I'd like to finally introduce myself to the Old Collegians Community.  I started at the College in March as the Alumni and Community Relations Co-ordinator and it has been a whirlwind 6 months!  Although not an Old Collegian myself, I am the sister of one, and I feel very privileged to be part of such a strong community with a rich and interesting history.

We started the reunion calendar this year with a double 60 Years On Reunion, which was held over the Founders Weekend.  This was generously attended with Old Collegians from both the 1960–1964 and 1961–1965 year groups participating, due to last year’s COVID-19 situation.

This reunion was quickly followed by the annual OCA Golf Tournament with a massive 140 players, spilling from Waitikiri over onto the Bottle Lake Golf Course. Chris Timbs (1986) took out the coveted Old Collegians’ Cup.

In May we welcomed around 40 Old Collegians for the first of our 50 Years On reunions.  The Class of 1970-1974 was a wonderful celebration weekend and included the Christchurch Boys High School rugby clash, which our 1st XV took out, resulting in a three-peat victory….for the first time in 50 years!  A fantastic day for the College and a wonderful spectacle for our Old Collegians to witness. 

In early June, the Wellington Old Collegians Cocktail Function was kindly hosted by Jonathan Scragg (1996) at the offices of Duncan Cotterill, Wellington, with a fantastic attendance. Our special guest was our current Head Boy, Jack Calder, who along with his father Paul (1986), enjoyed meeting fellow Old Collegians from the region. A big thanks to Jonathan, and Duncan Cotterill, for making this reunion possible.

June also saw the 50 Years On Reunion for the group from 1971–1975.  We had another 40 Old Collegians back to reminisce and relive their time at St Andrew’s.  For some, it was their first time back, and many of them commented on how amazing the facilities are, and how many areas were unrecognisable from their time here.

So now we are halfway through the school year and I have just managed this first newsletter.  I hope it sees you all well. I will endeavour to do these more regularly, so I can keep you informed of important dates, news and events at the College.

I love hearing Old Collegian's news and updates so please feel free to contact me anytime. I can be contacted at oldcols@stac.school.nz or by phone on +64 3 940 2085. 

Take care and I look forward to hearing from you.

Warm regards

Lisa Clark
Alumni and Community Relations Co-ordinator 

Greetings from St Andrew’s College

We are starting into the second half of the year at St Andrew’s College with student successes and achievements to celebrate.  Ahead of us are several events including hosting the Presbyterian Schools’ Conference this week, Winter Tournament Week, many music festivals and events, Junior production, StAC Attack and of course the Senior College Formal. 

At the recent Board AGM, we farewelled two longstanding Board Members, Bryan Pearson and Sandra Wright-Taylor both having served twelve years on the Board.  Bryan was the Board Nominee during this time and has been replaced by Old Collegian Stephanie Bain (OC 1992).  The new Alpine Presbytery Nominee is Peter Nelson who also happens to be an Old Collegian (OC 1974). It is certainly evident that our Old Collegians are stepping up to offer their assistance to the College. 

Recently some of our Old Collegians joined a panel at the Boys’ Assembly.  Thank you to Sam Crosbie (OC 2009), Leo Noordanus (OC 2018), Lewis Edmond (OC 2019) and Jack Rule (OC 2020) for sharing their youthful perspective on issues relevant to today’s Secondary School students. 

We enjoy hearing about the activity of our Old Collegians and of course meeting you at the many reunions we host each year. 

With best wishes to you all. 

Ngā mihi nui

Christine Leighton
Rector

As we have been relatively free to attend events as we please these last few months it is easy to forget how severely COVID-19 can restrict us from social interactions. Until of course we are brought back to reality with news of lockdowns over the ditch and closing of travel bubbles. Fortunately, at this moment, the Old Collegians Association is still able to host our flagship event for the year, the OCA Annual Dinner. We are very much looking forward to this event on Friday 13 August where we will present our three annual awards for Service, Sport and Cultural to Old Collegian recipients. As usual anyone who wishes to attend or get a table of fellow Old Collegians together is able to purchase a ticket on the website. We are also looking forward to hosting the 40 Years On and 10 Years On reunions later in the year. 

Stay safe and well.

Meg Black (2010)
Old Collegians Association President