Like many parents, I assumed that when the final moments of Founders Day have played out that the College enters a state of hibernation until the arrival of the new academic year in September, but in reality nothing could be further from the truth.  Over the summer a huge amount of work goes on preparing the campus for the new school year and this summer was no exception.  This year however, one particular project created a unique and exciting opportunity.  The repurposing of the College Shop required that the Harry Sykes OP Room be emptied of its store of documents, photo’s, books and other archive material.

During a spell of thankfully fine weather and with the help of some enthusiastic volunteers from the PPA Committee, a constant relay of boxes make their way across the parade ground and into a temporary new home in Devitt Dining Room.   Two days later and the task was completed, every surface in the Dining Room was covered with boxes, three and four deep.  What we didn’t realise at the time was that what we were looking at was probably only a quarter of the colleges entire archive, the remainder of which is spread across various college locations including the cellars.

It quickly became apparent that there is a lot of work to be done.  The collection is a unique and fascinating record of the College and its Founders, the people who shaped the College and were shaped by it.  Many of the items, especially the early record books and photographs have not seen the light of day for many years so some much needed care and attention was required before preservation and cataloguing could begin.  It was at this point that our small team of volunteers christened ourselves The Dust Busters!