In the October half term 44 boys and 6 staff were lucky enough to go to New York on a Creative Arts Tour. Some of the boys were artists, some dramatists and others musicians; some study a combination of these art forms of course! The artists spent time in all the major galleries and art museums, including The Frick Collection, The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum and The Guggenheim. The drama and music students participated in a number of workshops including an introduction to Method Acting and a workshop with a member of the cast of one of the plays we saw, School of Rock. The musicians also attended the Metropolitan Opera to see Don Giovanni. Apart from the subject-specific activities we were also able to do some sight-seeing and meet up with some New York based Old Bedfordians.
On Wednesday 19th October some of the students were treated to lunch at the Harvard Club with OB Hugh Lloyd-Williams (68-77), who regaled us with stories of his time at Bedford School and also gave the boys some great advice in terms of post-graduate study at Harvard and a career in the world of business. For the boys who are thinking of careers in finance and property he gave us some particularly invaluable insights. After the hustle and bustle of city life The Harvard Club seemed like an oasis of calm!
Later the same day we all took part in a tour of the UN headquarters and were met at the end by OB Jake Morland (89-94), pictured to the right, who is part of the Coordination and Response Division, responsible for coordinating the UN’s response to global humanitarian crises. He spoke to us about his time in the field over the past 15 years, as well as the work he now does coordinating resources and getting aid to where it’s most needed from the UN headquarters in New York. He had just got back from Haiti two days previously and from meetings with Angelina Jolie the day before – so we were very appreciative of him giving up his valuable time to talk to us. The boys and staff found the visit to the UN, Jake’s talk and the subsequent question and answer session, a huge inspiration and several of the boys are thinking of applying to the UN for internships in their GAP year!
We were all very pleased to be able to meet up with Old Bedfordians during our New York trip and are very grateful for Jake and Hugh’s time and the benefit of their unique experiences since leaving Bedford School.
Jules Crossley
Director of Theatre