Recent Events
Afternoon Tea
On 20th March 2015 the Development and Alumni Relations Office was delighted to be able to welcome some of those OMTs who left the School before 1970, and their guests, to afternoon tea in the Exam Hall. Prior to tea, tours of the School were given by current members of the Lower Sixth Form. The 58 guests were also treated to some exceptional performances by music scholar, George Wright, and winning duologues from the recent competition.
To read more details about the event, please click here.
An Evening with Shami Chakrabarti
On 12th March, a crowd of over 300 guests came to the Great Hall to hear a talk by Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty. Her softly-spoken, eloquent presentation concerned the importance of human rights and how these rights can protect citizens against three major patterns she sees emerging in the world today. Before she spoke in the Great Hall, Ms Chakrabarti kindly gave an interview to Maneet Patel (Second Monitor), filmed by Studio 72, the Merchant Taylors' Film Society. To see the interview, please click here.
To read more details about the event, please click here.
Earliest Vintage Luncheon
On Monday 13th April, nearly 70 OMTs gathered at the Merchant Taylors' Hall for a lunch of Devon crab, roast duck, decadent desserts and fine Australian wine. After speeches from the Master of the Merchant Taylors' Company, Peter Watkins (OMT 1965), and the President of the OMT Society, Tony Wright (OMT 1957), the Head Master spoke of friendship and fellowship, memories, and loyalty, stressing the importance of these notions to both the Old Boys and to the education that the School offers today.
To read the full article, please click here.
For more information about recent events, please click here.
An Interview With...
Please follow this link for the video interviews with Nikhil Sangani (OMT), John Pallant (Former Staff) and Shami Chakrabarti.
A Snippet of School Life
Duologues 2015
The Juniors really stood out this year, offering nine Duologues in all.
The winners were as follows:
Junior Prize: Luke Rozanski and Matthew Hine - 'The Goon'.
Intermediate Prize: Selvan Senthilkumaran and Harvey Stevens - 'A Little Chat'
Senior Prize: Dan Allum-Gruselle and Jonah Surkes - 'Mastermind'
Best Newcomers: Dylan Shah and Isaac Bettridge - 'Journey's End'
The Bolton Cup for Originality: Tom Bannon and Daniel Surkes - 'The Working Class'.
For more information and pictures from the Duologue competition, please click here.
Oxbridge Success
Sixteen MTS boys so far this year have won places at Oxford and Cambridge; 14 at Cambridge and four at Oxford.
Many congratulations to them; they will go up in October 2015 to what Evelyn Waugh so memorably called the cities of aquatint and autumnal mists, where the bells ring out clear over the cupolas, exhaling the soft air of centuries of youth.
To see the list of where each boy is going and what they are going to read, please click here.
Phab Week 2015
On Monday 6th April a nervous Merchant Taylors' and St. Helen's Phab team awaited the arrival of twenty disabled teenagers that they would be looking after for the week. The culmination of two terms' hard work raising the £12,000 needed to run the week, and the preparations for looking after the guests was finally at an end, and the School had been transformed into a haven for guests and hosts alike. Within minutes of the arrival of the guests, all doubts and uncertainties were instatnly dispelled, and the inevitably happy and exhilarating aura of Phab spread throughout the School.
Activities for the week included bowling, a trip to Woburn Safari Park, a performance from Electric Umbrella, shopping and swimming and sailing at the School.
To read more about Phab Week 2015, please click here.
To read more about 'School Life', please click here.
Merchant Taylors' School Sport
Hockey
The School has enjoyed a superb term of hockey, in terms of results and player and squad development. With some of the younger sides performing outstandingly well on the national stage, it bodes well for the future of hockey at Merchant Taylors'.
The 1st XI had a very strong season, winning 12 of their 18 fixtures and reaching the last eight of the National Plate competition. The other most notable performances of the season came from the Under 15As and the Under 14As. The former enjoyed an unbeaten season, while the latter came third in the South round of the National competition, putting them in the top 12 sides in the country.
1st XI: Won 12, Drew 1, Lost 5; for a full report on their season from Head of Hockey, Richard Alexander, please click here.
U15A: Unbeaten season; for a full report on their season, please click here.
U14A: Won 13, Drew 1, Lost 3 ; for a full report on their season, please click here.
Rugby
With a strong link forged between Merchant Taylors' School and Wasps RFC, we are delighted to see a number of current pupils being called up to their academy squad. This Sunday, Wasps U17s play Exeter Chiefs at the Ricoh Arena and three current pupils are named in the squad for the game. Will Porter will start at scrum half, while Theo Reynolds and James Seabrook will be hoping to have an impact coming from the bench. Congratulations to all our players in the Academy and good luck to those three this weekend. To read more on the Wasps website, please click here.
Old Merchant Taylors Sport
Rugby
1st XV: Won 5, Lost 13, Drew 1
2nd XV: Won 13, Lost 4, Drew 1
3rd XV: Won 3, Lost 5
For more information about the OMT Rugby Club, please click here.
Hockey
1st XI: Won 6, Lost 12, Drew 4
2nd XI: Won 8, Lost 10, Drew 1
3rd XI: won 7, Lost 11, Drew 4
For more information about the OMT Hockey Club, click here.
