13 August, 202612 August, 2026 Annual Dinner, News, Projects & Campaigns

A Newish Tradition – The H.G. Wells Cup

Eighty years ago, on 13th August 1946, our founder and first president, Herbert George Wells, died peacefully at his home overlooking Regents Park. So today would seem an appropriate point to remind ourselves about the RCSA’s H.G. Wells Cup…..

Distinctive in appearance and designed to resemble an hourglass, the H.G. Wells Cup was commissioned by then president Rob Park, to commemorate the 110^th anniversary of the Royal College of Science Association. Unveiled at the ‘Eleventieth’ Annual Dinner at the House of Lords in 2018, and inaugurated with the after-dinner port, it bears the name of Herbert George Wells, famous alumnus of the RCS and founder and first president of the RCS Association.

The form of an egg-timer is well chosen. The hourglass shape has been imbued with mystical meaning since the time of the alchemists with the upper bulb representing the heavens or the future, and the lower bulb the Earth or the past.… Read more...

10 June, 202610 June, 2026 Annual Dinner, Careers, Events, News, RCSA Trust

RCSA double up with two sparkling alumni events on the same day!

The recent Great Exhibition Road Festival (GERF) weekend (June 5-7) saw a busy and enjoyable London visit for many RCS alumni! The highlight was the RCSU/RCSA joint Summer Dinner at the London Postal Museum. 130 RCS students and alumni got into their best outfits and gathered at the underground WC1 location of the London Postal Museum’s Mail Rail venue. This outstanding and atmospheric space had dining tables in amongst the museum exhibits and right next to the driverless, narrow gauge underground Mail Rail, The diners enjoyed a superb three-course meal and wine, followed by speeches and an award ceremony. The excellent key note speech was by RCS alumnus Jamie Alldridge who spoke passionately about his time at Imperial and offered insights and advice for current student wanting to make the most of their time at college and to be successful in their chosen careers. RCSU president Jack Swires then presented 12 students and alumni (pictured above) with various RCS colours awards.… Read more...

7 May, 20267 May, 2026 Annual Dinner, Around Campus, Events, Member Benefits, News, Outreach

Summer Dinner 6th June – Tickets Released

Sales of tickets for the dinner have got off to a strong and enthusiastic start with a third of the available tickets sold in the first few hours. So don’t delay, purchase your tickets promptly by clicking on this link……

When ordering, bypass a shortcoming of Imperial Union’s new on-line shop by following this top tip: When placing your order, pop your first name AND your email address into the ‘First name’ field. (And yes, go on to repeat your email address in the ‘Email’ field.) Honestly! It’s not a wind-up…. it really does help!

As our President, Mike Munroe, explained: We have secured an amazing venue for the RCSU/ RCSA Summer Dinner this year and our plan is to hold it at the London Postal Museum WC1. This iconic and award winning independent museum tells the 500 year story of British postal communications with interesting exhibits and displays. Our sumptuous dinner will be located in the atmospheric museum with access to the exhibits and displays.… Read more...

6 April, 20267 May, 2026 Annual Dinner, Around Campus, Events, Member Benefits, News

Summer Dinner: A Letter from our President

The RCS Summer Dinner, Great Exhibition Road Festival & RCSA Magazine

Dear RCS Students, Staff and Alumni,

First of all Happy Easter and hope you and your families have a great Easter break.

I am happy to share some exciting news about upcoming RCSA events so please get your diaries and calendars at the ready!

Stop Press!! We have just secured an amazing venue for the RCSU/ RCSA Summer Dinner this year and our plan is to hold it at the London Postal Museum WC1. This iconic and award winning independent museum tells the 500 year story of British postal communications with interesting exhibits and displays. Our sumptuous dinner will be located in the atmospheric museum with access to the exhibits and displays. It should be a really unique and enjoyable experience. The dinner will be held on the evening of Saturday 6th June which is during the Great Exhibition Road Festival (GERF) weekend making this a great weekend for alumni to spend in London!… Read more...

15 June, 202516 June, 2025 Annual Dinner, Events, Member Benefits, News

Another sparkling Summer RCS night out!!

More than 140 RCS students, staff, alumni and guests attended the RCSU/RCSA Summer Dinner at the Rembrandt Hotel in Knightsbridge last Friday 6th June and enjoyed a wonderful evening! The Hotel was a great venue for this dinner right opposite the V&A museum and a short walk from College.

