General News

Kevin Cumming (1982-1989)

We were informed of the sad passing of Kevin Cumming this week. Kevin was assistant head teacher at the Axe Valley academy in Devon, where he was a much loved and valued member of staff for the past 23 years, having initially joined as head of ICT.

Kevin is fondly remembered by his contemporary and recent OC’s President Steve Knibbs, as well as our current President Simon Smith.

It’s clear from the tributes on-line that he was a highly regarded member of staff, held in great affection by both the teaching body and students alike. For now, you can read those on the Axe Academy front-page here and on Facebook in the embedded link below.

Rest in Peace Kevin.

Richard Abraham (1953-1960)


We are saddened to learn of the passing of Richard Abraham who attended the school from 1953 – 1960.

Richard was an outstanding member of the galaxy of actors directed by Charles Lepper during his golden era of Crypt School productions.

An inspirational teacher throughout his professional career, Richard was also a published author on Russian History.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to Richard’s family and friends.


Annual Dinner and AGM 2024

We are delighted to let you know that our Annual Dinner will take place on Saturday 23rd March 2024 at the Crypt School.  The price of the event will be £36.50 for members, £39.50 for non-members and £25.00 for current sixth formers/students/21 & under.  There will also be a bar (cards or cash) for pre-dinner drinks and wine to accompany the meal.  The dress code will be smart casual. 

The guest speaker will be Rob Holliday (1970-77).  Rob has had a varied career in aviation as an Airline Captain and Flight Safety Manager. He also found time to represent GB at rowing, winning medals in the World Championships.

Our AGM will also be held on the above date, details of which will follow in the coming month. The timings for the evening will be;

6:15 pm               AGM
6:45 pm               Drinks
7:30 pm               Annual Dinner

If you wish to attend please visit our dedicated website page here, where you can provide us with all the necessary details and pay securely with debit or credit card, powered by SquareUp payments.  This route will reduce our administration burden and is the quickest way to sign-up.

Last year we welcomed 75 of you and we look forward to building on the success of that event this year.  Please feel free to circulate this invitation to others you are still in touch with so we can make this an event to remember. 

We look forward to seeing you in March.

OCC Dinner 23rd March 2024 – Tickets

We are delighted to let you know that our Annual Dinner will take place on Saturday 23rd March 2024 at the Crypt School.  The price of the event will be £36.50 for members, £39.50 for non-members and £25.00 for current sixth formers/students/21 & under.  There will also be a bar (cards or cash) for pre-dinner drinks and wine to accompany the meal.  The dress code will be smart casual. 

The guest speaker will be Rob Holliday (1970-77).  Rob has had a varied career in aviation as an Airline Captain and Flight Safety Manager. He also found time to represent GB at rowing, winning medals in the World Championships.

Our AGM will also be held on the above date, details of which will follow in the coming month. The timings for the evening will be;

6:15 pm               AGM
6:45 pm               Drinks
7:30 pm               Annual Dinner

OCC Dinner

OCC Dinner information collection

Annual Dinner 2024

Please use this form to order your ticket(s) for the Annual Dinner to be held at the School on 23rd March 2024.
Name(Required)
Address(Required)
Please enter your email address here. This will be used for contacting you about this year’s dinner.
Receive occassional emails(Required)
The Old Cryptians’ Club sends out newsletters throughout the year, please indicate if you are happy to receive these emails.
Please enter the years that you were at the school
Indicate here the names of your peers with whom you wish to sit. Tables will seat 8-10 people and guests will be allocated places with similar cohorts.
If you are a member of the Old Cryptians’ Club, please select here.
Price: £ 36.50
If you are a guest of the Old Cryptians’ Club, please select here.
Price: £ 39.50
If you are a student, please select here.
Price: £ 25.00
Please include the names and other details for any additional tickets you are buying.
Do you (or any of your party for whom you have bought tickets) have a dietary preference – vegetarian, vegan – or any allergies that we should know about. We cannot guarantee that the food has been prepared in a nut free environment.
Card Details(Required)
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

2022/23 Cryptian Magazine

We have a small number of 2022/23 Cryptian magazines for sale at cost price from the shop.

OC’s Annual Dinner at the Crypt

Please contact president@oldcryptians.org for last minute tickets – the web shop is sold out.

We are delighted to let you know that our Annual Dinner will take place on Saturday 25th March 2023 at the Crypt School. This will be our first full event since 2019, so we are really hoping to see as many Club members, partners, other former pupils and staff members as possible. 

The price of the event will be £33 for members, £36 for non-members and £22.50 for under 21’s.  There will also be a bar for drinks before and during the meal.  The dress code will be smart casual, not least because many of the men probably can’t find their suits (or they need dry cleaning like most of mine!).

