An Evening with Scott Quinnell

On Saturday 4 March, we welcomed former Rugby Union and Rugby League player, Scott Quinnell, to the College as the guest speaker for our first Sports Fundraising Dinner since lockdown. 

In tandem with the event, an online auction was held to raise money for the development of all sports at Shiplake College. This includes contributing to the hardship fund for sports tours, broadening the sports programme of visiting speakers and experiences, as well as new sports equipment to enhance the offering provided to all pupils. 

Guests were welcomed with a drinks reception and a music performance from talented Year 13 pupil, Nikita Saitov, before being seated in the Great Hall. The hall had been decorated beautifully to fit the occasion.  

The Headmaster, Mr Howe, welcomed guests before the start of the meal. After the starters, guests were invited to play a game of higher or lower, hosted by Deputy Head (Academic), Mr Jones. An entertaining game, guests had to guess if an answer number was higher or lower than the answer previous. Answers included the number of caps made by Scott Quinnell and the number goals scored in this football season.  

Dinner and dessert followed before our guest speaker for the evening took the mic. In his talk, Scott talked about many topics such as his school days, his experience with dyslexia, and his rugby career – including when he played with our very own Mr Howe! With many laughs throughout his address, the audience truly were treated to a fine after dinner speech. 

Throughout the evening, the online auction was active with bids and outbids from those in attendance as well as those participating from afar. There were many interesting and unique lots to bid on, including Henley Festival tickets, restaurant experiences and original artwork. Almost £6,000 was raised and we are grateful to everyone who supported the fundraising efforts by either donating or bidding.  

A special thank you must also go to the current pupils who gave up their Saturday night to serve the food at the event - they were terrific ambassadors for the College.