Jack Swires, incoming RCSU President was host for the evening and declared “what a fabulous evening, the ballroom was really buzzing and it looked like everyone had a great time. The food was excellent, the wine flowed and the speeches and awards ceremony went down very well!“

Special guests included Professor Richard Craster, the Dean of RCS (or Dean of FoNS if you want to be terribly modern) and his wife Bernadette. Imperial’s new Vice-President for Advancement, Kristin Blanchfield, was there as well to help get a feel for RCS traditions and history. RCS Mascots Jez and Theta were in attendance during the evening!… Read more...

8 May, 202511 May, 2025 Annual Dinner, Around Campus, Events, Member Benefits, News

Summer Dinner: A Letter from our President

Dear Fellow RCS Alumnus,

I am delighted to be able to share with you details for the upcoming RCSU/RCSA Joint Summer Dinner to be held at the delightful Rembrandt Hotel on Knightsbridge just a few minutes’ walk from college on Friday 6^th June starting at 6:30pm. It promises to be another wonderful evening with a sumptuous 3 course meal followed by a few speeches and awards and rounded off with a DJ set to help you dance the night away whilst mingling with fellow RCS alumni and current students. The dress code is formal which means lounge suits are fine but if you want to show off your dinner jacket or ball gown you are very welcome to!

Tickets for alumni are priced at £85 a head covering the three-course meal, wine and entertainment and a small subsidy to help reduce the ticket price for students. Tickets can be bought from noon this Friday (9th May) via this link to the ICU online shop.… Read more...

22 December, 20248 January, 2025 Annual Dinner, Events, News, RCSA Trust

President’s Christmas Message

Dear Fellow RCS Alumni,

First of all, season’s greetings and hope all is good with you and your families as we come to the end of another year. This has been an amazing year for the RCSA with lots of good stuff going on that you will see in the content below and on our website and media feeds https://rcsa.org.uk/ but it is important to say right up front that the Association still has some major challenges ahead and we need more help from you, our alumni!

Our biggest challenge, I believe, is our membership! Thank you to those of you (in your hundreds) who are paid up members but there are literally tens of thousands of RCS alumni out there who are not members. What can we do about this? Firstly, please check that your membership is up to date and that direct debit payments have not expired to help us get an accurate list of up-to-date members.… Read more...

10 June, 2024 Annual Dinner, Around Campus, Events, News, RCSA Trust

Looking Back at the RCSU/RCSA Summer Dinner

Some three hundred guests attended a night of glamour, fine food, music and dance at the RCSU/RCSA Summer Dinner on 1st June 2024.

With arched ornate ceilings, beautiful wood-panelling and dramatic chandeliers, the Grand Hall of the Grade II* listed De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms, which boasts a history dating back to 1775, was the impressive backdrop for around 200 RCS scientists and 100 G&G engineers, all dressed to the nines. They were greeted with a champagne reception followed by three sumptuous courses of impressively high-quality food, all accompanied by a fabulous array of music, performed by IC students and provided courtesy of your RCSA. Take Note, the ‘upper voices’ all-female barbershop group wowed us, as did Nth.harmonic, another fabulous a capella group. A string quartet, and several other a capella groups completed the line up. Through funding these ensembles, the RCSA are delighted to have achieved ‘double-bubble’ by simultaneously supporting most the wonderful student performance troupes and also supporting this most ambitious of high-attendance dinners.… Read more...

22 May, 202426 May, 2024 Annual Dinner, Events, News

RCSU / RCSA Summer Dinner / Ball

Last Call: Only a week of ticket sales remaining. Come along to the joint RCSU / RCSA Summer Dinner / Ball, our flagship end of year event!. Now with CGCU’s involvement the event takes on the persona of the ‘Constituent College Summer Dinner‘.

Details: At the De Vere Grand Connaught Rooms in Covent Garden on Saturday 1st June from 6pm onwards.

Dress code: Black Tie.

Included: Three course meal and half a bottle of wine per person – Afterparty – World class entertainment from competition standard musicians – Photographer – Networking between alumni, students and faculty.

Price: £75 for Alumni, £45 for Students.

To Order: Click here to purchase tickets. But hurry, you need to buy your tickets AND fill out your preferences form (which will be emailed to you with your ticket) all before next Wednesday 29th at 10:00 am. [NOTE: DEADLINE HAS BEEN BROUGHT FORWARD TO 10:00]

Ordering Hints: You can create an account here….… Read more...