St Albans School Foundation Annual Report 2009-2010

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As the St Albans School Foundation enters its third year of existence, I am delighted to be able to report a growing success story.

As you will see in the ensuing document, from a standing start, we are already over a third of the way to our first million, in addition to pledges of legacies, which of course cannot as yet be quantified.

Many OAs have responded with remarkable generosity to the challenge of helping their alma mater to hold its place in the front rank of independent schools, whilst remaining true to its historic roots in providing opportunities for bright young people to excel, whatever their family circumstances. That calls for an answering clarity and transparency in explaining how their generosity is being deployed, which is the purpose of this report.

In the pages that follow, you will learn how funds raised by the Foundation are already benefiting pupils at the School, beginning with the new Physics laboratories made possible by a major grant from the Wolfson Foundation.

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2011 opens at an exciting moment in the School’s development: work on the Sports Hall and Swimming Pool - more than a decade in the planning - began in February and although this project, which rivals Woollams in scale and ambition, will be fully funded from other sources, its completion will make possible other developments for which the help of the Foundation will be vital.

As you read about these, and about our commitment to bursaries, to ensure that as many able young people as possible can benefit from an education here, I hope that those who have already supported the Foundation will accept the grateful thanks of the School community and feel inspired to continue, while those who have not yet made a commitment might be persuaded to do so in future, whether as a one-off gift, a regular contribution, or the pledge of a legacy.

Contents p3 p4 p6 p8 p10 p12 p14

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Headmaster’s Introduction Summary of Donations The Bursary Fund The Capital Development Programme The Music Studios The Wolfson Physics Labs Examples of Special Projects

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I offer you my very best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2011. p16 p18 p20 p22 p26 p28 p32

Some of our Donors Report from the Bursar From the Development Office Update: The Capital Development Programme Acknowledgments: Our Supporters The Gateway Society Donation Form

Andrew Grant Headmaster

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Summary of donations The St Albans School Foundation has raised a total of £368,391 to date. During the financial year 2009 - 2010 the Foundation received donations of £128,740 and in the first six months of the current financial year we have already raised £151,695.

Foundation Income We are indebted to all those who felt able to support our efforts, particularly in such a challenging economic climate. A list of all our supporters is included on page 27.

Donations made since September 2010 will be allocated at the end of the financial year in August 2011, and the projects supported will be illustrated in our next Annual Report.

Allocation of donations made between September 2009 – September 2010 Bursary Fund: £40,016 This equates to an additional 15% bursary every year in perpetuity.

Emergency Hardship Fund: £12,690 This will provide three terms’ fees for pupils who would otherwise have to leave the School due to unexpected financial hardship.

Capital Development Programme: £55,963 This allows us to make significant progress on plans for the Abbey Gateway, providing a new Reception area, creating space for 4 new classrooms, a new kitchen and WC facilities and lift access to all rooms in the Gateway.

Special Projects: £20,072 This includes the creation of a new music technology and recording studio, instruments for the School’s new percussion ensemble, a new sound system for the Drama department in the New Hall, books for the Library, and the refurbishment of the War Memorial.

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Bursary Fund

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Emergency Hardship Fund

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Capital Development Programme

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Other Special Projects

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The Bursary Fund Bursaries

Thanks to your generosity, the Foundation has this year added £40,016 to the Bursary Fund, from which the interest alone will fund a 15% Bursary each year in perpetuity, and £12,690 to the Emergency Hardship Fund.

The bursary programme will strike a chord with many OAs who attended the School during the twentieth century as beneficiaries of the Direct Grant Scheme which offered the chance of a superb independent school education to bright boys, irrespective of their parents’ financial circumstances.

Now, in the absence of any state support, the bursary fund is vital to preserving the mixture of academic and extra-curricular excellence with social diversity that is so central a part of St Albans School’s historic mission and character.

Headmaster Andrew Grant tells us more about the bursary programme.

Hardship Fund

How does a bursary differ from a scholarship?

A scholarship is awarded purely on academic merit to the most exceptional candidates each year without regard to family financial circumstances, is of relatively nominal financial value, but is a publicly celebrated distinction.

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A bursary, which is means-tested, is entirely confidential and, depending on parental income, may cover up to 100% of the fees without regard to ability beyond qualifying for entry to the School.

The financial circumstances of existing bursary holders are reviewed each subsequent year and the award adjusted accordingly.

Bursaries may be used to top up scholarships and vice-versa and the fact that they often do is testimony to just how often the intellectual ability to excel at a school of this kind could be thwarted by an inability to meet the fees.

How are bursaries awarded?

The process of making bursary awards on initial admission to the School is always fraught with difficult decisions but in the absence of infinitely elastic funds this is inevitable and we try to make the system as fair as possible, within the constraints that bind us.

After making provision for academically qualified younger siblings of existing bursary holders, bursaries are awarded according to rank order in the relevant entrance examination until the money runs out. This is the only respect in which bursaries are dependent on academic merit, but inevitably, the greater the financial needs of the highest performers, the fewer candidates overall will benefit from an award and, always, the money runs out too soon.

Each year, therefore, local pupils who, in the days of the Direct Grant or its successor, the Assisted Places Scheme, would have gone on to successful careers here and ultimately, no doubt, become proud OAs, are unable to come.

