Warnborough's Golden Jubilee
July 12 was the chosen to celebrate 50 years since the founding of Warnborough College in Oxford, United Kingdom in 1973.
The day began with delegates arriving and registering at the Warnborough HQ in Canterbury. At 10:15am, they made their way to the Clagett Auditorium within the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral. This is where they awardees for the special jubilee awards presentation had a quick rehearsal.
The Lord Mayor of Canterbury
The Lord Mayor of Canterbury, Councillor Jean Butcher, and the Lady Mayoress, Di Baldock, arrived looking resplendent in their official chains. They were met by Warnborough dignitaries and informed of the order of the proceedings.
The awards event was emceed by Warnborough Council Secretary, Dr Pamela Hatton, and it kicked off with the graduands and dignitaries marching into the auditorium and standing for the British National Anthem and the Warnborough Anthem which was sung by Nicole-René Clarke.
Dr Brenden Tempest-Mogg, President and Founder of the College, welcomed the audience and spoke about the aspirations of the College. This was followed by a short speech from the Lord Mayor of Canterbury. The CEO of the Warnborough Worldwide Educational Group, Dr Julian Ng, came on to show a commemorative video on Warnborough’s 50-year history.
Centres and People Honoured
Several learning centres were honoured for their dedication to educational quality, with a formal partnership signing between Warnborough College UK and Ena’s Soap of Taiwan. Dr Ng then announced the awards of golden jubilee medallions to key Council members, staff and supporters. Sheila Caulfield, the Learning and Development Manager of the Warnborough Foundation gave a small talk about the work the Foundation had done and the people it had helped.
This segued into the actual awards presentations, with the recipients of the Foundation’s Compass programme receiving their awards from the Lord Mayor. Following that, graduates of all other levels from Level 3 awards to Doctorates came on stage to receive their awards and pose for photographs.
Once the awards were completed, the graduates and dignitaries marched out of the Auditorium before returning to pose for group photos. They then made their way to the Campanile Gardens to pose for more photographs and to partake in food and other refreshments.
50th Anniversary Gala Dinner
Special Concert
The gala evening began at 6pm with some special performances from talented youngsters. Angelina Marinicheva opened proceedings with a ‘Hat Dance’ and an improv dance number called ‘Character’.
Varvara Sidorova played wonderful versions of Beethoven’s Fur Elise and Profokiev’s Tarantella No. 4 (from Musiques d’enfants, op. 65).
Annabelle Higgins wowed the auditorium with sublime performances of Chopin’s Waltz in E Minor op. Posthumous, The Concert Suite from Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Nutcracker’, and The Flight of the Bumble Bee by Rimsky-Korsakoff (as arranged by Rachmaninoff).
To cap things off, Nicole-René Clarke performed a gospel number entitled “To Worship You, I Live“. The audience also watched a short documentary about Warnborough, as remembered by its people.
Dinner and Merry-Making
Delegates then settled down to enjoy a delicious 3-course dinner with wine and drinks. It was an opportunity for everyone to let down their hair, catch up with friends, and make new ones. The Warnborough principals went around each table to toast their guests.
50th Anniversary Cake
The pièce de résistance was the large 50th anniversary cake specially-commissioned from Patisserie de Natalya Ganieva in London. Designed by CEO Dr Julian Ng, the fluffy and light chocolate and cherry cake comprised 3 layers – a red book bearing initials of founder Ethyl Tempest-Mogg featuring an oak-leaf (the symbol of Boars Hill) on top of a green book with the initials of Dr Brenden Tempest-Mogg and a shamrock signifying the Irish years. Topping the cake was a half-written tome showing other developments to date including the new Warnborough logo, Warnborough Publishing, the Warnborough Foundation, and Warnborough Worldwide, with a fountain pen signifying that history is being written, with many more chapters to come.
All attendees received a large slice to go with their teas and coffees. As a souvenir, a specially-packaged shortcake printed with our 50th anniversary logo was provided to each attendee by Natalya.
Special Thanks
We would like to sincerely thank all our staff especially Nina, Nicole-René, Olga and Tetiana for going above and beyond the call of duty to make the day’s events such a success. Big thanks also to the young performers of the day and to the Lana Higgins School of Music in Ramsgate. A big thank you to all our Council members and supporters for engaging with everyone and ramping up the Warnborough feelgood factor, and of course, the event would be nothing without the graduates, alumni and family and friends who came along.
Still Want More?
More photos and descriptions can be found at Warnborough College UK website.
