Making Waves at the Oxford Festival of the Arts

Monday 25 June saw Olympian Mark Foster and author Anna Pasternak give talks at the Oxford Festival of the Arts, exemplifying how the OW community endeavours to support the school in a variety of different ways.

Mark’s late father, Robin, was a schoolboy at MCS from 1951 to 1959, while Anna’s father, Charles, left the school in 1948.

Anna, an esteemed journalist and writer, began the evening with an intriguing talk on her acclaimed novel Lara, the narrative of which recounts the tragic love affair between Boris Pasternak and Olga Ivinskaya that inspired Doctor Zhivago.

Mark Foster, the Gmelin speaker at this year’s Festival, followed this discussion with an emotive talk that considered his sparkling swimming career – one that included 51 international medals, five appearances at the Olympics, six world championship titles, two Commonwealth championship victories, and eight world records – alongside his influences and the techniques with which he motivates himself.

A passionate advocator of fitness and well-being, Mark has recently been spearheading the Mark Foster Swimming Academy, an initiative that encourages children to learn to swim. With such an emphasis placed on youth development, the school was delighted that Mark was given a chance to inspire our own pupils in a meeting with them before the talk.

Gregor McKenzie, a student in the Lower Sixth and exciting Golf prospect on the international circuit, said: ‘it was fantastic to meet the Olympian Mark Foster on Monday. The advice he gave us around goal setting, time management and training was invaluable. It was interesting to hear how his career developed and how he learned from his errors, always surrounding himself with the best people he can find in order to better his performances’.