Well done to Braydon Robus and his partner Izzie!
From Janine Robus – Braydon’s Mum
Current Rye College Newsletters – New Page
We have added a new page entitled Current Rye College Newsletters. We believe that this will be of interest to our members as the newsletters gives a lot of information as to what is happening in today’s Rye College. We hope you enjoy reading these!
Appeal for Information
We have received the following question via the College. If you are able to assist then please let me know via saintkev1957@outlook.com
“I am writing to enquire about someone who may have studied here. Her name is/was Sally Ann Edmed and she is my biological grandmother.
She put my mother up for adoption in 1982 and I am trying to find any information on Sally. If she did study here it would’ve have been around 1973 but I’m not sure how long this college has been running for. It would be great if you do have any information that you can give me but I understand if you can’t. Maybe if you do have any information on where she might be maybe someone could let her know I am interested in knowing her.”
First grant from the Derek Baldock Memorial Sports Fund awarded
Use it or lose it
By
May 16, 2024
Rye Old Scholars’ Association (ROSA) is the old scholars’ association for Thomas Peacocke School in Rye and it is looking to recruit more members, especially pupils from the 1990s and 2000s.
School days can bring back good or bad memories, or even a mixture of both. Why are school memories important? They influence our behaviour, shape our identity, and contribute to our general well-being. They are the building blocks to our emergence of adulthood and often the profound effects of what we did there, how well we coped, and what friends we made do not resonate with us until we are much older and look back on those early years.
Kevin Moore, a member of ROSA committee and pupil at Thomas Peacocke School 1968-1975 has found himself recently doing just that – looking back:
“I suppose I had entered my fifties when I first noticed that I became a lot more reflective about things generally and about my own life in particular. As we advance through our adult years, we are very busy with our families and work and there seems little time available to think about the past.
“However, social media had started to come to the fore and my wife Ann had joined the now long-forgotten Friends Reunited. She had noticed that some of her former school friends and indeed some of mine had posted entries on that site. As a result, I decided to create my own post which led to some of my former school friends responding. Looking back, I believe that this was when my reflections about my school life and its influence on me started to take shape.
“I discovered and joined the Rye Old Scholars’ Association (ROSA) and was intrigued to read entries in the annual bulletin written by former pupils and indeed teachers. Some I knew and some I didn’t but each and every one was interesting, especially those written by pupils who detailed what they had been doing since they had left school. It encouraged me to respond similarly.
6th form photos Thomas Peacocke 1975
“I then attended a couple of reunions for those who, like me, had attended the Thomas Peacocke School in 1970s. It was great to catch up with so many people. Sadly, there were no other members of my actual school year but that did not detract from the overall experience. It seemed logical for me to join the ROSA committee when I stopped working in 2018 and had more time available. I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience and together with my wife Ann, also a former pupil, we have enjoyed getting involved in the annual lunches, helping to organise the various reunions and, in my case, writing articles for the annual ROSA bulletin. As the years have passed I have come to appreciate how my school years helped to mould me for me for my future. This was not so much academically but more in the way of helping to shape my personality and who I am and I am extremely grateful for this.
“I appreciate that not everyone’s experiences of their school years are positive. However, we all made friends and I have recently been in contact regularly with one of mine whom I had not seen since I left school in 1975.
“One of the really positive things to happen recently has been the creation of the Generation X Fund. This was started by Rebekah Gilbert, a former pupil, during her time as mayor of Rye with money being allocated to the cause through her fundraising. This has been added to since through fundraising at our reunions. Former students can access amounts of up to £300 to help them in setting up a business, attending courses relevant to their professional development or even purchasing tools and equipment.
“I, like my other ROSA committee members, am keen to see our organisation continue to develop and advance. To do this, we need to increase our membership especially in relation to those who attended the school / college during the 1990s and 2000s. Those individuals will now be in or approaching their 40s and maybe starting to reflect more on the years that have passed. Hopefully, like me, this will include thinking about their school years. Remember the saying – if you don’t use it you lose it. If we do not continue to develop ROSA, in a few years from now it will sadly cease to exist and that would be a great shame.
