Christ's Hospital Old Blues Association

As we welcome in the new year, we celebrate the Class of 2024, who recently joined the Old Blue community and are now settling into their first year beyond CH. What advice would you give them for 2025 as they step into new opportunities and the next phases of their lives? 🤔🤔🤔
If you aren't already a member, join your fellow Old Blues on choba.org. Register online to offer careers advice or mentoring opportunities to the 2024 leavers and other Old Blues.

Get the latest news and event information straight to your inbox with the CHOBA monthly e-newsletter. If you don't receive it already, or want to check that we have the correct email address for you, please email us on [email protected]

🌟 Proposed Event Dates for Spring/Summer 2025 🌟

👫 40 Years on Reunion - Leavers of 1984/85 on Sat 1 Mar, CH

👫 5 Years on Reunion - Leavers of 2019/20 on Thurs 10 Apr, London

👫 60 Years on Reunion - Leavers of 1964/65 on Weds 30 Apr, CH

👫 Old Blues Day - on Sat 17 May, CH

👫 65+ Years on Reunion - Leavers of 1960 or earlier on Weds 4 June, CH

For information on all Old Blue events, including regional and international Old Blue groups, please visit the events page at choba.org.

❗Please note: As dates are currently proposed, they are subject to change.

The remaining decade reunions will be held in the autumn/winter, information on dates and locations will follow in spring 2025.

Did you know? Work on the new school site at Horsham began in January 1896 with the levelling of the ground. The foundations were laid in 1897 and by January 1898 work had begun on the buildings themselves. 🔨👷
Photo: Christ's Hospital postcard, year unknown.

Happy New Year! Here's to a fantastic year ahead! 🎆🎇🥳

At the end of term we welcomed 80 members of the 1552 society to CH for a pre-Christmas celebration lunch and special showing of the 2024 school production of Les Misérables. 🎭 The perfect excuse for a celebration! 🥂

1552 Society Reception and Les Misérables We were delighted to welcome back 80 members of Christ's Hospital's 1552 Society for a special lunch and a performance of Christ's Hospital's triumphant drama and music production of Les Misérables.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy 2025. 🎅🎁🎄⛄

A beautiful illustration of CH at Christmas from 1857 "Christ's Hospital and Christmas Eve, drawn by John Gilbert, from The Illustrated London News. 🎄🎅🎁

Jade Adeyemi (ColB, GrW 11-15), a fantastic rising artist, had the honour of creating The Fashion Awards 2024 trophy for The British Fashion Council. Designing a stunning piece made from recycled silver, supplied by jewellery company and and lead sponsor Pandora.

BFC and Pandora unveil trophy design for Fashion Awards 2024 The British Fashion Council and Pandora unveil 2024 Fashion Awards trophy by Jade Adeyemi

🎄 Christmas Throwback! 🎁
We’ve dug up some festive gems from Christmases past - Christmas Fair 2011!
Recognise any faces? Share your memories and spread the Christmas spirit! 🎅

🔥 Hot off the press 🔥 - David Arnold (BaA 44-52) has a new book out in time for Christmas! Find out more and read about the history behind David's new book 'Christian Thinking through the Ages'.

Christian Thinking through the Ages by David Arnold (BaA 44-52) - Christ's Hospital David Arnold (BaA 44-52) has released a new book called Christian Thinking through the Ages and gave us the background behind the book. As an elderly Old Blue, or ‘an old Old Blue’, as David calls himself, David was born in Hackney in 1933 and came to Christ’s Hospital in the autumn of 1944. A...

Christmas can be a lonely time for some, or a point in the year where we reflect on the past. 😊 If you are thinking about past friends or looking to connect with new ones, register with The Christ's Hospital Old Blues Association (CHOBA) to connect with fellow Old Blues. There are over 3,800 Old Blues registered in a network where you can search for friends, local groups, events, professional support, businesses and more. Find out more at choba.org

The museum team have been very busy working on the completion of a new display in Old Science about the John Ruskin mineral collection. This large project was a year in the planning! 💎

John Ruskin, famous art critic and writer, had an association with CH in the late 19th century and gave the school its very first 'seed' of an historic collection of artefacts (natural history rocks) from which more donations were given, then given by others, leading to the formation of CH's very first museum in the London school.
Ruskin was a long-standing Governor of CH (from the age of 21) and presented 15 children to the school.

The collection needed a significant refresh after many years collecting dust, so the museum team got to work on the project and also had new glass shelving and lighting fitted. The artefacts now take pride of place in the Old science block.

Photos:
* The rock collection in its new home
* The museum in the London School, c1890
* Leading mineralogist Roy Starkey identifying the rocks with student Guy
* CH Museum team cleaning and completing the project.

🧐 Help us to shape your magazine! 😍 What would you like to see in The Old Blue Magazine? We want to make it a publication that truly reflects our amazing community and gives you the news, updates and information that you want to read.
Whether it's stories of Old Blues, updates from CH, career highlights, or something entirely new - share your ideas and help us to shape it into the magazine everyone loves.
Please add your suggestions to the comments below, or DM us with your ideas.

Christ’s Hospital topped a list of 200 independent schools for its bursary and scholarship provision, awarding on average £25,900 a student — almost twice as much as the school in second place, says Robert Watts in The Times:

How to get a scholarship to a top UK private school With the cost of independent education rising, we reveal the secrets to securing a bursary or scholarship at a top school