Development Office - Fundraising Update
Gift of £400,000 towards the new Design Centre
The De
sign Centre project has received a huge boost as it nears completion with the news that the Dudley and Geoffrey Cox Charitable Trust wished to make a gift of £400,000 towards equipping the new building.
Father and son, Dudley and Geoffrey Cox, were both OMTs who bequeathed money to a Trust in their names. The Trust's wonderful gift this year will fund equipment in Design Centre which will match the outstanding quality of the building itself. Two spaces in the building will be named after Dudley and Geoffrey Cox in recognition of their gift.
We continue to seek further funding for the project before its opening in September. To read more about the Trust's gift, please click here.
Restoration of the Naval Ensign Supported by the Annual Fund
Supported in part by the Annual Fund, the School's Gallipoli flag, saved from HMS Rattlesnake in 1916, has been fully restored in time for the commemoration of ANZAC Day (25 April). This date also marks the 100th anniversary of OMT Lt Leslie Drewry winning the Victoria Cross for his part in the landings.
It has been removed from its original mounting, cleaned, humidified (see left), and re-mounted on a custom-made padded board and re-framed with lighting.
In a remarkable coincidence, after six months of research, the School only discovered the identity of the donor of the flag on Friday 24th April - the day the flag was re-mounted on the wall of the Great Hall Lobby, and the day before ANZAC day. To read more about this story and to see a photo of the restored flag, please click here.
A Successful Fundraising Year So Far...
This year we have raised over £575,000 so far. OMTs, parents and friends have been extremely generous in their support of the Campaign. Bursaries have always been our major focus of fundraising, and much of our support has been directed there. We also support other projects around the School for sport, music, drama, and the School campus and environment.
In the September issue of Parvae Res we will report on the end of the fund year and the Winter edition of Concordia magazine will have a roundup of the projects we have funded with the support we have received.
Thank you to everyone who has given this year. For more information about how you can support the School, please click here.
Class of 2015 Hardship Bursary
As the current Upper Sixth form near the end of their time at Merchant Taylors', we appeal to the parents of that year to support a hardship bursary in their name. So far we have already received over 25 pledges - more than £5,000 towards the bursary. Hardship bursaries are awarded to families who have a change of financial circumstances during their time with Taylors'; the bursary enables them to stay here when they otherwise may not be able to. By supporting, the Class of 2015 hope to enable a future year-group to stay together until the end of their U6th, as they have done.
To find out more about bursaries and our Annual Fund generally, please click here.
If you are a parent of a boy in the Upper Sixth and wish to make a pledge, please click here.
To discuss a donation to the School, or to hear more about our programme, please contact the Director of Development and Alumni Relations, Nick Latham
OMT Society News
OMT Hockey Day
The annual OMT Cup Day took place on Sunday 22nd March 2015. Two matches were played. The first was between OMT 2nd XI and the MTS 2nd XI, which the OMTs won 2 -1. The second match was between OMT 1st XI and MTS 1st XI where the match ended in a draw 1- 1.
To read the full match report, please click here.
OMTCC Start of the Season
For OMTs young and old, we have a fantastic opportunity to become involved in the Cricket Club and to play for one of our 4 teams!
We are currently looking to attract OMTs (as well as friends and family) of all ages and standards to join us for the coming season. With 3 teams on a Saturday, and a Sunday XI, there’s a great opportunity to play some competitive cricket (no matter whether you are 17 or 70), to enjoy some more convivial cricket like Thames Tour, and to get involved on a social level.
The Club has a great setup and is looking to keep new faces (and old returning ones) coming into the Club to enjoy our weekends at Sandy Lodge throughout the summer.
For more details contact the Club or Paul Katz on paul.katz79@gmail.com.
Upcoming Events
Merchant Taylors' and St. Helen's City Network - Wednesday 3rd June
The third annual City Network Event will take place on Wednesday 3rd June at 6.30pm. This event is a joint event with St. Helen's School, and invites all OMTs, St. Helen's Old Girls, parents and past parents to come and share their expertise with one another.
***There are less than 30 tickets remaining for this event***
To book tickets, please click here.
Old Boys' Reunion Day - Saturday 20th June
This is a new event in our calendar, which invites all OMTs back to School every five years for a reunion. This year, on Saturday 27th June, we are inviting anyone who left Merchant Taylors' in a year that ended in '0' or '5'. This 'Back to School' event allows you to choose two different options, as well as tours of the School and an evening meal in the OMT Club House in the evening.
For more information and to book tickets, please click here.
Recent Leavers' Lunch - 12th September
This event invites all OMTs who left the School between 2011 and 2015 back to School for an informal BBQ and drinks in the Head Master's Garden. This event will be free of charge, but we ask that you book your ticket by clicking here, so that we are aware of the numbers we are to cater for.
North American OMT Dinner - 16th October
Following a successful dinner in Australia, the School and Society are planning to hold a dinner in New York City at the New York Athletic Club, where a private room has been reserved. If you are able to attend and would like to, please email events@mtsn.org.uk so we can send you details on how to pay. The cost of the evening will be in the region of US$200-250 per head and guests are welcome.
For all upcoming events, please click here for our events calendar.
To register for any upcoming events, please click here.