President Dave Nettleton (1974-84) welcomed ONs, partners and guests to the Society's Annual Dinner on Saturday 21st March 2026. The venue was the Dining Hall at Nottingham High School.
MC for the evening was Iain Hardiker (1974-84). He had also organised this President's Dinner for Dave, the first School friend he had made in September 1974.
Andy Murdy (1976-73) said grace. After dinner, the President spoke about two of his purchases from eBay. The first was an autographed menu card from Friday 8th January 1926.
The second item was a copy of A History of Nottingham High School 1513-1953 by Adam W Thomas MA PhD. A former History master at the School, Dr Thomas had included in his book an account of a cycle ride. 27 boys had set out on their bikes from Nottingham; only 11 of them had arrived in Newark without accident.
President's Dinner 2026
Andrew Holman, Headmaster since September 2025, told us that he happened to live on that cycle route. He wondered how long the risk assessment would take for such an expedition nowadays. Nevertheless, he spoke about the outstanding abilities of the current students. He believed that both they and ONs felt justifiable pride in their School.
Iain Hardiker introduced Will Underwood (2010-17), who spoke about the crucial influence in his life of his grandfather Tony Brecknock (1944-54). It happened to be Tony's birthday; the President therefore presented him with a framed watercolour print of the School. Tony spoke about how fellow ONs had helped each other over the decades and maintained their friendships to this day.
The MC then referred to the President's earlier disclosure that he and his wife Rachel were celebrating their 30th Wedding Anniversary. On behalf of the ONs, Iain presented them with a card and a bottle of champagne. The President thanked everyone for this and for attending the Society's Annual Dinner 2026.
Nigel Dunn (1949-60) and Past President Phil Turton (1973-83) took the following photos of a very happy occasion.
