Author: dean
Old Sedberghians are invited to Remembrance Day at Sedbergh School
Join us as we come together in reflection, remembrance, and community.
Programme of Events:
- 7.30am – Bagpipes at the Cloisters
- 9.00am – Boer War Act of Remembrance at the Boer War Memorial
- 10.45am – Remembrance Service at the Cloisters, followed by coffee, tea and refreshments in Queens Hall
- 7.30pm – Concert ‘The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace’ in Powell Hall
The competition was started in 1955 by the Yorkshire branch of the OS club and the trophy is an embroidered map of the local Sedbergh area. The winner has to embroider a badge onto the bottom of the map with his or her name, year and house.
The competition is a Stableford and is played at Ilkley GC where many OS are members.
Players will meet at lunch time and tee off from around 1.30pm and there is an informal dinner and prize presentation in the evening.
If you are interested in playing please contact Rob Downs on robdowns@hotmail.co.uk.
The Old Sedberghian Club will be hosting the 2026 OS Wilson Run Dinner on Monday 23rd March. On the evening before the race, this is where the anticipation builds, where past runners remember their youth, where old and young share tales; the descent to Thrush Gill, the run to Cautley, the scramble up Muddy Slide, the climb to Danny, the crowds at the finish, and the relief and pride of a race well run when it’s all over. Old Sedberghians, parents, and staff will once again gather together for one of the most exciting events of the Sedbergh social calendar. If you want to experience the full grandeur and excitement of this historic race, this is where it starts.
This year the dinner will take place in Powell Hall. There will also be a lunch in Queens Hall the following day on Wilson Run Day.
We warmly invite all generations of OS, as well as present and past members of staff, parents and friends of the School back to Sedbergh to attend this special evening in celebration of our friendship and heritage.
Please see the details below:
2026 OS Wilson Run Dinner in Powell Hall, Sedbergh
7:00pm Drinks Reception
7.45pm Three-Course Dinner
Coffee to follow
Tickets are £60 per person (£30 if you are under 30 years old)
Dress code: Jacket and tie/lounge suit
Partners are very welcome
Tickets for the Dinner can be booked here.
If you would also like to reserve a place for the Wilson Run day lunch in Powell Hall (£15) please book HERE.
The Wilson Run will take place at 2.30pm on Tuesday 24th March.
Please get in touch with Benjamin Collins at bpc@sedberghschool.org if you have any questions about the Dinner.
We look forward to seeing you there!
As a perfect culmination to a year full of celebratory events, Old Sedberghians, parents and friends of the School are warmly invited to dinner at the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall and attend the Carol Service at York Minster on Monday 8th December 2025.
The dinner will be held at one of the finest medieval guildhalls in the world. Redoubtable tales, fascinating architecture and intriguing, rare artefacts, all under a stunning 14th Century oak roof. Delve into York’s entrepreneurial past, present and future following stories of the “mystery of mercers” – business pioneers who made it happen: from the medieval wool trade, via the railways, chocolate and two universities to the 21st century Science City.
We will start at 4.30pm with a drinks reception, followed by a 2-course dinner. We will then head to York Minster for an amazing Carol Service, returning to the Hall after the service for festive drinks and mince pies.
Tickets cost £60 per person.
Partners are very welcome.
Dress code: Business casual
Book HERE.
This September the Old Sedberghian Club will host a trip to the Netherlands and Belgium to remember those Sedberghians who fought and died in the region. Five Old Sedberghians were directly involved in the Battle of Arnhem. Two did not return home. A further 13 Sedberghians died as a result of fighting in the Netherlands during World War Two.
Sedbergh contemporaries Lieutenant John Horsley (S 1933 – 1938) 1st Airborne Battalion Border Regiment, and Lieutenant Reginald Bryan Woods 2nd Battalion Parachute Regiment (L 1933 – 1937) died within a fortnight of each other following their involvement in Operation Market Garden. Horsley died on the final day of the operation from wounds sustained while leading his troops out of Arnhem. Woods sustained wounds during the initial incursion in Arnhem and died as prisoner of war in Germany days later. The History Society trip in September includes a visit to Oosterbeek War Cemetery to pay tribute to Horsley at his grave.
Of those Sedberghians who fought at Arnhem and survived the conflict, Ingram Cleasby (L 1934 – 38) fought with the Border Regiment, and having been captured was held by the German forces as a Prisoner of War at Oflag IXA/H Spangenberg alongside fellow officers including Bruce Shand, father of Her Majesty Queen Camilla. Martin Mackay (S 1937 – 1941) was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his involvement in the campaign at Arnhem. A former member of staff also dropped with the airborne forces at Arnhem.
The trip will have particular resonance for several members of the party. Former COO of Sedbergh School, Peter Marshall’s own father fought at Arnhem with the allies. Development Director Jan van der Velde’s mother was a Dutch nurse who found herself close to fighting at the Rijnbrug (Rhine Bridge) during Operation Market Garden and was evacuated to safety.
