Old Colfeians - Colfe's School Alumni

We're delighted to announce that ticket sales are now open for the entire Colfe's community to join the inaugural Old Colfeians Oktoberfest! Join Old Colfeians, Colfe's parents, families and their children for an afternoon of food, fun, and festivities.

Click here to purchse your tickets today: https://tinyurl.com/3hs3mj6n

Where: Old Colfeians Sports Ground, Eltham Road, Lee, London SE12 8UE

When: Saturday 13 September from 2pm – 8pm

Featuring:
-A 2-pint stein to take home
-A hearty selection of food, including bratwurst, sauerkraut, and potatoes
-Live music from a traditional four-piece oompah band
-Games and inflatables for younger guests
-Additional food available for purchase & the bar will be open

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Across the month of March, our Development office will launch its Spring Fundraising Appeal, raising awareness and encouraging donations for our Leatherseller Scholarship Programme to the Colfe’s Charitable Trust. Throughout the month, enjoy a series of video testimonials from former scholars as well as our donors, across both social media and your email inboxes.

Since 2022, recurring gifts to the Trust have increased 99% and make up 30% of funding for these scholarships. In response to the rising popularity of donating regularly, we will also launch our newest donor circle, The 1652 Society. Named for the year the school was founded, this society celebrates donors giving a recurring gift to the Trust, at any amount. Society members will receive invitations to unique events as well as special communications.

Finally, dropping into mailboxes this month will also be our next PROGRESS Newsletter with updates about the school and more:https://www.colfes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/COL025-Progress-Newsletter_Spring-2025_FINAL.pdf

I hope you will enjoy learning more about the Leatherseller Scholarship Programme and ways our community members are supporting these pupils.

Updating Our Digital Archives: Input is needed from our Old Colfeians! A note from Colfe's new archivist Lorraine Banks:

As Colfe's new archivist, I am pleased to share that our archive website has been updated and given a much needed re-fresh - but your support is needed as this work continues.are that our archive website has been updated and given a much needed re-fresh - but your support is needed as this work continues.

Shortly before his passing in 2012, Richard Chambers (OC 1947) donated his collection of local historical artefacts to the school. These were digitised to become Colfe’s online archives, but they have needed updating. We were very grateful to receive donations from the Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust to enable this to happen. This work has now commenced, and my goal is to update these pages ongoing. The site is now much more user friendly and easier to navigate.

I am keen for your input on what more you would like to see included in the future. We are also considering how our OC community may wish to contribute their own photos or memorabilia for these pages. To that end, I have created a short survey for our OCs so that you might share your feedback. Obviously, our storage space is very limited but I am sure there are lots of wonderful items of memorabilia out there that could be a part of our collection.

Click here to share your input: https://tinyurl.com/pnmytkyh
Click here to enjoy our digital archive: www.colfesarchive.com

You are also welcome to email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

Sincerely,
Lorraine Banks
Archivist

Help shape the future of the Old Colfeian Society! Meet current leadership and learn how to become a part of the next generation of Old Colfeian leaders at our Annual General Meeting on Wednesday, 15 January, held at 7PM at the Old Colfeians Sports Grounds. Volunteer opportunities are available to support the following activities:

🥳 Entertainment: To help plan exciting activities for Old Colfeians
📣 Publicity: To promote Old Colfeian activities across social media
🤝 Young Colfeians: To help grow the engagement of younger alumni
🏉🏏Rugby Club & Cricket Club: Coodinate activities between these groups & the Old Colfeian Society
🛍️ Shop Manager: To create & manage an online shop for Old Colfeian merchandise

Want to learn more? Or just want to turn up to support the Society? Register to join us here: https://tinyurl.com/2e5epsn5

See you in the New Year!

Registration closes next week on 11 November! Click through below to get your ticket today.

Registration is now open for the Old Colfeian Society Reunion Dinner - finally being held back at Colfe's School! 📣📣📣

We are delighted to be throwing open the our doors - and removing our formal black ties! - on Friday 29 November from 6PM to 9:30PM. The evening will begin with welcome drinks and canapés in Roebucks Café with the option to receive a tour of the school before dinner. A two-course meal with wine will follow in the Senior Hall.

The party will continue down at the Old Colfeians Rugby Club, where a pay bar will be open! This will be Headmaster Richard Russell's last reunion dinner before his retirement in Summer 2025, so come along to say farewell. Dress code is smart (ties optional). Partners and guests are welcome.

Cost: £75 per person. Ticket sales ensure the cost of the dinner is covered in full, without any profit to the Society or School. Do register today by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/yxph7txk

Last Thursday, we hosted nearly 90 Old Colfeians, parents and Sixth Form pupils at our first-ever Finance Sector Networking Event, sponsored by the Old Colfeian Society. We were graciously hosted by alumnus Bernard Fairman (OC 1967) at his Foresight Group offices on the 23rd Floor of The Shard.

Attendees – all working in finance – had the chance to network with one another while guiding our Sixth Form pupils along in their pursuit of a finance career post-Colfe’s. If you're keen to learn more, or host a future industry sector, do get in touch at [email protected].

Registration is now open for the Old Colfeian Society Reunion Dinner - finally being held back at Colfe's School! 📣📣📣

We are delighted to be throwing open the our doors - and removing our formal black ties! - on Friday 29 November from 6PM to 9:30PM. The evening will begin with welcome drinks and canapés in Roebucks Café with the option to receive a tour of the school before dinner. A two-course meal with wine will follow in the Senior Hall.

The party will continue down at the Old Colfeians Rugby Club, where a pay bar will be open! This will be Headmaster Richard Russell's last reunion dinner before his retirement in Summer 2025, so come along to say farewell. Dress code is smart (ties optional). Partners and guests are welcome.

Cost: £75 per person. Ticket sales ensure the cost of the dinner is covered in full, without any profit to the Society or School. Do register today by clicking here: https://tinyurl.com/yxph7txk

📣📣📣This event will sell out! We are nearing capacity and can only take a few more registrations. Make sure you sign up today to avoid disappointment!📣📣📣

The Old Colfeian Society is sponsoring a new series of free networking events. Branded as our Sector Networking Series, these events are open to anyone in our community who is working, studying or has a keen interest in the sector being spotlighted. It's a chance for all alumni, current and former Colfe’s parents to network and build mentorships. Our current Sixth Form pupils are invited too.

The next in our series will focus on the Finance Sector and take place 19 September at 6PM at The Shard. A big thanks to our host Bernard Fairman (OC 1967), Group Chairman of the Foresight Group.

In lieu of a registration fee, we hope attendees will consider a donation to the Leatherseller Scholarship Programme. This event will certainly be at capacity, so do register to avoid disappointment: https://tinyurl.com/ypmt5jda

Are you receving our communications and event invitations? In addition to sending our Progress Newsletter, we hold regular events for donors, alumni, parents and former parents. Make sure you're informed by updating your contact details today: https://tinyurl.com/4p2ppjwv

Cricket fans: head down to the Old Colfeians Sports Club this coming Sunday to enjoy this International Cricket Festival!