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Queen visiting Oakham School

Remembering Queen Elizabeth II

14th October 2022

As a School community, we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II on 8 September 2022.

Throughout a momentous period of sadness, pupils and staff honoured and remembered Her Majesty with Chapel services and moments of reflection and silence.

The Queen Elizabeth Theatre (QET) provided a poignant setting for a condolence book, where the School community were invited to write messages of gratitude for The Queen’s service.

Displayed alongside the condolence book was a floral tribute that had been chosen and arranged specifically to feature some of The Queen’s favourite flowers. These included Lily of the Vale, pink Queen Elizabeth II roses, and a thistle, representing the national flower of Scotland, where she passed away.

A prayer on the death of Her Majesty The Queen and a photo of when she visited the School were also on display in the QET, as well as across the Houses and key areas of the School.

United in loss and celebration, this historic time will be remembered as a period where the School came together in grief to remember, respect and honour the great Queen Elizabeth II.

When the Queen came to Oakham

We were fortunate enough to welcome The Queen to our School twice during her reign.

The Queen’s first visit was in summer 1967, where 3,000 pupils from schools across Rutland gathered on the Doncaster Close playing fields to greet her and the Duke of Edinburgh. The Oakham School Concert Band played the national anthem, and the Royal Standard was broken at the cricket pavilion’s flag post.

Her Majesty then revisited Oakham School in November 1984, as we celebrated our Quatercentenary. Accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, the royal couple spent the morning at the School, where they were given a tour around the Old Hall, the Biology Wing and Buchanans House. The Queen opened our much-loved Queen Elizabeth Theatre, and pupils performed a short 15-minute play in her honour.

In this sad and historic period, may Her Majesty The Queen rest in peace and forever be honoured and remembered for her dedication to our country.

The Proclamation of King Charles III

With Oakham’s connections being deeply embedded in the town, pupils and staff also supported the Rutland Proclamation of King Charles III with music.

Hundreds gathered at Oakham Castle in tribute to Queen Elizabeth II on Sunday 11 September as the ceremony declared the accession of King Charles III.

The event was attended by our Director of Music, Peter Davis, with the School’s brass ensemble, whose music added greatly to the occasion. Old Oakhamian and former CCF cadet Alex Pound (’22), performing his final duty of the year as Lord Lieutenant’s Cadet for Rutland, was also in attendance.

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