The trip that takes place between Wednesday 3rd September and Monday 8th September will visit Joe’s Bridge, Overloon War Museum in Nijmegen, the Airborne War Cemetery in Arnhem and the Royal Museum of the Armed Forces in Brussels, and will include walking tours of Nijmegen, Arnhem and Brussels. After completing the tour of Arnhem, the party will join up with the School Battlefields trip to celebrate the 500th Anniversary of Sedbergh School in Ypres. There will be performances by the School Choir at St Martin’s Cathedral in Ypres and a special performance of the Last Post at the Menin Gate. The party will be joined by Dr Bruce Cherry whose knowledge of First World War campaigns made the Pilgrimage tours such a success.
Please see how to book below:
For further information contact Bob Peters on bob.peters@travelcounsellors.com.
DATES
28th June – 19 July 2025: Sedbergh Senior School
19 July – 16 August 2025: Casterton, Sedbergh Prep School
The International Summer School team is looking forward to welcoming pupils from all over the world and would like enthusiastic and energetic staff to support their 2025 courses.
The roles available are:
- Activity Leader – £475 per week
- Activity Leader & Social Media Coordinator – £500 per week
- Assistant House Parent: £500 per week.
- House Parent: £650 per week
For more details about these positions please contact Gemma Newtown, ISS Course Director, at gn@sedberghschool.org
About the Course:
Sedbergh has been running its International Summer School for more than ten years, and has welcomed thousands of students from across the globe to experience a taste of life in a British boarding school.
Our main goal is to inspire our students, so they can begin to try new things, test their limits and exceed their expectations. We expect our staff to foster a caring, welcoming environment and have positive interactions with every child. In this way, we are aligned with Sedbergh’s Thread of GOLD philosophy: Growth, Originality, Leadership and Determination are integrated into the summer school programme, with fun and enjoyment at the very heart of delivery.
In 2025, we will be running for seven weeks, welcoming up to 190 students in our busiest weeks. Students travel from Angola to Vietnam to attend between 2 and 7 weeks of the course, which is made up of English lessons, afternoon & evening activities, and exciting excursions. Students are offered a range of options, and can choose to attend differentiated courses such as our English + Outdoor Adventure programme.
About the Roles:
Activity Leaders contribute to the smooth delivery of the Sedbergh International Summer School extra-curricular programme. They lead our co-curricular programme of recreational, afternoon and evening activities to include sports, outdoor adventure and creative arts, as well as evening social events and weekly excursions. Activity Leaders also provide support in the boarding house, assisting with residential boarding duties and supporting the House Parent team as required.
The Social Media Coordinator will work alongside other Activity Leaders, and will also manage the collection of images and videos for communication and marketing on the summer school’s social media platforms. Parents and agents of our pupils are kept up to date via social media and a regular posting schedule will prevent multiple enquiries to the school by parents who are concerned about how their child is getting on.
House Parents are the figurehead of the boarding house, and along with their Assistant House Parents, ensure excellent standards of pastoral care for the pupils on the summer school programme. Assistants will be led by their House Parents to ensure that all pupils enjoy a warm, welcoming, supportive atmosphere, and that the house is run smoothly to protect the safety and wellbeing of international pupils within the boarding house.
During the Commemoration of the Benefactors Service last month, Sedbergh School took the unusual step of adding three friends of Sedbergh to our list of benefactors. Tim Pick (pictured above with Norman Berry), Evans House 1941 – 45, played for the 1st XV and won the Wilson Run in 1945. After leaving school he trained as a doctor. He was a loyal friend to the School, particularly in his role as Foundation Trustee. John Merrington (Winder House 1943 – 48) also trained as a doctor. He later became a lecturer in Medicine. We were honoured that Dr Merrington chose to leave a substantial legacy to the School. Heather Hardy was the daughter of John Bannister Buckle (Hart House 1913 – 17). Heather was a long-time supporter of the School who chose to remember the School in honour of her father.
The addition of these supporters to our benefactors list is just a small expression of our gratitude for their tremendously generous gifts. Their legacies will play a vital role in providing life changing opportunities through the Roger Lupton Scholarship and Bursary Scheme.
Katy de la Riviere
School Archivist
There was once an adage that floated around the School buildings. It was like a crane fly (daddy longlegs to use the vernacular) that drifted about lazily, annoying, but not annoying enough to do anything about.
This adage was that those from the 1960’s and early 1970’s didn’t want to re-engage with the School because, oh I don’t know, society at the time etc, or the School was a harsh place (yes indeed but was so before and after), and all sorts of other excuses that had attached themselves to this particular daddy longlegs like bits of dust after it had crawled about upon the unreachable parts of the curtains.
But old adages become normalised, they become old wives tales (can I still say that?), and the truth is somewhat lost. So, your illustrious team at the Development Den thought it was about time we challenged this, and made our plans accordingly.
The plan was simple, a reunion dinner for 50 people at Brown’s in Covent Garden. Within days we had 100 booked to attend and we had to hire an extra room. The daddy longlegs was released into the wild to be seen no more.
It was a spectacular afternoon with some of the finest people I have had the pleasure to meet. They came from far and wide, indeed even from the USA and Thailand. Some hadn’t seen their friends for 60 years but within an instance they were back, remembering their roots, and remembering their friendships.