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Nonetheless, the bursary fund currently supports some 60-odd pupils at a total cost of over half-a-million pounds per annum.

Around 40% of these pupils have their fees remitted completely. Once they are here, nothing distinguishes a bursary holder from any other pupil; even I would not know, without looking it up, that they were receiving financial support, so there is no stigma or embarrassment of any kind attached to an award.

Is the investment vindicated?

A brief and unscientific survey of the past decade reveals among our bursary holders at least one Head of School, many prefects, captains of various sports - indeed several international sportsmen and women - and almost invariable entry to top universities, including a significant number of Oxbridge places.

I am confident that, had they not come to this School but gone to a place with lower expectations, these gifted young people might have found such doors, if not firmly closed to them, certainly much more reluctant to open - a waste of talent the country cannot afford.

I hope you will agree that the answer to the question above must, then, be a resounding ”yes!” and that you will seriously consider contributing to that investment.

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Emergency Hardship Fund In the course of any year we are always confronted with a number of pupils whose families have suddenly fallen into financial difficulty and are no longer able to pay the School fees. This might be due to bereavement, redundancy, bankruptcy or a host of other circumstances.

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We are committed to supporting these families through such difficult times, and most importantly, to avoid at all costs the necessity for any pupil to leave the School mid-way through a course leading to a public examination.

It is hard to overestimate the impact that such support can have on both the pupil and their family at these most stressful and uncertain times. With limited funds, however, we are sometimes forced to make difficult decisions about who should benefit from the support available. Thus it was decided that £12,690, the equivalent of three terms’ fees, should be allocated to the Emergency Hardship Fund this year.

Your gifts have already helped a number of pupils whose family life has been affected by difficult circumstances to benefit from continuity, community and pastoral care by retaining their place here.

High quality education and opportunity should be available to all bright children regardless of their economic circumstances. This is one of the tenets upon which St Albans School was originally founded.

As a child of the Direct Grant system I was lucky enough to benefit from this and it has been a considerable influence, for which I am very grateful. I want to contribute to that tradition and philosophy: hence I’m pleased to be able to offer my support to the Bursary scheme.

Philip Rattle (OA 1983) supporter of the Bursary Fund

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Capital Development Programme:

Capital Development Programme

Early Progress on the Gateway Project Thanks to your generosity the Foundation has this year invested £55,963 into the Capital Development Programme.

In 2007, architect Ptolemy Dean was commissioned by the School to carry out an ‘Outline Architectural Review’ of the main historic site.

Here he talks about his ideas and enthusiasm for works to improve access to and preserve the Abbey Gateway, one of the projects which make up his ‘Masterplan’ for the School site.

Why the Gateway?

What progress has been made so far?

What became immediately apparent as we began the study was that the front of the School is architecturally symbolised by the Abbey Gateway and its handsome Upper Yard courtyard.

A generous donation towards the project was made by David Thompson (OA 1958) which allowed us to commission full architects’ plans from the initial sketches.

However on arrival at the School there is no obvious ‘front door’, and the Reception area is cramped and hard to find.

At the same time, concern has been expressed about access to the rooms within the Abbey Gateway.

David explains “In 1955-57 I spent my last two years at the School in the Sixth Arts Lower and Upper Forms which occupied the top floor of the Gateway. Both the classrooms and the Memorial Library had been recently renovated by the generosity of donors to the 1948 Millennium Campaign.

The two ancient turret staircases are full of character but are challenging for increasingly onerous fire escape standards, while the two western staircases near to the English Departments are precipitously steep.

Our generation benefitted greatly from the education we received in this fourteenth century building so I am pleased to contribute to a renovation of the Gateway that will assist future generations of students at St. Albans School.”

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Alongside this is the ongoing need for more classroom space in a growing School teaching an increasing array of subjects.

To put up more buildings on an already crowded and historic site is expensive and less than ideal, and when we saw the size and potential of the Gateway’s unused attic spaces it became obvious that this was a fantastic opportunity to create additional space in a way that was less intrusive and more economical than a new building, whilst helping to preserve and reduce impact on this scheduled ancient monument.

What are the main aims of the project?

To create a spacious and welcoming Reception area for the School To improve access to all floors of the Gateway, allowing the historic Gateway rooms to be used for seminars, concerts, and other functions, whilst reducing impact on the ancient building and conforming to modern fire escape standards.

To create space for administrative offices by developing the vast but currently unused attic spaces in the Gateway, which in turn creates space for a number of new classrooms in School House.

Installing a lift to create disabled access to all rooms in the Gateway

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Once these plans had been drawn up, the generous support of the Old Albanian Club and other gifts pledged to the Capital Development Programme are allowing us to take the project forward to local Planning and English Heritage for their approval.

Whilst this project is self-contained and theoretically could happen concurrently with the other planned building projects on site, in reality the build is constrained by lack of funding, and as such its final completion is likely to be some years away.

However it does break down easily into three ‘phases’, and it is expected that ‘Phase 1’ comprising the new Reception area will proceed as soon as funding allows. Phase 2 will include the creation of the grand staircase and exposing the masonry of the western wall, and then Phase 3 will complete the project with the conversion of the attic spaces.

