Bloxham School hosted a fundraising auction and dinner at the school on Saturday to support this summer’s sports tour to South Africa, including a talk from guest speaker Martin Johnson
On Saturday 23rd January, Bloxham School welcomed Martin Johnson, Captain of the 2003 England Rugby World Cup winning squad, to speak at its Sports Tour Dinner, held to support the 2016 rugby and netball tour to South Africa. The Great Hall was packed with guests for the evening, which was hosted by Martin’s former Leicester teammate Matt Poole, who played for 10 seasons alongside him in the Tigers’ second row.
The guests sat down to a sumptuous meal prepared by the school’s Catering Department, and later took part in an Auction of Promises. Martin Johnson, who captained the British and Irish Lions to victory in South Africa in 1997, gave an engrossing and heartfelt speech in which he discussed his career, above all England’s World Cup triumph in 2003. He urged the room full of attentive listeners never to forget the real essence of playing sport, teamwork and enjoyment.
The students taking part in the summer’s sports tour, many of whom helped out at Saturday’s event, will be playing matches in Pretoria and Cape Town, as well as visiting Langa township and the tourists’ chosen charity in South Africa.
Simon Batten, who helped to organise the event, said, ‘We are delighted to have welcomed Martin and Matt to Bloxham and are grateful to all those who attended and supported this event.’