Old Blues VE Day 16 May 202010.00 - 16.00

INFORMATION & ACTIVITIES

Welcome Old Blues, families and friends to Christ’s Hospital for Old Blues ‘VE’ Day 2020, where we will be continuing the National 75th anniversary celebrations of VE Day.

Old Blues Day gives you an opportunity to visit the School, walk the grounds, and catch up with old friends, whilst having the chance to enjoy lots of other activities.

This year you can join our VE Day Celebration Street Party, have a Great Escape up Sharpenhurst Hill, take on the challenge of the giant lawn games, join our new Chaplain for an Old Blues Chapel service, and look back at CH on the Home Front in WWII in the Museum plus lots more.

We hope you have a fabulous day!Gina Skillings, CHOBA Manager

Programme for the day

Arrival (please note, we will be unable to accommodate guests before this time).Members of the CHOBA Board will be on hand on Coleridge Front Lawn to provide you with information, maps and programmes.

Old Blues’ MarketVarious stalls selling items for charity and Old Blue themed merchandise will be on Coleridge Front Lawn. Come and try your luck at our raffle!

CH MuseumNew showcases for this year’s Old Blues Day – ‘CH on the Home Front in WWII’ and ‘Marvellous Medicine at the Infirmary’.Come and attempt to pass the 1899 entrance exam sitting at an original desk!

Giant Lawn GamesChallenge friends and family to a game of Giant Chess, Giant Connect Four, Noughts and Crosses or Croquet on Lamb Front Lawn.

From 10.00

10.00 - 15.00

10.00 - 16.00

10.00 - 15.00

Air Raid Alert! Tube ToursThe Tube, which runs the length of the Avenue, was used as an Air Raid shelter on numerous occasions during war time. It now provides us with the access to run all of the utilities needed for a 21st century school to function.This is a pre-booked activity – ticket holders only please. Meet at Peele main door.

VE Day ‘Street Party’ CelebrationsParty Like its 1945! Join the VE Day celebrations at our Street party in Court Room where there will be complimentary tea and coffee. Bucks-fizz, Prosecco and a fine selection of homemade cakes will also be available to purchase. Hear Churchill give his address announcing the end of hostilities in Europe and King George VI address the people, along with some classic 40’s tunes!

Levi and Grandad’s Model RailwayCurrent pupils have restored the old CH Model Railway Club trains – come and watch them in action in the Museum!

Ice Cream and Pizza VansOur own ‘Italian Campaign’ will be back on the Avenue offering pizza, snacks and ice cream to purchase on the day. Find them outside Art School.

Head Teacher’s WelcomeHead Teacher Simon Reid welcomes Old Blues and their families to Horsham for Old Blues Day, in Chapel.

Chapel ServiceA commemorative Chapel service remembering Old Blues lost to War, led by our Senior Chaplain, The Reverend Craig Huxley-Jones.

PicknickingPicknickers are welcome on Big Side.

10.15 and 11.15

10.30 - 12.30

11.00 - 16.00

10.00 - 15.00

11.50 - 12.00

12.00 - 12.30

From 12.00

Band ParadeA CH staple, watch Band Parade, outside Dining Hall in the Quad.

Sandwich Lunch A buffet lunch will be served in Court Room. Please note, this is for those who have pre-booked only. Please arrive no later than 13.20.

30 Years on Reunion LunchA special lunch for leavers of 1989 and 1990 will be served in the LARC Balcony Area. Please note, this is only for those who have pre-booked.

CH Sports FixturesPupils will be playing sport on Big Side. Further details on what matches will be taking place can be found at the Welcome Desk.

Nightingales Harmony GroupJoining us to provide some live vintage music for you to Jive and Lindy Hop to will be vocal harmony duo ‘The Nightingales’. Find them outside in the Quad, or in the Court Room in wet weather.

Boarding House ToursSelect houses will be open for a tour with House Parents and pupils. Houses to be confirmed.

‘Dambusters - Revealed’Barnes Wallis Foundation exhibitionAn exhibition about Old Blue, Barnes Wallis, will be in the Mellstrom Centre. Members of the Barnes Wallis Foundation will be on hand for questions.Also showing will be ‘Dambusters – Revealed’, a documentary uncovering the history behind Operation Chastise, an attack on German dams carried out on 16–17 May 1943 by Royal Air Force No. 617 Squadron (the “Dambusters”) using a specially developed “bouncing bomb” invented and developed by Sir Barnes Wallis.

