This Year

‘The pace and nature of strategic change at the College is impressive and links right back to the College’s foundation that was “to provide an exceptional education for young people from all walks of life”.’

Iwonder if, in the last 50 years, there has been a more interesting time, not just to be leaving education and embarking on the delights of adulthood, employment and all the attendant variables, but also to be changing tack or seeking new ventures. In a recent committee discussion, the question arose as to what a 21st-century education looked like. Unpacking that just a smidge, given the uncharted position post-Brexit, the rise of the Far Right in Europe, the pandemic, climate change, cyber insecurity, super-power posturing, fake news, big data, demanding regulation, AI and robotics, ever-increasing populations, green energy, and so on, it is worth taking a moment to consider how we best prepare for the realities of the 21st century. Of course, that’s not to appear gloomy, as each of those seemingly enormous strategic influences is accompanied by huge opportunity! Whilst the world might seem to be rather unpredictable and at odds with itself, it remains a constant that OMs are throwing themselves at everything it has to offer. My late father and ex-Club President, Colin (LI 1952-57), used to say how different and remarkable the alumni ‘scattergram’ was and that, if you needed advice on anything, it could be found from within; and one only has to look at the amazing array of activity expressed in this and previous editions, and in the inspiring Marlburian Monday virtual talks that enabled Club members to meet up during lockdown, to see that OMs are following their instincts and hearts to all corners of the earth in so many different ways. Two editions ago, the then President and my recruiter Dickie Pembroke (B1 1985-90) offered that ‘the College’s greatest challenge is how to remain affordable to its traditional constituents’. He was being somewhat prophetic; and aligned with Lampedusa’s adage that ‘if things are going to stay the same, they have to change’. The College is doing exactly that. The pace and nature of strategic change at the College is impressive and links right back to the College’s foundation that was ‘to provide an exceptional education for young people from all walks of life’. To enable that aspiration, the College is looking to dramatically increase its bursary provision, in turn creating a College community that is inclusive and diverse – fantastic!

In the Navy, normally after something had gone wrong, the well-worn quip ‘every day is a learning day’ would be tossed at the embarrassed matelot, but it is of course true through the whole of life and in every aspect. So, in an unpredictable and rapidly changing world, with the College and Club better aligning their strategic direction (articulated in the Chairman’s report), there would appear to be a golden opportunity to bring our deep alumni bucket of resource to bear for those to whom it may help – collectively, we have much to offer the enquiring, undecided, changing or muddled, younger and older minds alike. To this end, our recent Club survey elicited an enthusiastic response from OMs offering their support and expertise to other OMs, which is providing the fuel and engine for the expansion and acceleration of our OM Mentoring Scheme. So, if I humbly may, with nearly 12,000 contactable alumni in the Club, we have a wonderfully rich resource at our fingertips and the most fantastic opportunity to play a small part in that ongoing educational and steering process, either as a mentor, career advisor, or confidante. What better way to play a very small part and give back, not just to Old Marlburians, but to society as a whole.