The History Men
As a start to the anniversary year, the history of the School was illustrated with colourful characters and anectdotes in the first major event on the Oundle 450 calendar. Speaking to two separate audiences in the morning and afternoon of Friday 20th January, Mr. David Sharp encapsulated the high and low points of the School's progress since 1556.
It was a salutary thought that in 1556 when Sir William Laxton's legacy secured the future of the school that was to become Oundle, William Shakespeare was yet to be born. The School's fortunes, linked with the Grocer's Company, were influenced directly by landmark historical events such as the Great Fire of London, and the Civil War. In a talk which deftly selected the characters and Headmasters who both created (and in some cases detracted from) Oundle's success, the audience were treated to a presentation which delivered exactly those reflections on the past that the anniversary year is celebrating.
Speaking to an audience of 1st, 2nd and 3rd form pupils in the morning, and a much larger gathering of the Sixth Form, staff and invited guests in the afternoon, Mr. Sharp's talk was based on years of personal research, and he is currently writing the history of the Grocer's Company. After joining Oundle in 1977, he served the School as History master, Housemaster of New House, and Second Master, before retiring in 2001.