67).

This was my fourth annual dinner and I think it gets better every year! It’s lovely to reconnect with the regular attenders and also to meet new people. We’re very lucky there are so many kind and interesting people in the OH community.

Thank you to all our speakers and to our guests for attending the evening.  The date for next year’s London Dinner will be Saturday 30 November 2024. In order to keep our ticket prices competitive, we would be interested to hear from any of our alumni who would be able to help sponsor the event.  Further details will be confirmed next year – we’d love to see you there!

To view the photo gallery below, containing photos from the evening, please log in to your Old Hymerian account.  To see all the photos, please go to "Show more" below the photos section.