Last week we saw a remarkable reunion of five ORs in Atlanta. Brothers Nicholas Oldland (OR 1990) and Jeremy Oldland (OR 1992), the third generation of Oldlands to attend the school, were joined by the Headmaster, Chris Evans, along with Ian Varley (OR 1985) and Gareth Giles Knopp (OR 1990). Sarah Knopp and Abbey Oldland, the wives of Gareth and Nick, also joined the reunion.

Spanning just over a decade in the life of the school, a defining feature of our dinner was the joy of remembering the incredible service of teachers such as Ned Holt, Brian Turnbull, Mervyn Jackson, Tom Ashworth, Dick Owen, John Vaughan, Margaret MacDonald, Bob Lewis, George Pfeiffer, and Tom Walter.

Highly successful in their own fields, but not having had many opportunities to reconnect with the school since they left more than 30 years ago, Nick, Jeremy, Ian and Gareth each had significant reflections on the way the school had shaped their lives. Nick and Jeremy had a particular affection for their time in West Wing as boarders, and all shared insights into the significance of the character formation and academic discourse they experienced as students.

A conversation regarding John Vaughan and Tom Walter’s influence as teachers was particularly interesting. On one occasion when Nick managed to score zero in a Geography test, Tom gently asked Nick, “Is it possible that Geography is not for you, Nick?” Agreeing, Nick switched to Art and has since thrived as a creative director, product designer, and artist. His, and Jeremy’s phenomenal success running Hatley (a leading worldwide clothes brand) might be traceable right back to that honest Geography conversation, and Nick’s willingness to listen to his teacher! Tom Walter was equally significant in Gareth’s life. Gareth loved Geography, in no small part because of Tom’s teaching, and left school to study Geology, before starting a successful career in business development.

Nick, Jeremy, Gareth, and Ian enjoyed looking over old photos together. They each encouraged the school to promote philanthropic giving and promised to come back to the School on 12th July 2025, for our 900th Anniversary Grand Reunion.

We would like to thank Nick Oldland for kindly hosting this reunion in Atlanta and we look forward to welcoming them all to Reading School next year where we celebrate Reading School’s legacy together.

Generational alumni are a testament to the enduring values and traditions passed down through the decades. If you are part of a generational alumni, we would love to hear from you. Please drop Jas, Esther, or Piatrice an email at alumni@reading-school.co.uk.

If you would like to join in with the celebrations taking place over 2025, we encourage you to register or update your details on the Redingensians Community site at https://alumni.reading-school.co.uk/homepage so we can keep you updated.

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