12.45

13.00 - 14.00

13.15 - 15.00

From 13.30

14.00 - 14.45 and15.15 - 16.00

14.15 - 15.00

14.00 - 16.00

14.15 - 16.00

14.30 - 16.00

14.30 - 15.15

FIND OUT MOREOld Blue activities - www.choba.orgChrist’s Hospital School - www.christs-hospital.org.ukDonating to Christ’s Hospital - www.christs-hospital.org.uk/support-us

Contact CHOBA T: 01403 247619 E: oldblues@christs-hospital.org.uk,Christ’s Hospital Old Blues Association, The Counting House, Christ’s Hospital, Horsham, RH13 0YP

A ‘Great Escape’ (to Sharpenhurst Hill!)Led by current member of staff Christy Hawkins, this walk will take approx.1hr 45 going up the hill through Shelley’s Wood. This year’s Grecians Gift of a Peace Pole will be planted to commemorate the end of WWII and honour all Old Blues who have sacrificed their lives in the line of duty. The peace pole features the words ‘May Peace Prevail on Earth’ in 8 languages, representing a selection of our current Grecian year’s nationalities. Please note, this is only for those who have pre-booked. Meet outside Grecians West.

Drinks and snacks available to purchase from the Hertford Centre.

Poetry RecitalOld Blue poet Lizzie Ballagher will be giving a poetry recital in Chapel.Poems to include:‘Beginnings and Endings’, Hertford, 1964‘Marching in Our Sleep’, Edmund Blunden in 1916‘Doodlebug’, Horsham, 1944‘In Jeopardy of Their Lives’, The RAF Foundation Trust, 1951-5‘Sunday at the Cenotaph’, London, 2018

The site will be open for Old Blues from 10.00. For security purposes, we kindly request that visitors do not arrive earlier than this time, and leave the site no later than 16.30.

Please note, programme times and venues are subject to change, and some activities may be weather dependent.

Please place all rubbish in the bins around the site, or take it home with you.

Christ’s Hospital is a non-smoking site and we ask you to please observe our no smoking policy.

You are welcome to bring dogs on site, but please keep them on a lead at all times and clean up after them. We kindly request they are not taken into buildings, unless they are a designated assistance dog.

Safeguarding and child protection: Christ’s Hospital is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff, volunteers and visitors to share in this commitment.

In the unfortunate event that you suffer or observe an accident, incident or illness, please report it to your host or to Reception for their assistance.

If you hear the fire alarm, please evacuate the building and follow the instructions of a member of staff.

Photographs are permitted to be taken for private use, however please refrain from photographing individual pupils. Professional standard photography is prohibited without prior approval.

Visitors should not seek to enter a Boarding House or other school building other than those that make up part of the organised event programme and accompanied by a member of CH staff at the designated time.

Extra Information

TimetableTime Activity Location

From 10.00 Information Desk Coleridge Front Lawn

10.00 - 15.00 Old Blues Market Coleridge Front Lawns & Front of Chapel

10.00 - 16.00 Museum Open Museum

10.00 - 15.00 Giant Lawn Games Lamb Front Lawn

10.15 & 11.15 Air Raid Alert - Tube Tours *pre-booked only* Peele Main Door

10.30 - 12.30 VE Day ‘Street Party’ Court Room

11.00 - 16.00 Levi and Grandad’s Model Railway Museum

11.00 - 15.00 Ice Cream Van Outside Art School

11.30 - 14.00 Pizza Van Outside Art School

11.50 - 12.00 Head Teacher’s Welcome Chapel

12.00 - 12.30 Chapel Service Chapel

From 12.00 Picknicking Big Side

12.45 Band Parade Quad

13.00 - 14.00 Sandwich Lunch *pre booked only* Court Room

13.15 - 15.00 30 Years on Reunion Lunch *pre-booked only* LARC Balcony Area

13.30 Sports Fixtures Big Side

14.00 - 14.45 & 15.15 - 16.00 Nightingales Harmony Group Quad, or Court Room

in wet weather

14.15 - 15.00 Boarding House Tours TBC

From 14.00 ‘Dambusters Revealed’ Barnes Wallis Foundation exhibition

Mellstrom Centre

14.15 - 16.00 The Great Escape - Old Blues Ramble *pre-booked only* Grecians West

14.30 - 16.00 Drinks and Snacks to Purchase Hertford Centre

14.30 - 15.15 Poetry Reading Chapel

16.00 Departure