Commemoration Day 2018

At the annual celebration of the end of the academic year, the school said a fond farewell to our Sixth Form Leavers while OWs returned to School Field for cream tea, cricket and tennis.

This year’s Commemoration Day began, as it always does, with the Leavers’ Service in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin in the centre of Oxford. This ceremony is perennially an affair both celebratory and reflective, an occasion for our Leavers to look back on their time at the school with affection, while looking ahead to the future. Naturally, more than a few tears were shed. The year-group photo then followed on Radcliffe Square, with Oxford’s most famous landmark towering in the background.

Following this, the Class of 2018 gathered with their parents, MCS staff and governors, in the Festival Marquee for their Leavers’ Lunch. A delightful three-course meal proceeded, offering students, teachers and parents alike to exchange stories and memories about the school. During the meal, each Leaver was issued a silver Lily pin, marking their life-long attachment to the school and their becoming Old Waynfletes. The Master, and the Chairman of the OW Club Bill Morris (1964), concluded the lunch with speeches acknowledging this transition.

As Leavers then departed to prepare for the Ball that evening, OWs began to arrive at the OW Tent on School Field. Here, members of the alumni community spanning generations were greeted by an archival display, showing especially the three reunion groups in attendance (the classes of 1993, 1998 and 2008), which prompted a stream of happy reminiscence amongst guests – Lindsay McCormack, the school Archivist, also hosted an ‘Archives Roadshow’ in the OW tent, allowing members of the MCS community to have their memorabilia analysed.

Not long into the afternoon, the BBQ was open for business, and a delicious cream tea service commenced. This preceded the start of the OW Cricket and Tennis matches, which would punctuate the rest of the afternoon.

Just before three o’clock, the pairing of Director of Alumni Relations Alan Cooper and Bill Morris, fresh from the Leavers’ Lunch, called the 2018 OW AGM to order. Both spoke highly of the school’s achievements in the past year, both academic, sporting and musical, and re-iterated the Master’s announcement at the Benefactors’ Garden Party the weekend before – that the Sixth Form Campaign had just surpassed the total of £3 million in funds raised.

As the meeting was brought to a close, the World Cup Quarter-Final between England and Sweden kicked off. An enraptured audience – which admittedly included this writer – were happily allowed more cheers than groans, and delighted in the Three Lions’ comfortable 2-0 victory, thanks mainly to the heads of Harry Maguire and Dele Alli.

At half-time, and during the tea break in the cricket, a tree-planting ceremony was held on the other side of School Field to celebrate the cricketing achievements of Robin Winstone (OW 1956 and Former MCS Staff).

For the remainder of the afternoon, the OWs, Friends and families in attendance were free to watch the cricket from the boundary, enjoy a bottle of the MCS ale, and peruse the merchandise table in the OW tent, before Commemoration Day was nominally brought to a close at 5pm.

Commemoration Day 2018 was a splendid day spent amid the glorious sunshine on the perennial halcyon of School Field. We do hope that our guests had a magnificent time, and that they are able to join us again next year!