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The Music Studios James Mohajer is a typical modern Albanian: enthusiastic and articulate, and engaged in many different School activities. Studying for A-levels in Music, French, Biology and Ancient History, he is an active member of the ‘Partnership Scheme’, working with local primary schools, as well as playing guitar and singing in various bands. James is in the Lower Sixth at St Albans.

The Music Department has long been ‘punching above its weight’, with restricted facilities in terms of rehearsal space, instruments and new technology belied by breathtaking choir performances at weekly assemblies and School events, orchestral and choral society performances of astonishing quality in conjunction with the High School for Girls, a thriving string orchestra, wind band, barbershop group, jazz band, clarinet and saxophone ensembles, and a string of leavers winning Choral Scholarships at Oxford and Cambridge.

For this reason, music has been a particular focus for this first year of allocating Foundation funds within the School, and James describes how one generous gift has made an enormous impact on the department with the creation of the Jennings Studio, and how your donations have already taken the project into its second phase with a new recording studio.

Can you tell us about new Music Studios?

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The first bit to be completed was the Jennings Studio, which has ten new keyboards all linked up to computers with some brilliant editing software.

This is mainly used by GCSE and A-level groups, and is also available for anyone to work on other projects in their own time. We can literally play music into the machine then print out professional quality scores immediately.

The next stage was a brand new recording studio in what used to be a very basic PC suite, which contains microphones, recording software and an iMac.

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The equipment is all top of the range and you can really tell the difference when you compare the results to recordings we made a few years ago. We now have the ability to produce high quality recordings of multiple instruments in a flash.

How are the new facilities helping with your A-level Music?

It has completely transformed how we work. The new technology in the Jennings Studio makes it much faster and easier to compose, and you can be more creative with a trial and error process – if you think a saxophone might sound good playing a particular line you can add it in, see how it sounds, and then turn it into French horns at the touch of a button and try that instead.

The Recording Studio makes a huge difference and it’s great that we can use it outside of lessons for personal projects – I’ve recorded a lot of my own songs in there – we never had anything like it before and I had to go to a friend’s house to do the same thing.

The software is so good I’ve just got it on my computer at home so I can record a song at School then take it home on a memory stick and work on it from there. And it’s not just exam groups using the facilities – there are often people using the studios during break or lunch, transposing a piece of Wind Band music for their instrument at the touch of a button, arranging a piece for the Barbershop Group or bands trying out some new ideas.

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So quite a change from the old equipment?

Definitely – for my GCSE Music we were still using the old computers and keyboards and everything was pretty slow and time-consuming. I’ve finished all my AS Music composition coursework in four weeks as it’s so much quicker and easier to work with the new software.

It also means lessons are much more productive – work that would have previously taken an entire lesson we can now finish in 15 minutes and move on to something else, (which I think should mean less homework, but that doesn’t seem to be the case....!).

The Foundation has also funded some new percussion instruments, have you heard them in action?

Yes – you can’t really miss them around the Music Department! We’ve got a new glockenspiel, a xylophone, a set of bongos and congas, a cowbell, shaker and all sorts of other instruments and it means the School now has its first ever Percussion Ensemble! More and more people are having percussion lessons at School now so it’s good to have a range of instruments rather than just a drum kit.

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The Wolfson Physics Labs Geraint Northwood Smith is facing imminent A levels in Physics, Chemistry, Maths and Ancient History with a view to taking up one of his offers to read Physics at university.

A Prefect and member of the School’s Shooting Team, he is also Head of Royal Engineers for the CCF. Geraint is in the Upper Sixth at St Albans.

In April 2009 thanks to a generous grant of £50,000 from The Wolfson Foundation, two of the School’s physics labs underwent a long overdue makeover and were equipped with top-of-the-range lab equipment.

Geraint explains how the benefits have been immediate and far-reaching.

What were the labs like before the refurbishment?

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They were pretty basic, more like normal classrooms than labs really. Despite this, the Physics Department was still getting some fantastic results, but the labs were in need of some attention. One of the biggest problems was that without computers in labs, classes were constantly having to move to other classrooms half way through lessons to use computers – you would take some readings from a practical experiment then have to go to another classroom to record and analyse the results on computers, which wasted quite a lot of time and was fairly disruptive.

What has changed?

A great deal! Two of the labs were completely re-fitted with new benches, stools, good quality power supplies and gas taps, interactive whiteboards and there are 18 new computers across the two labs. We’ve got some brilliant software to use on topics like radioactivity, EM waves, mechanics and heat transfer, with great visual explanations of what’s going on. We use the new datalogging equipment a lot – basically an upgrade to what would have been done with ‘ticker-timers’ and thermometers, using light gates and sensors which transfer data straight into Excel where we can analyse it. Some of this equipment is used in universities and by professional scientists, so for those of us thinking of studying science at university it’s a great opportunity.

We also got some dynamics ramps for analysing motion – you can get almost friction-free motion on them, which is used for studying Newton’s Laws at both GCSE and A-level, and some Planck’s Constant apparatus - a key experiment on the A-level course as an introduction to the world of quantum mechanics.

It’s a pretty difficult area of physics to get to grips with, so some very up-to-date apparatus like this makes all the difference for us to get hands-on with the topic.

