President 2009-10

Dear Member

I am very honoured as the new President of the Association to perform the established tradition of putting quill to parchment for the President’s letter.

I congratulate my predecessor Henry Halliday for his successful year in office and fulfilling his role as a great ambassador for the Association at the many functions he attended. I thank him for proposing me as the President for 2009/10, and I would also thank those who had influence in suggesting I would make a worthy candidate.

The saying “School days are the happiest days of your life” has been quoted from time to time. School days I consider are similar to all facets of life. We have highs and lows. Happy days and sad days. I am sure we can all recount a special happy event or moment from our school days. For me it was the day I fulfilled what I as a young school boy considered to be a dream. The day was 13th January 1973 and I led the 1st XV as Captain onto the hallowed turf of the Castle Grounds. It was a very happy and proud moment in my school life. The opportunity only presented itself because my good friend, David Nash, who was the elected captain that season, was unavailable to fulfil his duty that day. I have enjoyed and continue to enjoy sport in many formats even if I don’t take part. The School certainly gave me ample opportunities to participate. I shall not at this stage recount my memoirs, but I may reminisce a little at the Old Boy’s Dinner on Saturday 21st November. That is your cue to consult your diary and pencil in what is considered the social event in the Old Boys’ calendar. I would be especially delighted to see members of two 1st XV rugby squads I was involved with, during the 1971/72 and the 1972/3 seasons. The respective captains were Denis Robinson and David Nash. The Annual Dinner also presents a great opportunity for various years to have reunions i.e. the classes of 1999, 1989, 1979 etc. The toast to the school will be given by a very good friend of mine, Colin McIlheney, and the guest speaker is another old friend, who I have not seen for some years, Professor James Stirling. Please come and enjoy meeting up with old acquaintances.

In accepting the chain of office from Henry Halliday I pledged my continued support, and that of the Old Boys’ Committee for the Headmaster, Mr Moore Dickson and the School. The wellbeing of the School is the major aim of the Association and is always an important point for discussion during committee meetings. Support for the School by the Association over the years has taken various forms. Work experience for pupils, contributions to prize day and donations for various projects or activities the School has engaged in. Tim Reid, our Honorary Treasurer, continues to perform the act of balancing expenditure and income. He has successfully achieved this for a number of years, and for this I thank him. The income side of the equation, however always requires topping up, and this can be by donation or supporting our social events. Over the past few years the Association has had a successful annual table quiz. We intend to continue this and also add a wine tasting evening to the social calendar. There are two other methods of assisting with the Association’s income and I will mention these when I refer to the Old Boys’ website in due course. One way of decreasing our expenditure, with regard to conventional mailing, is for members to forward an e-mail address to the Association’s membership secretary Michael Bennett membershipsec@bra-oldboys.com who has been compiling an up to date Association e-mail address book.

I wish to pay tribute to Iain Knox on behalf of the Association for his time and effort in establishing and maintaining the Old Boys’ Website, WWW.belfastroyalacademyoldboysassociation.com. Please take a few minutes by clicking on the site to view information on forthcoming events, photographs, and how to purchase an Old Boys’ tie or bow tie. On visiting the site you will observe the logos of a few well established businesses, who have generously continued to sponsor our Website. If you are interested in sponsoring the Old Boys’ Website please contact Iain Knox for details. admin@bra-oldboys.com.

Lunch time get-togethers are now a regular event in the social calendar. The inaugural informal lunch established by Robin Reid a few years ago has gone from strength to strength. They have been hosted by well known old boys at various venues in the province. robin.reid@nireland.com is the contact if you are interested in an hour or two of lunchtime joviality. You never know who may appear.

One of my first official duties as President was to attend the annual School v Old Boys cricket match and present a donation to the School Cricket Club. A glorious day in June saw the Castle Grounds at its best. What a setting for the chosen old boys to make a nostalgic return to the ground where they gracefully put willow to leather in years gone by. For the record the match ended in a draw. Please click on the Old Boys’ website to see if you can name the team.

The Old Boys’ Golf Society is indebted to Ken Knox for continuing to organise two outings each year. The Picken Cup which was played for in June at Malone Golf Club was won by Michael Bennett. Steve Davis’s Captain’s Day which happened to coincide with one of our better summer days was recently held at Royal Belfast Golf Club. The Captain’s Prize was won by Stephen Minford, a fresher to the outings. The Ferguson Trophy which is awarded to the Old Boy with the best aggregate score over the two outings was a closely fought contest and was won by Michael Bennett. At present Michael is in the process of constructing a new trophy cabinet. I congratulate all winners and especially thank Steve Davis for the generous prizes on his Captain’s Day. If you wish to be added to the golf society mailing list please contact ken@cd-group.com

To conclude my letter with a more serious note I shall refer to the transfer system and the fate of grammar schools such as Belfast Royal Academy which is still a concern. Billy Young since his retirement as Headmaster has continued to be very active as the ‘unofficial’ CEO of the Association for Quality Education (AQE), the body organising the new transfer test to some 34 grammar schools in N Ireland. We are greatly indebted to him for the time and energy he puts into this organisation. Our Association will give support wherever possible.

Yours sincerely

Mark Cooper

President