Attendance at the 2024 Old Elizabethans Annual Reunion Dinner matched the record figure achieved amid 2023’s 450th anniversary celebrations, with some 120 guests heading to Queen’s Road this year.
There was a particularly strong turnout from the Class of 2014, although other alumni ranged from those who were at QE in the 1950s right through to leavers from 2021, with every decade represented.
Headmaster Neil Enright said: “This year’s dinner was very enjoyable and pleasantly lively, with a lovely atmosphere, and we have had very positive feedback immediately afterwards, too. The main point of the evening is to socialise and have fun, and there was plenty of that, with Old Elizabethans keen to catch up with old friends and staff. I was also very pleased that so many of our old boys were keen to offer their support to the School.
“To any OEs who missed out this year, may I encourage you to make a note to be there next November, while to those who were there, see you again!”
Among the ten-year leavers (2014’s Year 13) were the current Head of Year 12, Akhil Gohil, and former head of Library Services and Curator of QE Collections Surya Bowyer. Other former staff in attendance included the 1999–2011 Headmaster, Dr John Marincowitz; Eric Houston, who currently serves as President of the OE Association, alongside his governance roles; and erstwhile luminaries of the PE & Games department Tim Bennett and David Maughan.
Before dinner, a string quartet drawn from Years 9 and 10 entertained guests during the drinks reception, while A-level musicians were on hand after dinner to showcase The Friends’ Recital Hall. Their post-prandial entertainment ranged from singing to pieces played on instruments including the drums, piano and guitar, as well as on the electric organ acquired during the anniversary year.
Guests enjoyed seeing recent additions to the facilities, such as The Robert Dudley Studio, which opened this year, while also appreciating a trip down memory lane as they visited parts of the School campus more recognisable to them.
The Eric Shearly Award was presented to the 2024 School Captain Chanakya Seetharam, of Year 13. The citation, which was read by Chairman of the OE Association Martyn Bradish (OE 1962–1969), stated that Chanakya had “always been a role model for others, as a form captain, a peer mentor, a junior prefect and a leading musician”.
Chanakya, who is currently applying to read Law at university, had been “an extremely popular choice among his fellow students, as well as those who teach him” at the time he was chosen for the School Captain’s role last year, the citation added.
- Click on the thumbnails below to view the images. A full set is available on the QE Connect platform, for registered users within our alumni community.