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We also now have 12 Laser kits which are great for studying optics at GCSE and A-level – now that technology has improved its far more affordable for Schools to have lasers like this, and the results we get are much clearer than with the filament light bulbs we had to use before, so we can concentrate on the results instead of struggling to get the experiment to work.

And is all this flashy equipment actually making a difference to physics students?

Definitely – it means that we get far more accurate and reliable data from experiments which makes a huge difference, particularly at A-level, and it also saves a lot of time in lessons and practicals. The software explains things in a very visual way which makes topics which can be fairly abstract far easier to understand.

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Generally everything is just a bit easier – less moving around from the labs to computer rooms, less time fiddling around with older apparatus, less time wondering whether strange results in experiments are because of dodgy equipment or in fact an interesting scientific phenomenon!

So this is good news for Physics at St Albans School?

This new equipment is really good fun to use, like the lasers for example – everyone loves gadgets, and the more fun physics lessons are the more likely people are to be really interested in it and to consider taking it up at A-level or university. Who knows, we might have the next Stephen Hawking in the making!

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The Wolfson Foundation invests in excellence, by the provision of infrastructure through which it can flourish.

We were very pleased to fund the thriving Physics Department at St Albans School, noting the high uptake of science subjects at A-level and strong tradition of pupils going on to study science and engineering at University. We hope that our investment will help to continue this tradition of excellence and inspire the next generation of scientists.

Paul Ramsbottom OA and former Head of School Chief Executive, The Wolfson Foundation

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Examples of Special Projects The Foundation has this year invested £20,072 in a number of smaller projects throughout the school.

The criteria for choosing which of these projects to fund was based on providing immediate and widespread benefit, whilst demonstrating value for money – ensuring that every penny of your donations is making a real and lasting impact on the day to day running of the School.

Library

War Memorial

The School Library was remembered fondly by Dr Antony Harrison-Barbet (OA 1955), and so, on the sad news of his death in May 2009, it was poignant to receive a generous bequest from his estate towards the purchase of books.

A number of Old Albanians visiting the School last November for the Service of Remembrance commented on the rather shabby state of the War Memorial and railings.

Over 500 books have been purchased, including such diverse titles as How Loud Can You Burp? and Other Extremely Important Questions (and Answers) from the Science Museum; Judiciary, Civil Liberties and Human Rights; The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer; Will Jellyfish Rule the World? A Book About Climate Change; How Free are You? The Determinism Problem; Who’s Whose?

A No-nonsense Guide to Easily Confused Words; Saving the European Union: the Logic of the Lisbon Treaty; Cicero and the End of the Roman Republic; Guesstimation: Solving the World’s Problems on the Back of a Cocktail Napkin; and Prime Minister: The Job and Its Holders Since 1945.

Sound System in New Hall The building we still call the ‘New Hall’, despite its being some 43 years old, is a multi-function space which, as well as being the lunch hall, is also used for lectures, assemblies, concerts and productions. You will have read earlier in this report about our plans to turn the Hall into a dedicated Performing Arts Centre, but in the short term there was a real need for an improved sound system to replace the outdated and unreliable equipment.

The Foundation has funded the purchase of new sound equipment which was installed in the summer of 2010 and is already in daily use.

Director of Drama, Peter Yates explains: This was a great opportunity to install some excellent equipment and with the Foundation’s help we have been able to buy very high-spec speakers, microphones and amplification which means not only is the system completely reliable - with excellent sound output for assemblies, concerts, lectures and musical shows - but also it is a long-term investment which will be integral to a high quality Performing Arts Centre in the years to come.

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The Memorial holds particular poignancy for the year groups who were invited to this service, as the Old Albanians who fell in the Second World War were in many cases classmates, friends or siblings. Foundation funds have allowed the railings to be stripped and repainted, and the stonework cleaned.

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Some of our Donors Old Albanians tell us about their motivation to support the St Albans School Foundation.

Stephen Males QC (OA 1974)

Tony Dalwood (OA 1989)

I’ve supported the Foundation because I benefited from the School as a Direct Grant pupil in ways that would not otherwise have been possible. We moved around a fair bit as I was growing up, but of all the schools which I attended it was probably St Albans which made the biggest difference.

I’ve supported the St Albans School Foundation because I believe both in the general welfare a top notch education provides and, more specifically, in personally returning something to the school that provided me with a platform to develop my areas of interest academic, sporting and social.

Chris Fewkes (OA 1957)

Chris Rolfe (OA 1974)

I’ve supported the St Albans School Foundation because although I have no offspring, I feel that I am contributing, particularly to those of modest means but with potential, to enlarge their access to a thorough education in a modern, well adapted and soundly equipped environment.

I’ve supported the St Albans School Foundation because generations of pupils have learned from their teachers but also benefitted from the many and various investments made by benefactors of the School in earlier times. This combination has produced a successful and balanced education for many, myself included.

By helping the School to make further long term investments, I’m delighted to help ensure it continues in this way.

John Meulkens (OA 1935) I’ve supported the St Albans School Foundation because of the nostalgic and happy memories I’ve always had of my days at the School, of Headmaster W. T. Marsh, and the many sympathetic and excellent teachers who through their knowledge and dedication paved the way for the development of my career.

But most importantly to ensure that the School’s future academic achievements, sports successes and services to the community at large will be greater and greater, so that past, present and future students will be proud to have had their education at this particular School.

