The Owl 2020

The Owl 2020
Former Pupils’ News
MUSIC AT BEN MADIGAN
Ben Madigan’s annual carol service was
held on a dark December night. But as soon
as you walked through the doors of
Whitehouse Presbyterian Church all
thoughts of cold were soon cast from your
mind. Everyone in attendance was quickly
enveloped in the warmth and happiness of
the event and the smiling faces of the
children on show. There was not a sound to
be heard as Oscar Coiley opened
proceedings with a crystal clear rendition of
Once in Royal David’s City and the room
was soon filled with the sounds of song and
spoken word. The natural talent of the
children, coupled with the careful
preparation of dedicated teachers, made for
a wonderful evening of entertainment.
Music is not only for special occasions: it is
woven into daily life at Ben Madigan. Our
weekly assemblies are filled with singing
and dancing where the entire school
community joins together, with our Pre
Prep carefully watching and learning from
Prep Seven. Many of our talented children
also avail of the specialist music tuition on
offer such as Piano, Violin and Drums and
are able to showcase their talents. For those
children with a particular interest in music,
the weekly school choir practice gives them
a chance to shine and this year was run by
Mrs Chapman and myself.
The choir had a jam packed Spring Term.
Having been invited to attend the Peace
Proms Concert at the Odyssey Arena in
Belfast, there was much to do as there was
a great repertoire of music and
choreography required to participate. It was
not uncommon to hear the sounds of Queen
and Disney floating through the corridors
during break and lunch times, as our
dedicated choir members practised
everything until it was just right. The
evening itself was a hub of activity and
excitement for the children as well as their
supportive parents who turned up in droves
to watch the performance. At the end of the
night only one question was on everyone’s
lips - ‘Can we do it again next year?’.
The annual Belfast Royal Academy Spring
Concert held at the prestigious Ulster Hall
was a fantastic, yet poignant evening for all
involved. As coronavirus and the
subsequent lockdown was looming, little
did we know it would be the last large
gathering of our school family for this year.
Backstage, the excitement was at fever
pitch as the Ben Madigan Prep. Students
waited their turn to grace the stage. The
choir sweetly sang ‘Hushabye Mountain’
from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang with Sophia
Simon ending the performance with a
beautiful solo. After rapturous applause, the
choir split in two and began their second
piece ‘Anything you can do, I can do better’
from Annie Get Your Gun. This was to be
the performance of the night as each side of
the choir fought it out to be the loudest,
quietest, sweetest, fastest side of all. Special
mention must go to Halle Sinnerton who
had the entire Ulster Hall in stitches with
her enthusiasm.
Soon after of course, the world turned
upside down. Just days away from our
performance of ‘Pirates of the Currybean’
at the Ballyearl Theatre, schools were
unfortunately asked to close. What a play it
would have been. Lines had been learnt by
heart, choreography had been nailed down
and songs had been tuned to perfection all
under the watchful eye of Mrs Lennon, our
esteemed director. It is hoped that one day
soon we will sing, dance and perform
together again.
‘Those who wish to sing, always find a
song’ – Plato.
N.F.
Former Pupils’ News
TONY DANKER
In June 2020, it was announced that former
BRA pupil Tony Danker, who left school in
1990, was to become Director General of the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI),
taking up his duties on 1 st November and
continuing a highly successful career in the
world of business.
After graduating with a degree in Law from the
University of Manchester, where he also acted
as Chair of the Union of Jewish Students, Tony
joined the office of the Chief Rabbi, where he
served as Deputy Director to the Chief Rabbi,
Jonathan Sacks. In 1996 he became Divisional
Director in the Public Affairs Division of the
Communications Group, the UK’s longest
established independent public relations
consultancy and which aimed to employ “the
best of the best”. As Divisional Director he was
responsible for the delivery of carefully
formulated public affairs programmes
designed to enable clients to engage their
audiences in the most effective way in the
support of key objectives.
In 1998, Tony was appointed Director of
Communications in the well-established global
management consultancy McKinsey and Co.
He took a mid-career break to study at Harvard
University’s Kennedy School of Government,
obtaining a Masters of Public Administration
degree and proceeded to become McKinsey’s
Senior Government Consultant. In this
capacity he was based in both Washington and
London, acting as a consultant in public sector
practice.
In 2008, Tony became a Special Adviser in
HM Treasury, based in the Cabinet Office and
then working with HM Treasury on public
sector reform and the economy.
In another departure in 2010, Tony joined the
Guardian Media PLC, focusing on policy and
strategy. Two years later he became
International Director, responsible for the
development of international business,
including the launch of Guardian US and
Guardian Australia. He also served as the
organisation’s leader of its international, rights
and syndication functions and assumed
responsibility for the management of its
philanthropic partnerships. He then became, in
August 2015, Guardian News and Media Chief
Strategy Officer, responsible for the
Guardian’s strategy, business development
and data and insight capability, which entailed
working on new markets, new businesses and
strategic partnerships, as well as global
expansion, business development and analyses
functions.
Possibly one of the highlights thus far of Tony
Danker’s glittering career came in October
2017 when he became Chief Executive Officer
of “To Be Business”, a government and
industry body launched by the then Chancellor
of the Exchequer, George Osborne and funded
by a group of FTSE 100 chairmen and the
Chancellor, with the aim of making British
industries more productive.
Tony built the organisation from scratch and it
now reaches over 5000 small and medium
sized enterprise leaders participating in its
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