Welcome

We are pleased to welcome you to School for the first event of our 450th anniversary year. We cordially invite you to the grand opening of The Shaw Archive and OS Museum, followed by 'Bubbles and Lunch' on Prefects' Lawn on Saturday 20th September 2025 from noon.

Event Information

Upon arrival, you will be directed to the new archive building, for welcome drinks and the official opening of The Shaw Archive and OS Museum. This part of the event is free, but we would ask that you book a ticket so that we can manage numbers. For guests wishing to join us for 'Bubbles and Lunch', we will then move to Prefects' Lawn, where you will be hosted in a marquee overlooking the Weald and treated to a delicious sit-down lunch. Think celebration lunch meets garden party, fun, laughter, and a chance to meet up with friends old and new. If you are only joining us for the lunch element, we would ask that you only arrive from 12.45pm, please. The ticket price of £27.50 will include lunch and a glass of sparkling wine.

The event is open to all Old Suttonians, parents, past parents, staff, former staff and their partners and friends. Why not contact your contemporaries and make up a table? There will also be a paid bar available throughout. Should there be sufficient interest, we will run a shuttle bus from Headcorn Station to the School and back. If you would be interested in this, please email development@svs.org.uk.

When booking, there will be an opportunity to specify any guests with whom you would like to be sat. Alternatively, we will seat people with their peers or fellow parents, staff etc.

Booking Information

• If you would only like to attend the Archive Opening, please register for a free Archive Opening ticket.
• If you would only like to attend the Lunch element, please purchase a Bubbles and Lunch Only ticket for £27.50.
• If you would like to attend the Archive Opening and the Lunch, please purchase an Archive Opening and Bubbles and Lunch ticket for £27.50

Please note that you will need an online record to book tickets and tickets are only available for over 18s due to the nature of the event.

Background to The Shaw Archive and OS Museum

We are very grateful to the Old Suttonian community, whose generosity has paid for this state-of-the-art facility at School. Not only will the School be able to store our archives, records and artefacts securely and in a temperature controlled environment, but we also have a space to curate a rolling programme of displays. In addition, it was very important that the building offered a learning space for our students to be able to access the rich history of the School and to learn through contemporary documents. At the request of the former Old Suttonian Association, the building is named after the School's former archivist, Colin Shaw (1955 W, Staff 1971-1998).