Jake Stupart (OA 1990) I’ve supported the St Albans School Foundation because through the Assisted Places Scheme. I received a superb academic education and had the framework provided to excel at sport and I’d like to provide opportunities for others to have the same opportunity.

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The Class of 1960 We’ve supported the St Albans School Foundation because we all recognised that our individual successes were built on a solid foundation of enlightened education. We hope our support will encourage the next generation of Old Albanians to take advantage of the present and in turn to maintain mutual friendships for at least the next 50 years.

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A report from the Bursar The Bursar, Derek Todd, has been in post for over four years, joining in 2007 from a career including senior financial roles in FMCG and manufacturing industry before moving to a major lottery funded educational charity in Birmingham.

I am glad to report that the School and the Foundation are financially secure and prudently managed, despite the tarnish that word has received since the reign of Gordon Brown.

The Governors have a clear strategy for the financial wellbeing of the School, based on the principles of a charitable company, ensuring a suitable surplus is generated each year to enable continued investment in maintenance and bursary provision.

This is not to say that the School enjoys a large endowment, which considering our metamorphosis from a Direct Grant school, is not unusual.

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Our continued academic success, coupled with a relatively benign local demographic backdrop, ensure that we continue to have a full school roll and sufficient demand to ensure academic standards are maintained.

2010 marks the start of a rolling capital build programme where the School is able to fund the first phase from available funds, without additional borrowing. This is a significant achievement considering the resources to hand.

Further phases of the capital programme will happen in time, as funding is available.

This programme is essential to ensure that our physical facilities match our academic prowess and also match or exceed the facilities on offer elsewhere in the area, both state and Independent.

Lastly it is worth expressly mentioning our charitable status and the obligations this places on the School, in terms of transparency, public accountability and governance. Our annual results are published on the Charity Commission website and at Companies House and all our activities are regulated by the Charity Commission.

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The financial information presented below is designed to show the main sources of income and expenditure in the year.

The figures are drawn from the School’s audited financial statements and Trustees’ report for the year-ended 31 August 2010 and were approved by the Trustees on 5 March 2011. To gain a full understanding of the School’s financial affairs the full financial statements, Trustees’ report and auditor’s report should be inspected.

Annual Review figures for Sept 2009 – Sept 2010 2010 £000

2009 £000

Income

Charitable activities – fees and educational income bursaries awarded Generated funds (investments, rentals and donations)

(

11,387 691)

(

11,189 618)

340

366

11,036

10,937

Charitable activities Loan interest Development Office Governance

(10,135) ( 156) ( 79) ( 47)

(10,432) ( 224) ( 82) ( 46)

Total Expenditure

(10,417)

(10,784)

Total Income Expenditure

Gains/losses on investments Net surplus / (deficit)

53

(

229)

672

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76)

The economic climate continues to be tough and St Albans School, like any prudently run organisation, will continue to position itself effectively and intelligently. We will continue to drive down our costs and spend to achieve our educational aims.

Our current capital spend programme is the result of 10 years of hard work on the part of the Governors.

We must continue to set our sights on the horizon to ensure the next 20 years are as effectively managed.

I do hope you will join us in playing a part in whatever way you can.

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From the Development Office In a recent study published in The Times, people were quizzed about what they fear doing most; asking for money was at the top of the list, ahead of running down their high street naked or even bungee jumping. It was with some trepidation, therefore, that we introduced the St Albans School Foundation to the Old Albanian community in early 2010.

It’s a delicate balancing act to fulfil the dual roles of the Development Office – building and maintaining the School’s relationship with its former pupils, whilst asking for their support of the Foundation’s lofty aims of ‘needs-blind’ admission and the sensitive transformation of the historic School site to befit a twenty-first century education.

And so it was immensely heart-warming to open the post in the weeks following our mailing about the St Albans School Foundation to an array of responses; donations of all sorts and sizes, often accompanied by fascinating and moving letters from Old Albanians explaining the motivation for their support.

For some, it was a sense of gratitude – looking back some 30, 40 or 50 years on, they felt that their education here had shaped the course of their life in a positive way, and they are now in a position to ‘give back’ and provide that opportunity to young people in a similar position.

For others, as you have read throughout this report, it might have been a particular building, an abiding memory of one particular act of kindness by a teacher, or a recent visit to see the School “bustling with life” which sparked their decision to support us.

Can I add my most sincere thanks to all of our supporters – at whatever level they have been able to contribute?

There is an old Chinese saying, “he who gives early, gives twice”, and those who have joined the ranks of Foundation supporters in these early stages have generated such momentum behind this new initiative, which will surely grow in time to transform the School in all the ways you have read about, and many more in the years to come.

As I mentioned above, the role of the Development Office is also one of alumni relations – nurturing the relationship between the School and Old Albanians, and once again I would like to thank those OAs who have travelled from far and wide to attend reunions, dinners and other events, and

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the army of well-wishers who help us out by rounding up their contemporaries, feeding through contact details for ‘missing’ classmates, and showing their support for the School through their attendance at our growing number of events.

We’ve had some fun – drinks parties, book launches, concerts, School events such as the Carol Service, Founders’ Day and Service of Remembrance, dinners, sports matches, champagne receptions, a sing-a-long with the School Choir in the Abbey, business networking events, a memorial service, an Elizabethan banquet and informal after-work pub reunions.

