Rank Fellowship Sedbergh Dinner
The second Rank Fellowship North West dinner took place at Sedbergh on Friday 29 June. A break in the rains of June allowed visitors to see the school and the town in a most attractive light. Chris Hirst, Headmaster of Sedbergh School, welcomed guests to an evening in honour of Peter Attenborough. Andrew Cowen and Lord and Lady Shuttleworth were there to represent the Directors of The Rank Foundation, Andrew after a marathon drive from Hampshire. Sarah Hirst added to the warmth of welcome from the home team and everyone was delighted that Sandy Attenborough was there with Peter.
A number of present and past Sedbergh Rank Fellows had made considerable efforts to be at the dinner. Simon Beaufoy had travelled up from London, renewing his schoolboy acquaintance with the Bull Hotel. David Tait, Jason Duffy and Michael Wernham, impressive Sedbergh rugby alumni, were there to join the tributes to Peter Attenborough, while Sam Coe (eldest of four Sedbergh-directed brothers) was another university-based Fellow. Simon Walker, recently relocated across the Pennines, expressed his pleasure at having carved out the time to travel up. Alex Newcome, current Head Boy, and Arian Manoucheri were able to join us at the busy conclusion to the academic year.
Chris Dunning, Director of Youth Projects for Scotland and Northern Ireland, had driven back from Northern Ireland to attend, pausing only briefly at his home in Penrith. It was excellent to welcome leaders from Rank-supported projects, Cath Hetherington from Eden Community Alarms (http://www.ecalarms.com/index.html) and Rob Carter from Bolton Lads and Girls Club (http://www.boltonladsandgirlsclub.co.uk/ ). Their presence underlined the Fellowship’s commitment to connect with the other aspects of The Rank Foundation’s work.
Chris Hirst made a presentation to Peter Attenborough, speaking of his ability to make people feel valued, his wisdom as an elder statesman and his great contributions to both Sedbergh School and The Rank Foundation. In his response, Peter evoked his warm memories of Sedbergh and paid tribute to Chris’s achievements in recent years as Head. He outlined the diverse potential of the Rank Fellows present and their ability to put something back into society. An excellent evening further established the roots of the North West Fellowship: many thanks to everyone at Sedbergh School.