BRIEF HISTORY OF AYTON OLD SCHOLARS' ASSOCIATION
Return to History Introduction
Return
to Homepage
For the first thirty-seven years of the school’s life, there was no organisation through which Old Scholars could maintain contact with each other and with the school. A few attended General Meeting (the Annual Meeting of Friends which was responsible for the over-all policy of the school) and it was at one such gathering in July 1888 that the Ayton Old Scholars’ Association was formed. For the next ten years this small group, interested in the progress of the school and in renewing old friendships, continued to meet on General Meeting Day.
The first Annual Report of the Association was produced in 1889 and continued to be published annually, except in 1904, 1905 and the War years 1915-20 when the Beckside gave news of Old Scholars. For the next five years special arrangements were made to bring out the Beckside and the A.0.S.A. Report under one cover. At the time of the Association’s Jubilee Marjorie Stapleton presented to us three beautifully bound volumes of the first fifty Annual Reports, and these can be found with the School memorabilia. Until 1933 the Reports had been brief accounts of the affairs of the Association, produced by the Secretary, but in 1933 an Editor was appointed and the scope of the publication was enlarged. This, together with the fact that since 1898 reunions had taken place twice yearly and separate from General Meeting, afforded greater opportunities for the continuation of friendships and social activities.
One of the objects of the Association was to support the school in its work and activities. This support was evident in the financial help given by Old Scholars to the development of new buildings and facilities which have benefited the school greatly. Foremost amongst such gifts were the following, enumerated without adjustment for the changing value of money. £250 out of the £820 needed was given for the Jubilee block in 1891, as was the cost of one hard tennis court in 1925, a second one being a personal gift from the former Headmistress, Miss Wells, as she was always known. The whole cost of the games pavilion, £3,400, was raised to mark the school’s centenary, although the erection of the building was delayed by the Second World War until 1955. The Association also helped the School Committee in its initiatives during subsequent years. Old Scholars contributed £18,400 towards the cost of Leven Hall in 1970 and £44,000 towards the Sports Hall in 1981. A more recent gift was a substantial part of the £34,000 needed to provide an all-weather area for tennis and other games as the Association’s contribution to the school’s one hundred and fiftieth anniversary celebrations in 1991. Afton Hall was transformed from Woodwork room to Music Centre thanks to the generosity of an Old Scholar.
All this material help was greatly appreciated and the school could not have progressed without it. But Ayton always stood for something more than success in the classroom or on the games field. It believed in the value of every individual. It always maintained an attitude to life in which caring and concern for others, a belief in Christian values and the importance of worship in everyday life was fundamental. The School may no longer operate but its tenets and beliefs survive. The Ayton Old Scholars’ Association will aim to ensure that the ‘quaint’ words in the 1888’s ‘Objects of Association,’ to ‘consider one another, to provoke unto love and good works,’ remain true today and in the future.
Ayton Meeting House completed a massive refurbishment programme in 2001; the total cost is likely to be around £250,000. Covenant contributions will be completed by May 2003. Old Scholars contributed more than 10% of the total. Ayton Friends now have, as a result, a superb building which meets their present needs. The ‘Meeting’ room can hold up to 140 people, there is an assortment of rooms for committee use and other purposes, and our collection of memorabilia is now safely housed in the room upstairs.
AOSA Website: At the 1998 AGM Gill Jackson asked the meeting if they would approve plans for an AOSA website. Dick Dennis put it together and the site was launched in time for the 1999 Reunion. The original format included AOSA History - with portraits of most Past Presidents, Annual Reports, selected Becksides, the Meeting House, Nostalgia, Archives Gallery, and a variety of ways to get in touch - Visitors’ Book and Discussion Forum.
The format is much the same today but the website continues
to grow. It now has almost 800 pages occupying 66 Mbytes and comprises 5,125
separate files.
It has proved enormously popular with Ayton Old Scholars from all corners of
the World, with daily visits ranging from 300 up to 800 - and a total of 150,000
in the period November 2001 to end October 2002 providing a link for many with
old friends, and a rallying point for much larger annual Reunion gatherings.
There is an Old Scholars’ e-mailing list - over 300 strong - used to
advise significant changes and additions to the website and to pass on information
which might otherwise have had to wait for the Annual Report. To sign up for
the e-mailing list click this link.
Return to History Introduction
Return
to Homepage