From the Archivist "Our school hymn asks us to be "faithful friends and comrades sure"- and this certainly applies to our Alumni Organisations. The Old Andreans Association (OAA), formerly known as the Old Boys Union (OBU), was founded in 1906 by Headmaster Rev. Percy John Simpson. This makes it one of the first alumni organisations in Australia, and 120 years old as this year. Many of our most famous Old Andrenas were fixtures of the OBU, such as composer John Antill and aviator Charles Kingsford-Smith; which is impressive given the small size of the school at this point. We only passed 100 students in 1948! 

Speaking of age, there was a special branch of the OBU/OAA known as the Jubilarians. Founded in 1935 and named after the school's Golden Jubilee, a jubilarian is any Old Andrean that left 50 or more years previously. Nowadays we celebrate our Old Andreans with a quartet of pins - bronze, silver, gold and diamond for 10, 20, 30 and 40 year reunions respectively. These are based on the Old Andreans shield pictured here. 

 The OA shield includes the St Andrew's cross found on both the school crest and St Andrew's Cathedral crest. When Chapter House was restored in 2020, 14 beautiful shields were included – School and Gawura School shields, the eight House shields, T\the Cathedral and Royal School of Music Shield – and proudly both the Old Andrean Shield and a representation of the Old Boys Union shield (the design which was based on an OBU newsletter). 

Many ex-students have had long careers at the school, either as staff (like yours truly and many staff at SACS), or through the OAA - including the OBU's longest serving president, Justice Alan Mayo Webb, who served as President for over 40 years. 

 The OBU/OAA have always supported the School and continue to do so in their current format. This includes items like the Kingsford Smith Memorial Shield which they donated back in 1940 and then restored in 2024. They provide several prizes at the Evening of Celebration and Prizegiving including the School Dux and SACS Pride award. At Valedictory they provide graduation gifts for the outgoing Year 12s and newest incoming Old Andreans – either a tie or necklace, proudly bearing the shield. 

Projects over the years that they have supported include the Robert McCall scoreboard at Sydney Oval (sadly no longer in use), and at one point, a Vauxhall Velox Sedan for Canon Newth. They have supported many building projects since inception – including the New School in the 60s (prior to our moving into St Anrdew's House) to more recent projects including several rooftop renovations. Last year for the 140th birthday celebrations they were major sponsors of the return of Fair in the Square, as well as donating a large archway now used at significant occasions such as the Farewell of Mr Boddy. 

 Reunions have always been a focus and priority, allowing our graduates to stay in touch. Back in the day, one of the largest OBU events was the OBU dinners. These multigenerational formal reunions were often celebrated in Chapter House or in hotel ballrooms throughout the city. While these events have fallen by the wayside, the OAA still hosts and assists with many celebrations, such as year group reunions, multi-generation Mixer, the Generation lunch to name a few. In particular, the biannual Learning the Ropes is hosted and run by the OAA to allow the past generation of Old Andreans to share career conversations with SACS students and younger alumni. Truly, they are "Faithful friends and comrades sure." 

 For those visiting the School, there is an OBU/OAA display outside the uniform shop on Level 6.