“Please therefore consider joining our wonderful organisation and getting involved. We would love to hear from you, especially if you have any photographs or other memorabilia which can be added to our website. You can learn more by contacting me on 07935 130206 or email saintkev1957@outlook.com.”
Image Credits: Kevin Moore archives , Kevin Moore archives .
Can You Help??
We have recently had the school/college’s honours board showing the names of the Head Boys and Head Girls for each year of the school/college’s existence. However, we have a gap for the year of 1961. If you can assist with the names please email me Kevin Moore via saintkev1957@outlook.com
USE IT OR LOSE IT!
New Website Masters
UPDATE:
As of 1st November 2023, Kevin Moore is the Webmaster for the ROSA Website. He can be contacted via email saintkev1957@outlook.com Phone: 07935 130206
Following the very sad and sudden passing of our former webmaster Tim Rothwell in December . A training session was held today (Feb 15th 2023) with our Website creator Oliver Campion who has now spent time with our new trio of “webbies” Judith Blincow, Kevin Moore and Richard Moore whose contact details are within the web pages .They will now be adjusting, amending and creating news and words on this very special site. Tim will be a hard act to follow so please bear with us in the early days of taking over.
Maureen Getley
Lois Benton has sent Richard Moore the very sad news that Maureen Getley, who taught history at RGS and then the Thomas Peacocke School for so many years, was a wonderful friend to ROSA, and a regular attendee at our annual lunches, passed away on 13 March 2022 in Castlemaine Care Home in St Leonards, following a fall.
A Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Maureen Getley will be held at Rye Baptist Church, Cinque Ports Street, Rye, TN31 7AN at 12.30p.m. on Friday 22 April.
Ray Fooks, MBE
ROSA AGM AND ANNUAL LUNCH: SUNDAY 17 MAY 2020
Legacy left to ROSA
Richard Moore reports
‘I received a letter today 21 November 2019 which contained the following:
In line with the wishes of Peter Derek Webb who sadly passed away in March, we are very happy to enclose a cheque for £1,000.00 to be used for the benefit of the Old Scholars.
Peter was very proud to be an “Old Scholar” and whenever possible attended the annual reunions. This legacy was amongst his last wishes so please use this as you see fit.
I know he would want me to say thank you for the great work you carry out to ensure that all “Old Scholars” are kept up to date with things and hopefully the members will enjoy this legacy.’
Any ideas as to how ROSA might best use this very generous gift?
Leasam House for Sale – November 2019
George Hotel, Rye – Fire 20 July 2018
Roof of the George Hotel, Rye, badly damaged by fire on Saturday 20 July.
ROSA Bulletin 2018
With thanks as always to Richard Moore for his hard work, the ROSA Bulletin 2018 is now available here
School Magazines -RX and RYA
We are pleased to have available some editions of RX, the magazine of Rye County Secondary Modern School and RYA, the magazine of Rye Grammar School. We have probably exhausted the supply of RXs, but there are several more editions of RYA available in the archive, which we hope to upload over time.
If anyone has any editions that they are prepared to lend us to upload, please email Tim Rothwell at timrothwell9@gmail.com
We have created a new page – School Magazines: RX and RYA – here
ROSA 1960s reunion
A report and photos of the 1960s reunion held on 22 September 2018 are available here
ROSA email list
In circulating emails for the ROSA 60s reunion, it is clear that not all ROSA members are receiving the regular website update emails.
If you have found this website, but do not receive email updates, please send you email address to Tim Rothwell – timrothwell9@gmail.com and he will add you to the list.
