On Thursday 22 January, we were honoured to join Lord Mountevans at Guildhall for a drinks reception in support of the College. The event brought together his peers, Old Pangbournians who attended the College in the late 1950s and 1960s, for an evening of connection and to share the vision for the College's future. As you can imagine, some of their stories reflected a very different time but the one golden thread that linked them all together was the leadership skills and mindset they acquired during their time at the College. Whilst our understanding of leadership development and resilience has moved on in the subsequent half-century; there is a profound truth that great leaders have learnt through struggle, error and application. The path through life is never a straight line and we want to ensure we are staying true to our founding principles and history in the experiences we provide our young people today in order that they can grow into the leaders of tomorrow. 

What also struck me from my time talking with the OPs that evening was just how many iterations of the College there have been over its lifetime. These OPs were all from pre-College days, when it was still The Nautical College. They pre-dated the first civilian headmaster and were very wedded to their version of Pangbourne. As I updated them on life at the College today, they could see how vastly different the student (cadet in their day) experience is but were equally delighted that the College was able to continually reinvent and reenergise itself to stay relevant in a rapidly changing world. Whilst the ceremonial traditions have changed markedly since 1963 - as you would expect - the essence of the College as a place where success is created through perseverance and a can-do attitude - remains unchanged.

Our Transforming Futures initiative renews our founding vision: to shape compassionate, resilient, and morally grounded young people ready to leave a positive mark on the world. As a bursary recipient himself, we were also delighted to welcome Old Pangbournian, Patrick Derham (1973 - 1978), former Chief Cadet Captain of College and Chief Cadet Captain of Illawarra. As Headmaster of Rugby, where he set up the Arnold Foundation and then at Westminster, Patrick has seen first-hand the value of each transformational bursary, at both a personal and community level.  He spoke powerfully about the impact of the Transforming Futures programme and why it matters so deeply to Pangbourne. 

Patrick’s story was complemented by the presence of current Sixth Form students and Transforming Futures award holders, Alex and Anita, who joined the reception and spoke with Old Pangbournians about their own experiences of life at the College today. Together, these conversations offered a compelling illustration of the enduring, life-changing power of a Pangbourne education and reinforced the importance of Transforming Futures in ensuring that opportunity, resilience and ambition remain at the heart of the College’s mission for generations to come.

Head, Oli Knight.