None of these would happen without the enthusiasm and perhaps the nostalgia of the Old Albanians who come along - please do keep it up and spread the word.

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The wonderful atmosphere at all of these events, whether large or small, whether in the School Hall or in Hong Kong, is created by an immediate sense of shared heritage, influenced by a remarkable School.

For those who haven’t yet made it to one of our events – you don’t know what you are missing until you do... it may surprise you!

The Development Office’s job is to foster in all those who care about this remarkable place a lifelong interest in securing its future. The Foundation will ultimately affect the futures and aspirations of some outstanding young people, and I hope you will continue to show us your support during these exciting times.

Kate Le Sueur Development Manager

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Update: The Capital Development Programme Project 1: The Sports Hall and Swimming Pool We are delighted to announce that after many years in the planning, we at last have everything, including the necessary funds, in place to begin building our Sports Hall and Swimming Pool.

Only a desire to have the January examination sessions over without interruption delayed the start of work, which got under way on 21st February. We expect the building to be complete by July 2012, and ready for use by the start of the autumn term in September 2012.

The building will have a significant and immediate impact on School life, including: Broader Sports Curriculum: The Sports Hall will be able to accommodate one game each of basketball, five-a-side football, netball, table tennis, and indoor hockey. Four badminton courts will allow sixteen pupils to play doubles simultaneously, the minimum required to offer badminton as a viable option. A climbing wall will offer another extra-curricular activity which is currently only possible off-site.

The existing School Gym was built in 1956 when School roll stood at c.630 and its requirements were mainly for gymnastics.

The School’s historic open-air pool at the Belmont Hill Playing Field was closed some time ago due to repeated vandalism, and therefore both the Sports Hall and Swimming pool are replacing facilities which were previously available to pupils, but now no longer adequate or indeed no longer in existence.

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Swimming: The Swimming Pool will allow coaching on site during PE lessons for all year groups, as well as high-level coaching for team squads aided by the best training technology including an ‘endless pool’ with video capture and motion analysis.

Timetable: Minibus and coach journeys will be reduced, and thus time spent learning or training greatly increased. A wide variety of sports and activities will form part of timetabled PE lessons, which were previously impossible.

‘Unlocking’ space: Alongside the obvious teaching and extra-curricular benefits to the School, another motivation for the building of the Sports Centre is to ‘unlock’ much-needed space on the School site to allow further developments to take place. By vacating the current Gym we will be able to create a dedicated Refectory and in turn this will mean that the New Hall can become a proper auditorium for Performing Arts, as you will read below.

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Update: The Capital Development Programme Project 2: The Refectory

Project 3: The Performing Arts Centre

The shell of the redundant Gymnasium will be transformed into a Dining Hall with full kitchen facilities, creating an open, flexible space, designed to ease congestion during the lunchtime rush, and for use by pupils before and after School. Funding for this project is in place and work can begin as soon as the Gym becomes available.

Once the Sports Centre and Refectory are completed, the New Hall will no longer be needed as a multi-function space, and can be transformed into a proper auditorium for the Performing Arts.

This will give the Music Department, whose operations are presently split between School House and the Hall, a coherent base. State-of-the-art tiered, retractable seating and flexible staging will make the centre a valuable asset for performing arts.

Due to funding restrictions, this is likely to be a phased project, with early works beginning on the seating and stage areas, and the full scope of rehearsal rooms and acoustic treatments following once funding allows.

Project 4: The Gateway Project See report on early progress on page 8.

Later projects Once these four major works have been completed, a number of smaller projects can continue, such as landscaping of the Upper Yard and eventually the Lower Yard, finding a solution to the ongoing parking issues at the School, and other long-term projects on-site and at Woollams to make the most of the School’s limited space to provide the very best twenty-first century education for our pupils.

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Acknowledgements The St Albans School Foundation remains indebted to all those who have given so generously, particularly in such a challenging economic climate, whether by regular or one-off payments and to whatever extent. Thank you all. With the full cost of the Foundation being carried by the School we can ensure that every penny that is given goes straight to supporting these important projects.

The lists that follow demonstrate the considerable depth and variety of support from which the School has benefited, ranging from Old Albanians leaving any time between 1927 and 2010, to parents, staff, charitable trusts and other friends.

Our Supporters

Most generous generation of OAs

Donations by decade (£’000s)

Number of supporters by decade

The following have supported the Foundation through a single or regular gift, or a legacy pledge: - Mr D. S. Allan OA 1975 - Mr D. S. Allen OA 1959 - Mr G. A. Allen OA 1947 - Mr O. O. Ashaye OA 2008 - The late Mr D. G. C. Astley OA 1951 - Mr R. J. Aubrey OA 1956 - Mr R. T. Austin OA 1952 - Mr R. L. Bains OA 1989 - Mr A. S. Barnes OA 1964 - Mr P. N. Barnes OA 1966 - Mr F. Bateson - Mr A. Beardon OA 1983 - Dr A. C. R. Belton OA 1990 - Mr K. N. Bernard OA 1960 - Canon W. M. C. Bestelink OA 1967 - Mr J. W. E. Blackford OA 1954 - Mr R. B. Blossom - Mr M. E. Blunkell OA 1960 - Mr M. G. C. Boatman OA 1957 - Mr A. H. Bolton OA 1960 - Mr C. R. Bonner OA 1977 - Mr B. H. Brinton OA 1947 - Mr J. G. C. Brown OA 1959 - Mr P. Brummell OA 1983 - Mr S. H. Burgess OA 1962 - Mrs P. R. Buxton Former Staff

