Brighton College Family Society
The Family Society organises social events that bring together parents and staff from all three schools of the Brighton College Community, from Nursery through to the Upper Sixth, to meet each other and have fun.
Each year we focus on three main events:
New Parents Welcome BBQ
About 300 new parents and children come to the Welcome BBQ in September, linking up new parents from all years, including some whose children were boarding and others who had relocated from overseas, along with another opportunity to meet Housemasters, Form Tutors et al.
Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh
This popular event is a huge success, with everyone entering into the spirit of the occasion wearing a touch of tartan through to full Highland Dress. With a piper, tasty traditional Scottish fare, the address and toast to the Haggis, excellent toasts to and from the lasses, it is a Burns Night in true tradition. The Ceilidh follows in the Great Hall, where the Band and Caller get everyone dancing; with constant changing of partners during each dance, it is great fun - a very inclusive and sociable event.
Summer Party
Over 300 parents from all 15 years of the school come together for our annual Summer Party in May. The format of the event changes each year, ranging from a comedy evening, to fiesta night, to formal ball.
Additional events occur during the year too, such as:
Mulled Wine and Mince Pies before Midnight Mass
On Christmas Eve we offer everyone a glass of mulled wine and a mince pie before Midnight Mass in the College chapel. It is a lovely festive start to Christmas.
Cheese and Wine Tasting Evenings
The last wine tasting evening was held on Friday 14th January 2011. Please do read the event report by Rachel Stirling below:
On the 14th January, Jason Haynes of Flint Wines came down from London to host the first Brighton College wine tasting evening. He was joined by Carlos from 'Cave du fromage' in Hove, whose superb cheeses and delicious seeded baguettes complimented the six Burgundian wines chosen by Jason perfectly.
The fifty-two guests filled the Hordern Room snugly, which in my opinion added to the relaxed and jolly atmosphere that made it such a fun and memorable evening.
We all listened carefully as Jason spoke about the origins of each of the four reds and two whites sampled by each of us. His extensive knowledge and obvious passion for French wines kept us riveted for nearly two hours, and with a chance to purchase a case of two at the end. The feedback was very positive, with most people asking if we could do it every Friday! I would like to thank my co-organiser Tony Kelly, for helping put together a great night and I look forward to arranging the second wine tasting evening in the Michelmas term.
Finances
Each year the Family Society donates any profits to each of the three schools, and the monies are used to directly enhance the lot of the pupils. Examples of purchases include: new lane ropes and diving blocks for the swimming pool, wooden benches for the school grounds and outdoor lighting in the Prep School.
The Committee
We have a fantastic and dedicated committee made up of a parent representative from all 15 years in the school and senior staff from each school. They work hard and have fun planning and organising these events for you, events where so many parents can meet each other and enjoy themselves.
We hope you will come and join us for one of our events next year.
Brighton College Family Society Committee