Our guest speaker will be Ian Dench (1975-82). Ian is an award-winning songwriter, having written hits for Beyoncé, All Saints, Shakira and Jamie Cullum, among many others.  He’s probably best known for being the guitarist and principal songwriter for local band EMF, who’s debut single Unbelievable became one of the iconic hits of the 90s.  Ian has also held several other roles within the music industry, both at home and overseas. 

Our AGM will also be held on the above date, details of which will follow in the coming month. The timings for the evening will be;

6:15 pm               AGM
6:45 pm               Drinks
7:30 pm               Annual Dinner

So why not use this as an opportunity to get together with friends, lost acquaintances and make new connections (but not in the Love Island sense!).

Any questions, please drop me a line at president@oldcryptians.org 

Simon

Old Cryptians RFC Centenary

The OCRFC are looking for any information, stories, photos, anecdotes, videos that people can provide regarding the building of the “new” clubhouse before it was extended on several occasions.

Our very own committee member Mike Beard was heavily involved in the original build, but as he says, in those days people didn’t take 100s of photos, they were more selective in what they were capturing so he doesn’t have a record of the project.

The rugby club will be looking at everything historical to see what can be used and displayed as they approach the 100th anniversary of Old Cryptians RFC.

Please contact Greg Barton gregbartonsmail@gmail.com with any memorabilia you may have, especially anything on hard copy which you can share but would like returned.

From our President

Dear Old Cryptians,
I was debating with colleagues only three days ago on Friday last week when one can stop wishing people Happy New Year. I think it’s probably mid-January, so I’ve just enough time to wish you a Happy New Year!


There are two really important thing for this eNews – the OCC Annual Dinner and New Committee Members.

First, the Annual Dinner. We are shooting for Saturday 25th March at the school. Resurrecting things after the hiatus caused by the pandemic is not always easy. The momentum is lost and sometimes interest has waned.  But I know from experience, getting back together with people is hugely important and can’t be replaced by technology, as wonderful as that is. For now, all I ask is that you save the date and also complete the shortest of forms ever made –https://forms.office.com/r/dJ5NG2uPsF . This will help us gauge interest in the event before we commit and risk club funds on a non-refundable deposit.

Secondly, the Committee.  Our AGM will also take place at the end of March. We’re always interested in seeking new committee members, but particularly so at this time, when we need to seek the skills that will strengthen our future as a Club. You can find out more on our website here or contact me direct (president@oldcryptians.org).

Simon Smith
President
Old Cryptians’ Club
president@oldcryptians.org
 

Planting trees for the Queen’s Jubilee Canopy

On Saturday 19th November a group of pupils, parents, staff and Old Cryptians met to plant the 30 trees we received as part of the The Queen’s Green Canopy

The day before, the school ground staff had marked out two rows 5 metres apart and 5 metres between planned plantings.

We quickly organised into planting teams; one to place the cane, one to split the soil and one to plant the sapling – a production line!

We were sent 15 silver birch, 8 mountain ash (rowan) and 7 wild cherry. We planted the rowan and cherry nearest the drive as they will be shorter and provide plenty of colour through the year. The row at the back being all silver birch which will provide plenty of height and grow quite quickly.

The trees should grow with little or no maintenance, but we’ll keep an eye on them and remove any competing weeds in the first year and to make sure they remain as growing trees rather than potential grazing for the wildlife. If anyone would like a biology and geography project, it would be good to plot each tree (what3words perhaps?) and monitor and record its height through the years. Perhaps we could even have a sponsor a tree opportunity.

Very special thanks to Bob and Lesley Smith, Pankas Agarwal, Lystra Maisey and Raffie Ludlow-Maisey, Luke, Michelle, Andrew, Linda and Dave Goscombe (great family effort), Nick and Sam Perkins, Steve Knibbs and Adam Ashby for making the time to help the project.

Ancient Schools of Gloucester

The Ancient Schools of Gloucester by David Evans
  A message from the author:
‘I have recently produced a book entitled ‘The Ancient Schools of Gloucester’. It tells the story of the development of education in Gloucester from its monastic origins around the time of the Norman Conquest through to the Industrial Revolution. As you would imagine, a substantial part of the book refers to the history of the Crypt School and the medieval city grammar school run by Llanthony Priory which preceded the Crypt. Of the 17 chapters, there are in fact 6 that either wholly or substantially relate to the Crypt’.
With the support of Crypt School, David will be presenting a copy to the school at some point in November.
Hardback, with 267 pages and 100 photographs, the book is on sale on Amazon, at Discover DeCrypt, at the Cathedral and at the Heritage Hub for £25.
David is able to offer a discounted price of £22 for direct sales, please email David at: ancientschools@gmail.com which includes free delivery to any address within Gloucester City.
 

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