Thank you to all those that made the journey to London to celebrate our past. Come back soon, in 2025, to celebrate our future.
Jan van der Velde
This year we held a very special OS weekend. It was our last before the School turns 500 and just as one likes to retain one’s youth until that inescapable moment when the big day arrives, we wanted to sign off in a meaningful way that did justice to the School and its people before the dawn of a new age.
One important aspect was the memorial service for Ned Campbell, former Housemaster, Deputy Headmaster, and English teacher who was an icon of Sedbergh. Much loved now, as he was then, people returned to attend his memorial service and to support his wife, Maz Campbell, and her family. It was a very moving service, and in the context of the 499th year, highlighted how very important the staff of Sedbergh have been in the history and progression of the School throughout the ages. The service was recorded and can be found here:
At the OS dinner that evening we welcomed our special guests from our Schools in China and Vietnam, along with Will Carling and his wife Lisa, and Trevor and Janet Kidd who had joined us to witness the enrolment of Heather Hardy as a Benefactor on the Sunday.
Dan Harrison, Headmaster, spoke well and with confidence. The message was simple. We are strong and we are prepared. The School had done much to alleviate the burden of VAT on parents and as a result numbers are amongst the highest ever.
We were fortunate to have Archie Glover (P 18-23) return to Sedbergh. Archie was a music scholar who left Sedbergh a year ago and is now reading music at Trinity College Cambridge. He entertained us with a virtuoso performance of the Khachaturian Toccata, a very dramatic piece that was played with great gusto and feeling. Thank you Archie, it was quite spectacular.
Towards the end of the evening Will Carling (W 79-84) took the stage and gave an outstanding speech. I have written about this separately but it was a fitting tribute to Sedbergh, to the 499 years, to the staff who have laboured over the centuries, to the parents who have made such sacrifices, and to the Sedberghians who hold the School in such high affection.
The only fly in the ointment was caused by yours truly who, in trying to make sure people didn’t start singing ‘Winder’ before they were meant to (a perennial problem), I told everyone to wait for the customary two bars before bursting into song. Turns out, as chance would have it, that no one knew what two bars were (honestly, what kind of School raised them!) and so no one sang at all. I had to shout to the Organ Meister, Archie Glover, to stop while I berated the audience, much to the amusement of the catering staff who thought all this extremely funny. Well ha, ha, and all that. I am glad to report that our second attempt was much better and the 499th year was serenaded in true Sedbergh style.
As always, thank you to the School for allowing us to use their facilities, and to all the staff, premises and catering, who helped to make us feel so welcome. It was, as always, a brilliant weekend.
Jan van der Velde
It was with great delight that we welcomed Will Carling (W79-84), former Captain of England Rugby Union, back to Sedbergh on OS weekend.
It is a while since Will had been back. Although he was two years younger than me he was such a good sportsman that he played some matches on the 1st XV while I lumbered around Busk as a second row forward, cursing every time the ball was dropped (not by Will of course!) resulting in the inevitable scrum.
I hadn’t seen Will for years and just as I was a little bit apprehensive, being my guest and all, it turns out he wasn’t quite sure what to expect either.
He had volunteered to talk to the 1st XV on the Friday night before their home game against Ipswich and I found him overlooking Busk, deep in thought. Later he was to admit that Busk still holds special memories for him and, as he said to the 1st XV, it was where he played the game he loved with the people he counted as friends. In the close knit community of Sedbergh he found his motivation for the sport through the camaraderie on the pitch.
His talk to the 1st XV, (who subsequently had a convincing win the next day) was personal and profound. There were two takeaways above all others. One was mental preparation (Will used to spend an hour each day thinking about how he played and how to improve), and the second was that if you want to succeed in rugby, and indeed in life generally, then you need to think what point of difference you can bring. Will of course was famous for changing how England played and became the most capped Captain of England of all time.
On the Saturday evening Will spoke to 170 guests at the OS dinner. Again, none of us were quite sure what to expect, a recitation of his victories perhaps, or tales of Twickenham? Well, I can tell you that while such things were referenced briefly, Will gave an electrifying speech, full of candour, pathos, humility, and humour. If someone would have dropped a pin it would have sounded like Big Ben in full fury. People listened with attentive eagerness as Will described his return to Sedbergh in a very personal, and I have to say, emotional way. It was rounded off by a few questions from the floor, a first for OS Weekend, and Will received a very warm round of applause with shouts of ‘bravo’ from a very appreciative audience.
As part of Will’s visit he agreed to be interviewed. It is full of insight, about his time at Sedbergh and about leadership. If you remember that he took on the Captaincy of England at the age of 22, he must have had to rely on natural qualities as much as experience. As for Sedbergh he says this, ‘at Sedbergh, we were fitter than other schools; we were closer as friends than other schools.’ Very true, and still holds true today. The video is well worth watching:
Thank you Will, and to Lisa. Together you brought a lot of joy to our weekend and to our community. Just don’t make it so long before you come back next time!!
Jan van der Velde
Director of Development
Sedbergh School