Stopfordian 2010–2011 - Stockport Grammar School

The Stopfordian 2010–2011
A WORD FROM THE OSA PRESIDENT
Once I got over the shock of being invited to be President of
the OSA, I realised that I had to arrange to be given a guided
tour of the ‘new’ school, as it was obvious that much had
changed during the 22 years that I had been living and
working in Kenya. I was very impressed by the creation of the
new areas developed within the school and how well the new
had been blended in with the old.
My year in office has been a great experience, and a real eyeopener
with respect to school activities. I attended Speech
Day and the two wonderful Carol Services. Armistice Day
was a very moving occasion and extremely well attended,
with over 100 Old Stopfordians present. The Junior School
Sports Day was a superb display of unbridled enthusiasm and
budding talent.
The school music concerts were absolutely superb, and
impressed me so much that I shall enjoy attending as many as
possible after my year of office ends.
The World Lacrosse Championships were held in Manchester
during July 2010 and it was good to see so many Old Stops
being selected for the various categories of English Lions
(defined as players of a more senior age) and who played
so well.
Finally, I would like to thank the OSA committee members for
their unstinting support and guidance during the year.
Tony Fort
OSA President 2010/11
FROM THE HELM
Best wishes to all Old Stopfordians out there. The External
Relations Department has continued to place a great deal of
attention on communication during the year. Not least was
the publication in the early summer of the first edition of ‘Old
Stops ’Review’, to be published annually. The office received
many supportive emails regarding the content and the layout
and it is hoped that this issue will be the first of many. The
review aims to feature articles and events that are primarily
about Old Stopfordians but also to present a snapshot of the
current life of the school. If the publication is to thrive
however, it needs the support of all you out there. We are
happy to continue to receive notices of marriage and births
and, sadly, deaths but what is really needed are stories of
adventure, successful schemes, enterprises and interests, off
the wall career paths and travel to far flung places etc. We
know that these happen and we think your fellow Old Stops
would like to hear about them. So stop being so modest and
let us know what floats your boat.
Tom Fern has completely rebuilt the school website and it is
now even easier to access a whole raft of information. A
Facebook site has been opened which at the moment is being
used to circulate people with information about events. We
hope that it will soon be extended for wider coverage.
The Remembrance Service was again extremely well attended
and 108 Old Stopfordians returned to join Governors, staff
and pupils. After the service they were entertained by
the school string quartet and accounts from pupils who
had visited the French and Belgian battlefields before
enjoying lunch.
A major event this last year was of course the marking of thirty
years of co-education and the arrival of girls. This was
followed up by a 1980’s reunion in September in the form of
an informal lunch which was very well attended by former
pupils and their families and former members of staff.
In early September I was fortunate enough to re-visit the
Dolomites in Northern Italy courtesy of my son Nick. We both
had a most enjoyable time firstly on the Marmolada Glacier,
now reduced almost entirely at the end of the season to blue
ice, then an airy Via Ferrata and finally a straightforward route
to the summit of Piz Boe in the massive Sella Group. The
memories of those early Moutaineering Club trips from 1979
up to1990 came flooding back – too many to even
contemplate mentioning here. We did, however, establish the
location of the International Bar in Canezei, a watering hole
that I first encountered in 1962 with John Stanley as a wide
eyed sixteen year-old. I have to say that it had not changed
one bit and although Canezei has become a popular ski resort,
it was still recognisably the same charming alpine refuge that
many of us remember. I never like to make things too easy for
you and at this point I will put a question. Which group of
boys in 1979 or 1981, in the middle of a prolonged downpour,
pitched their Vango tent under the awning of a German
family’s large frame tent and then used their second-hand
washing up water after the family had finished with it? That,
Old Stopfordians, is what an education at Stockport Grammar
School enables you to achieve.
Regards to you all.
Stuart Helm
122 Old Stopfordians’ Association