News about Saltcote
On 18 August 2018, ROSA President Richard Moore received the following update about Saltcote, following last year’s fire:
Richard Merricks Room
David Crew – View from the Strand
Local artist David Crew, who attended Rye Primary and then Rye Grammar Schools, has recently had an exhibition of his work shown at the Rye Art Gallery. (Many Ryers will remember David’s father, Sergeant Crew, the much-respected local ‘bobby’.) The exhibition was entitled View from the Strand. The cover of the Gallery programme for January-June 2018 shows David’s painting Driftwood.
David has written about his exhibition in Rye News, and his article, which also contains further examples of his work, can be read here
The article has also been published in the March 2018 edition of Fixtures. In his article, David pays tribute to two ‘inspirational art teachers’ at RGS, Kitty French and Jill Elliot.
Britain At Low Tide
Although not strictly ROSA related, ROSA members might like to know, if they don’t already, that the first episode in the new series of Channel 4’s Britain At Low Tide screened on Saturday 17 February 2018 featured East Sussex. It includes film and discussions about Rye, Smeaton’s Harbour at Winchelsea Beach and the petrified forest at Pett Level, amongst other things.
It is available for the next three weeks on the catch-up channel All Four here
Brian Dennis has sent in the following comment:
‘We saw the programme last week and found the piece about Smeaton’s Harbour at Winchelsea Beach of particular interest. My grandfather, Robert Victor Cooke owned Holfords Farm, which is close to Dogs Hill. Sadly now a caravan park!
ROSA members might find the following book of interest which includes a whole chapter on Smeaton’s Harbour. The book was written by Michael and Ruth Saville. Ruth was a relative of mine on the Cooke side – my mother’s first cousin:
A Changing Shore – An Illustrated Account of Winchelsea Beach. ISBN 0-9548390-2-1‘
ROSA Bulletin – 2017
This has now been distributed and is available here
RYA magazine
May 2017’s edition of Rye’s Own contains an article on RYA, the Rye Grammar School magazine. Rye’s Own have been given a collection of RYA from 1946-1951, and the May issue contains some interesting excerpts from the 1951 edition.
Of interest to ROSA members, the editorial for Spring 1951 says that complaints had been made about the inclusion of Old Scholars’ contribution to RYA. In sticking by its decision to print contributions from Old Scholars, the editorial says the following:
‘In our view Rye Grammar School is more than a place where a number of children are taught together. ..It is a fellowship of staff, pupils, scholars who have left, and scholars who are to come. The rules, privileges and traditions that are ours today have been handed down to us by those who have left and must be handed on to those who come after us.’
Not a bad philosophy in some ways of what ROSA is about today.
Rye’s Own is on sale in outlets in Rye and the surrounding area, and can be bought by subscription. More details can be found on the Rye’s Own Facebook page here
ROSA Bulletins
We have now added copies of the ROSA Bulletins from 2009 until 2017 inclusive on this site. Please go to the ROSA Bulletins heading on the Menu to find the links.
Contributions to the website
We are very grateful for the contributions (and kind words!) we have received since we launched the website in February 2017. We have included the contributions on the website, and have opened up a new category -MEMORIES. But we could do with lots more!
Please email any you have to timrothwell9@gmail.com
ROSA Website Launched!
It has taken some time, to say the least, for the ROSA website to see the light of day, but finally we have one. As you will see, it is very much a work in progress and there’s lots more to be added but we have made a start – only seven years after we first promised members a website!
The website will enable us to tell members about developments, news etc throughout the year, and we promise we will keep it up to date!
We hope that the areas we have included are the right ones, but please let us know if there is anything you would like to see included – or not included!
We want to make this your website, and it will only be interesting and relevant if we add new material regularly. We therefore make a heartfelt plea for you to send us corrections, additions, articles, news items, photos etc – in fact anything you think might be of interest. We would prefer it if you could email your contributions. Please send them to Tim Rothwell at timrothwell9@gmail.com
If you would rather send them by snail mail, please send them to
Tim Rothwell, Breanross, Pett Road, Pett, Hastings, East Sussex, TN35 4HA
We look forward to hearing from you.