1646 - Issue 1

At Reading Blue Coat we are very lucky that our community extends far beyond the current pupils, parents and staff, and importantly includes former students, their families and friends of the School. Our alumni network alone extends to almost 7,000 members and stretches around the world. As an Old Blue you are never far from someone with a similar outlook and passion for life, and with whom you share the defining bond of Reading Blue Coat. Although it had been discussed by the Governors for a number of years, the decision to join the increasing number of schools investing in a Development Office wasn’t made until November 2017 when the office was officially started. Now established, and working in partnership with the Reading Old Blues Association committee, the office aims to provide a focal point to enable alumni to connect with each other and the School. To ensure this can happen successfully, the first step has been to pull together a comprehensive list of past students. Drawing from multiple sources, a database has now been created, but it is ever evolving and the contact details we hold are in many cases non-existent, or out of date. Therefore if you have recently received post from school, for example via your parents’ address, please do get in touch to update your details via the website: www.rbcs.org.uk/the-school/old-blues-association. This will guarantee you are always in the loop as new initiatives are implemented. Starting with different types of events, from year group reunions to business interest groups, other opportunities include mentoring and career advice for you and current students. But record keeping over the years has been varied and if you have received post from the School in error, please accept our sincere apology. We continue to work hard to ensure this doesn’t happen, but we do need your help to know if we have made a mistake. Conversely, if you have a friend with whom we have lost contact, or if you no longer wish to receive mail from the School, do let us know so we can ensure our records are as true a reflection of the Old Blues community as can be. With an initial focus on bringing together our alumni, we will in time be engaging with parents and friends. Working collaboratively as One Reading Blue Coat, we can directly benefit the students, as well as create social and business opportunities for all. Yet again in 2018, Reading Blue Coat has been recognised by the Telegraph as one of the top ten independent schools offering the best value in the UK. We want to keep it this way, not least because it holds true to the charitable values and ethos on which Richard Aldworth founded our School in 1646. To further underpin his vision and legacy, in the future we will be looking to raise financial support for our bursary programme, to ensure that we can offer a Reading Blue Coat education tomore students who could otherwise not afford to be here. More to follow on this and other fundraising projects, but please do get in contact if you have any thoughts or would like further information. We are always delighted to welcome Old Blues back to School, so do get in touch if you would like to arrange a visit. Many of you pop in to say hello to former teachers, so don’t forget to also visit the Development Office. We look forward to meeting you all! our community O N E R E A D I N G B L U E C O A T A MESSAGE FROM THE DEVELOPMENT OFFICE