The Last Lap Reunion

It was a privilege to welcome close to 30 of Alleyn's most successful sporting alumni from the 1950s and 1960s on 14 September for the annual Last Lap Reunion.

The Last Lappers, all known for their sporting prowess, especially in track and field, have been coming together for an annual reunion since 2005 to reminisce over fond memories of athletics at Alleyn’s - which at the time was off curriculum and run by the boys themselves.

One of those early starters was David Fournel (Spurgeon’s 1957), who, in his final year at Alleyn’s, broke three school records and won 25 inter-school competitions – a feat never exceeded by another Alleyn’s athlete. When David sadly died in 2007, the group decided to create the Fournel Trophy in his honour which they have awarded to a current Alleyn's pupil who has shown exceptional sporting promise every year since.

Previous recipients of the Fournel Trophy include now Olympian diver, Eden Cheng (Roper’s 2021), who won the trophy three times, water polo player, Ben Tinkler-Davies (Tyson's 2016) who went on to represent Great Britain and later was the assistant coach for the U19 Great Britain Water Polo team and, most recently, Sasha Howard (Dutton’s 2023) who was selected for the England Netball U19 England Roses Academy earlier this year.

During their reunion, hosted by Barry Graham (Brading’s 1956), members of the Last Lappers enjoyed lunch at Alleyn’s with Director of Sport, Ryan Shedwick and Assistant Head (Co-curricular & Partnerships), Neil Green.

Welcoming everyone to the lunch, Barry spoke about how strong the group of Last Lappers had become. He expressed his gratitude for the support and encouragement he was given while at Alleyn’s to pursue his passions for sport and also drama. And he presented a cheque on behalf of the group to support bursaries at Alleyn’s.

The group was also joined by two of Alleyn's current pupils, Will in Year 12 and Isy in Year 11. During the summer, both Will and Isy represented their country at a top level – with Will playing for the U16 England Hockey team and Isy representing England at U18 in the shot put. The Last Lappers enjoyed talking to the pupils about their achievements and ambitions for the future, and sharing stories from their days at Alleyn’s.

After lunch, the group, some of whom had not been back to Alleyn's since they left in the 1950s, took a tour of the School including seeing the running track, the site of many happy memories from their time at school (with some even lining up for a quick dash!).

Thank you to the Last Lappers for joining us back at Alleyn’s and for your generous donation. It was brilliant to see you all and to hear how some of you are still running half marathons today!

Click on the image below to see photos from the day: