The 109th Old Lyonian Annual (OLA) Dinner

How quickly it comes around!

The OLA Dinner was held on Thursday 23rd March at the New Memorial Dining Hall and over 80 Old Lyonians turned out in fine form to enjoy another wonderful evening together.

The evening began with the Head Boy, Youki, and Deputy Head Boy, Krish, providing a group of OLs who had not been back for many years with a tour of the School. They were all delighted by the many improvements in the School environment and the breadth and depth of education the School offers these days.

Welcoming our guests, the Head, Katherine Haynes, gave a heartfelt speech about her experiences during her time at the School, explaining how it has evolved since she joined in 2009 and expressing her desire for its strong links with OLA to continue. Paul Matarewicz, OLA President (OL 1976), remembered those OLs who are no longer with us and then James Power, Friend of the School, said Grace before dinner was served.

It was wonderful to see many more recent former pupils attending the event, prompting lots of intergenerational conversations, and many new connections and conversations about everyone’s progress since leaving John Lyon. After dinner, Paul led the traditional communal singing of ‘Forty Years On’, after which Katherine received a presentation of flowers from the OLA.

Several Old Lyonians have since written to say how much they enjoyed the evening and to pass on their compliments to our catering team on a most excellent meal. The OLs also enjoyed our exhibition of archive material dating back all the way from the present day to the 1940s.n