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- The late Mr D. L. Cannon OA 1949 - Mr J. D. Chamberlain OA 1960 - Mr P. G. Clements OA 1943 - Mr P. A. Clitherow OA 1977 - Mr N. P. J. Cocksedge OA 1972 - The late Mr N. S. J. Cook OA 1947 - Mr R. L. Cook OA 1946 - Mr A. H. C. Cordell OA 1974 - Mr J. H. Crowhurst OA 1954 - Mr A. L. Dalwood OA 1989 - Mrs P. A. Dodgson - Rev. B. K. Donne OA 1942 - Mr P. J. Dredge OA 1960 - Mr P. E. Dunham OA 1951 - Mr A. J. Dymond OA 1962 - Mr K. R. Embleton OA 1942 - Mr M. Evans in memory of B. A. Evans OA 1949 - Mr C. R. Fewkes OA 1957 - The late Mr J. M. K. Finley Former Staff - Mr R. Foale OA 1964 - Rev. A. J. Foster OA 1957 - Mr N. Gibbs OA 1950 - Mr R. S. Gibson OA 1946 - Mr A. E. Gilham OA 2000 - Mr G. A. Goodman OA 1952 - Dr I. M. Gray OA 1953

- Mr K. J. Gruber OA 1973 - Mr & Mrs S. Haller - Mr B. D. Halsey OA 1947 - The late Dr. A. W. Harrison-Barbet OA 1957 - Mr J. G. Hartley OA 1939 - Mr R. S. R. Hawkins OA 1947 - Maj.-Gen. M. S. Heath OA 1958 - Mr D. J. Heather in memory of P. R. Heather - Dr N. W. Heys OA 1966 - Mrs A. Hickman - Mr J. Hider OA 1963 - Mr R. P. I. Hopkins OA 1960 - Mr M. E. Hughes OA 1980 - Mr D. Ireland OA 1937 - Mr A. J. Jenkins OA 1961 - Mr I. F. Jennings OA 1962 - Mr R. Jesson OA 1962 - Mr A. Jha OA 2001 - The Very Reverend Dr J. John - Mr F. J. Josling OA 1948 - Mrs R. Kennell - Sqn Ldr R. A. King OA 1963 - Mr J. R. Lake OA 1961 - Mr T. C. Landsbert OA 1954 - Mr P. V. Lawrence OA 1960 - Mr S. S. Lazarus OA 1955

- Mr J. H. B. Lowick OA 1950 - Dr J. Luke Former Staff - Mr M. Luke OA 1968 - Professor P. J. Maddison OA 1964 - Mr S. M. Males, QC OA 1974 - Sir Clive Martin, OBE, TD OA 1954 - Mr M. J. Mason OA 1949 - Mr R. A. McFarlane OA 1966 - Mr N. C. McGregor OA 1962 - Mr J. W. Meulkens OA 1935 - Mr M. E. Millard OA 1945 - Mr G. P. Mills OA 1952 - Mr M. I. Moir OA 1956 - Mr D. P. G. Morgan OA 1946 - Mr A. J. G. Morrison OA 1979 - Mr S. A. Muir OA 1953 - Prof. R. J. C. Munton - Mr S. B. H. C. Neal OA 1953 - Mr I. A. Nelsey OA 1947 - Mr N. E. Nethersole OA 1970 - Dr D. G. Newman OA 1961 - Col A. J. Newnham OA 1950 - Mr J. D. Nicol OA 1975 - Mr R. Ollington OA 1947 - Mr R. Park OA 1961 - Dr M. S. Pegg

- Dr D. J. Perkins OA 1945 - Dr & Mrs M. H. Phillips - Mr R. J. Piggott OA 1985 - Dr J. S. Ponsford OA 1968 - Dr A. T. G. Pym OA 1996 - Mr R. E. G. Ractliffe OA 1961 - Mr P. M. Rattle OA 1983 - Mr N. A. Rawlins OA 2002 - Mr J. E. Rogers OA 1980 - Mr C. D. Rolfe OA 1974 - Mr R. M. Saltmarsh OA 1956 - Prof. M. Schofield OA 1960 - Mr R. B. Sharpe OA 1953 - Mr D. M. Sidney OA 1938 - Mr C. V. Simms OA 1964 - Mr S. P. Skelly OA 2009 - Mr P. B. Soul OA 1961 - Mr A. Squires OA 1964 - Major J. W. Steele OA 1964 - Dr B. J. Stevenson OA 1953 - Mr M. Stone Former Staff - Mr J. C. P. Stupart OA 1990 - SVG Advisers Limited - Mr N. S. G. Swan OA 1973 - Mr J. M. Swinstead OA 1946 - Mr M. J. Tangye OA 1961

Average donation

Average regular gift

£646.41 (which is worth £827.40 to the School with Gift Aid)

£27.32 per month (which is worth £35.02 per month to the School with Gift Aid)

