16
A
fter months of hard work by staff,
OA and pupil volunteers, the new
Archive Centre was opened on
June 30th - a highlight of the 2012
OA Day.
The creation of an Archive Centre was only
made possible by the relocation of the
Business Studies teaching spaces into
The Philip Richards Building, and the
school is very grateful to Philip (Carpenter
1977) for the ongoing transformation of
school facilities his generous gift has
enabled.
After much work by the school's estates
department, two classrooms were
transformed into a temperature controlled
store room, and an office and visitor
centre which can hold changing displays.
"The new centre has transformed care of
and access to the historical collections,"
explained archivist Alison Mason. "There
is space for small groups or researchers
to consult original records, and we are
now in a far better position to care for the
precious items that people give us."
The photographic display in the new
Archive Research Room was curated by
sixth form pupil Kitty McIntosh, using
photographs from the Archive collection
selected by her A Level History
classmates.
Opening of the new Archive Centre
by Alison Mason
Robin Appleford OA, the youngest
Spitfire pilot to fight in the Battle of
Britain, is the subject of this current
exhibit. The display was compiled with
help from Patrick Scanlan of the History
department, who even produced a model
Spitfire of the type flown by Appleford.
Above: Archivist Alison Mason (centre)
with volunteers Chris Warren OA and
Johanna Kastner at the Archive Centre
opening. Below: Sixth form pupil
Johanna Kastner helps to re-box some
early house photographs in conservation
friendly folders.