It was an evening that will last long in the memory for all those in attendance at this year’s London Academical dinner.
As ever, great food, great conversation and some truly poignant reunions would all feature prominently on this special occasion, however, this particular event was made all the more meaningful by this year’s venue – the Houses of Parliament.
With a helping hand from current school parent, Mark Cummings, the London section secured ‘the Members’ Dining Room’ to host this year’s event, and needless to say, it did not disappoint. Throughout the night attendees gazed around the room, endlessly admiring the historic artwork and decor that surrounded our evening. The sheer majesty of this year’s venue, I promise, did not wear off quickly.
We were thrilled on this occasion to be joined by a number of notable figures, including current Rector Matthew Pearce, Glasgow Accies President Andy Calder and School Governor, Jane Gotts. The night kicked off with a champagne reception where friends, old and new, came together once again to celebrate life as an Academical of The Glasgow Academy. For some, attendance was simply a continuation of an annual tradition, but for others, this was an important first step in reconnecting with the school, and in their own words – a cause for celebration.
One such individual was former Westbourne pupil, Gloria Stuart-Hutcheson (Class of 1971), who explained “after all these years I’ve suddenly felt that – probably because I’m getting older – that it would be nice to actually meet some of the people that I grew up with and who made me the person I am now, I suppose. I’m beyond pleased with how friendly and lovely everyone has been.”
As attendees moved through to the Member’s Dining Room, excitement continued to build and an early appreciation of the evening, was clear for all to see. Gregor Gordon stood to give a particularly proud President’s Welcome, before introducing Rector, Matthew Pearce. The Rector, as always, spoke beaming with pride for where the school is, and more importantly where it’s going. Mention of His Majesty’s Inspectorate visiting the school last year for a post-Covid recovery visit, also prompted a proud moment for all in attendance. As The Rector relayed: “They said to us, and I quote, there’s something special about this school. We’re not here long enough to tell you exactly what, we can’t quite put our finger on it it, but something special is happening here.”
As the evening unfolded, I caught up the Rector and asked what he found to be particularly special about this year’s dinner? He explained: “The special thing for me is the simple conversations, speaking to people I haven’t been able to connect with before and hearing the things that they love about The Academy and how their experiences through time still resonate with my experiences of seeing the children at The Academy today. Also, hearing about the things they value about The Academy and comparing it to what I value about The Academy, so it’s those simple conversations and the anecdotes that they share with me, that’s the special bit, that’s what I enjoy most about these nights.”
On this year’s venue, he continued: “It’s a genuine privilege, I’m lucky enough to have actually been here once before but it was during the day and it was packed out, it almost feels like we’ve got the place to ourselves here this evening. It’s a special venue for a special occasion, really befitting of such an important event in The Academy calendar.”
After a beautiful grace led by Candice Blackwood, the following dinner service was truly first class. An exquisite main of slow-braised minted lamb, left barely a leftover in sight.
Already spoiled by the words of both Rector and President, our after-dinner speaker was MP, Iain Stewart, who spoke with great dignity, wit, and grace – surely one of the highlights of the evening.
After some final words of thanks from Gregor Gordon, it was time to reluctantly vacate the venue, but not before I could grab some final thoughts from the London Section President: “The London section has been in existence for a number of years now and we’ve had many events, usually at the Caledonian Club, but with the pandemic, those events came to an end. So it’s nice to be here tonight at a slightly different venue and certainly a more opulent venue.”
On attendees: “It’s good to have seen a real broad church of people here this evening, we’ve had the Rector come down to tell us a bit about school life and what’s going on back at The Academy, we’ve been graced with the presence of Iain Stewart MP’s presence, giving us a unique insight into parliamentary life, and then actually just all of the guests themselves who represent a really broad cross-section of different year groups, both from The Academy and the Westbourne School as it was then. It’s just nice to have us altogether in the one room. Lastly I’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone that’s been involved in making tonight such a success. We’ve had a number of really supportive sponsors, together with Iain Stewart MP and all of the External Relations department at The Academy. We really do appreciate it and we’re already looking forward to next year’s event.”
As a tremendous evening drew to a close, it was clear that we had all attended something a little bit special on this mild London evening. Was it the venue? Or was it just the continued privilege of being part of the Academical community? Let’s just agree to say both.
Thank you once again to all those in attendance, this was truly, an evening to remember and has surely set the bar for future Academical events.