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- Mr R. F. Tarling OA 1954 - Mr G. J. Tate OA 1960 - The Old Albanian Club - The Wolfson Foundation - Mrs P. A. Thomas Former Staff - Mr D. A. Thompson OA 1958 - Mr P. J. Thompson OA 1957 - Mr R. R. Thorogood OA 1954 - Mr C. Thrale OA 1977 - Mr K. J. Tilley OA 1948 - Dr J. C. Tudor OA 1960 - Mr K. D. Tuffnell OA 1978 - Mr D. J. Veltom OA 1960 - Mr I. M. Verran OA 1980 - Mr I. K. Watson OA 1954 - Mrs D. L. Wells - Mr J. Wharton OA 1960 - Mr J. N. Wilkinson OA 1960 - Mr B. K. Williams OA 1954 - Mr G. S. Williams OA 1955 - Mr J. R. Wilson OA 1945 - Mr J. B. Windsor OA 1950 - Mr R. Winter OA 1928 - Mr N. A. Wood-Smith Former Staff - Fr. E. R. Worthy OA 1965 Plus 17 anonymous supporters

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The Gateway Society In 2008 the Headmaster hosted a series of lunches for a small nucleus of benefactors who had informed us that they had decided to remember St Albans in their will.

With a view to increasing the awareness of the School’s need for such support, extending the number of donors and providing an opportunity for the School to thank legators during their lifetime, The Gateway Society was launched.

Membership is exclusive to those who have left a legacy gift to the School, or expressed the intention to do so.

Potential legators need only contact the Development Office to let us know and thus join the Society, and there is no obligation to disclose any information about your gift.

Members will receive invitations to a convivial annual dinner, receive a splendid silk tie in recognition of their bequest, and will be invited to other principal School events.

Potential members should consider seeking advice from their solicitor as to which method of legacy giving is best suited to their own circumstances. We would like to encourage current or prospective members to consider making a residuary legacy wherever possible, in preference to a pecuniary legacy, whilst always appreciating that this may not suit every circumstance, and also recognising that what can go up can also come down!

It is well worthwhile bearing in mind the tax advantages of charitable legacies; using the current 40% rate of Inheritance Tax, this enables a legacy worth, say, £10,000 to the School to cost the deceased’s estate only £6,000.

As we go to print, the Chancellor’s Budget announcement includes details of further tax benefits whereby those who give 10% or more of their estate to charity reduce the inheritance tax levied on their estate from 40% to 36% your solicitor will be able to provide you with more details.

Membership of The Gateway Society continues to grow at an encouraging rate. It currently has 23 members and a total of over £1 million in stated pledges.

We are extremely grateful to all those who are committed to remembering St Albans School in their wills, and hope very much that they will be able to enjoy the benefits of their membership during their lifetime by joining us for the annual ‘Gateway Feast’.

This year’s Gateway Feast coincided with the 500th anniversary of the birth of Sir Nicholas Bacon, and took the form of a magnificent Elizabethan banquet in the Abbey Gateway – a truly memorable evening which will have to be matched in 2011!

During the year we received a legacy gift from the estate of Dr Anthony W. Harrison-Barbet (OA 1957). We remain in his and his family’s debt for having committed his generous contribution towards securing the School’s future.

An Anonymous Gateway Society Member

“ “

For me, a legacy pledge is a way of making a really meaningful gift to the School which I would be simply unable to do during my lifetime. It’s wonderful to know that after I’m gone, some remarkable young people like those I have met on recent visits to the School will benefit from my estate rather than the taxman! I place my utmost trust in the School Governors at the time, (hopefully many years in the future!), to allocate my gift when it arrives towards a project or fund where it will have the most impact.

To me, my estate is a private matter and so I’ve asked to remain anonymous - even when my gift finally comes to fruition I have requested that it is not publicised. However I’m pleased to receive invitations to Gateway Society events and I wear my tie with pride knowing that I have now “done my bit” to ensure a thriving future for this remarkable seat of learning.

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Recognition for Donors: The Foundation is pleased to recognise the generosity of donors at a number of different levels: Member Donations up to £4,999 We are delighted to recognise the generosity of all Members in our Annual Report during the years of their giving. It is the accumulated contributions of the many Members of the Foundation that will make large-scale projects possible. Members will be invited to attend School and Foundation events and receptions, and will be frequently updated on the progress of all projects.

Patron Donations of £5,000 - £9,999 We are pleased to grant the title of Patron for a period of five years from the time of a donor’s gift. According to their wishes, Patrons will be recognised in Foundation and School publications, and will be invited to attend all principal School and Foundation functions.

Fellow Donations of £10,000 - £49,000 The title of ‘Fellow’ will be granted to donors for life, to recognise the very significant contribution they have made to the future of St Albans School.

In addition to all benefits enjoyed by Members and Patrons, Fellows will be invited to attend an annual dinner, and may be interested in a number of ‘naming opportunities’ associated with specific projects.

Benefactor Donations of £50,000 and above Benefactors will enjoy special recognition for their generosity. In addition to the various benefits described above, the names of Benefactors will be inscribed on a board in the Library as recognition, in perpetuity, of their contribution to St Albans School.

The Gateway Society Those who have chosen to make a gift in their will are invited to become members of the Gateway Society - please see p29 for more information.

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