As Guest of Honour at the 58th OP Dinner Patrick Derham, flanked by his former Headmaster Peter Points and his former Housemaster Peter Politzer, spelled out what he owed to the College. In a moving speech to around 90 OPs gathered in HQS Wellington he described how he ended up at Pangbourne, his memories of his time at the school and the way this experience changed his life.

Patrick arrived at Pangbourne in October 1973 on a bursary after the Shaftesbury Homes "Arethusa" project where he was being educated at the time was closed suddenly . "Peter Points gave me - a poor boy from a broken home in Scotland - a chance," he said. "I will always be grateful."

His first memory of the College was sleeping in a bed and being introduced to the game of rugby. "Pangbourne was a walk-in-the-park after 'Arethusa'," he observed. "What the College gave me was a love of service, a sense of belonging, and independence. The camaraderie of Pangbourne was very special to me - it's still a very distinctive part of the school. I hear nothing but positives about the College today."

Derham has been a headmaster  for 15 years now, first at Solihull School in the Midlands and, since 2001, at Rugby. "The whole thrust of my headship at Rugby has been to give something back, especially to children whose parents can't afford private education," he explained. "It's all down to my four and a half years at Pangbourne."