1646 – Issue 2

No different to any other organisation wishing to implement a new strategic focus, theGovernors and Headmaster of Blue Coat afforded the Foundation Office time to get the necessary building blocks in place to ensure success. Creating stronger links and connections between Old Blues and the School is a key remit of the office and we had spent the preceding months on a comprehensive list of past students; creating a functioning CRM system; an events programme and organising other ways to keep in touch both online e.g. Reading Blue Coat Connect, Facebook and in print, as this magazine illustrates. Before the office was established, the role of keeping in touch with Old Blues fell to the Reading Old Blues Association. Begun in 1906 for exactly this purpose, the Association has through the Big Plans years been managed by an ever changing group of volunteers, no less dedicated than those that came before nor those that will follow in the future. However, as pupil numbers have grown so too has the alumni body and the network now extends to almost 7,000 members across the world. This increase brings extra demands on committee members who as volunteers, juggle the demands of their own jobs and careers. It was therefore agreed that creating a Foundation Office with a constant presence on site at Holme Park, with the time to give to the work involved was the logical next step. For many you will already have been to events; caught up with friends; brought old memories back to life and received multiple communications from the Foundation Office. We will also have had the good fortune to meet many of you in Working in a school tilts the start of a new year from January to September, and when students arrived in September 2019 refreshed for the new academic year, the Foundation Office had big plans. person. For others, this magazine will be the first communication you have received. This shows our process is working and that we are slowly but surely reaching Old Blues that had in most cases, inadvertently slipped off the contact list. Our new year in September 2019 was to be the Foundation Office’s opportunity to put all of our plans in place and establish ourselves more visibly within the Old Blue network and the wider School community. We had much to look forward to, many plans but unfortunately in March 2020 things changed. The UK found itself in the midst of a global pandemic with restrictions on movement; limits on the number of people that could meet and the ever present Covid-19 putting a stop to our plans. But whilst curtailed in our ability to function as planned, and with school pausing projects including publication of this magazine, the Foundation Office and the wider school community adapted and innovated. Within a matter of days, all year groups were being taught online with limited disruption to their academic progress. Despite public exams being cancelled, through their own diligence and that of teachers, Blue Coat students still excelled and achieved grades enabling them to fulfil their plans. In June 2020, 135 pupils made the transition from student to Old Blue and in time we will no doubt read of their achievements in these pages. 6 FEATURE STORY