History
Brackenhurst Old Students' Association (BOSA) started in the very early 1950s by the then Vice Principal, S F 'Bob' Martin. When students started at the Farm Institute they had to pay £5 into a fund called 'caution money'. This was to be used in case one 'accidently' broke any property belonging to the Institute (eg a window or a chair). If this money was not required, it was to be returned at the end of the course. However, Bob had a better idea – instead you were automatically made a Life Member of BOSA with the £5, or what was left plus the difference!
In the early days BOSA arranged annual lectures as well as further agricultural education, an annual ball and several other social events. BOSA was active until the late 1980s and it wasn’t until 2000 that several old students, discussing the demise of the organisation, decided to try and resurrect it.
As a means of bringing old friends together, the first Annual Lunch was organised in 2001. Around 40-50 participants were expected, but word spread and that rose to 196. The rest is history and BOSA continues to thrive.
Anyone who worked or studied at Brackenhurst is very welcome to attend the Annual Lunch which is held in March every year.
Contact, Jill Lewis, via Nottingham Trent University’s Alumni Community at alumni@ntu.ac.uk or call +44 (0)115 848 8777.
Photographs and nostalgia online
Photographs from Brackenhurst’s 60 Year Celebration in 2008, Professor Jenny Saint's Retirement in 2010, the Annual BOSA Lunch in 2011 and the Alumni Event in November 2015 are available to view online.
By logging in to Venture Online, the alumni online community, you can also view some nostalgic photos of Brackenhurst, all kindly submitted by former students.
Other Brackenhurst-related stories on this site