Oakham Foundation Annual Report 2017

Annual Report 2017 The Oakham School Foundation

A thank you from the Headmaster:

The Chairman of Trustees:

A fundamental part of Oakham School’s ethos is to provide a plethora of opportunities both inside and outside the classroom. By doing this, we aim to light the spark for a love of learning in each pupil that enables them to fulfil their expectations and dreams, enrich their lives and discover where their talents lie.

The Trustees and Senior Leadership Team of Oakham School are committed to providing both an outstanding educational and co-curricular experience for our students. I am delighted to contribute to this year’s Foundation Annual Report as the Chairman of Trustees, having taken over from Peter Lawson in 2017. The strategic vision and future development of the School remains a key priority whilst we recruit the Headmaster’s replacement, ensuring that the drive for excellence remains at the forefront of our vision.

I have always believed that education must never be confined to the four walls of a classroom as this allows pupils to grow in confidence, and step outside their comfort zone, which in turn plays an essential part in their all-round personal development. With this core value in mind, in 2017 we launched phase one of our latest fundraising Campaign for Oakham which aims to raise £2 million to support the development of a new state-of-the-art Performing Arts Centre.

The planned design will integrate new buildings into the current Drama and Music School facilities to provide innovative, flexible teaching, rehearsal and performance spaces from which all pupils will benefit.

We were extremely privileged to have the acclaimed actor Richard Hope OO (71) return last December to see our School Production of Sister Act. His encouraging feedback on the high standard of both Drama and Music and his genuine excitement for our vision of a contemporary Performing Arts Centre is illustrated alongside the full CGI plans on page 13.

We are also focused on increasing the number of fully-funded SpringBoard Bursary places available at Oakham. I have seen first-hand how these bursaries transform the lives of children, for whom an education at Oakham would otherwise be out of reach. I would like many more deserving pupils to benefit from this fantastic opportunity.

With the help of the School community in donations and pledges we are well on our way to achieving our first phase target, I am so grateful for the incredible generosity shown by OOs, parents and the wider community. Your continued support enables future generations to enjoy the excellent opportunities available at Oakham School.

Successfully raising our initial £2 million target will enable us to begin building work as well as creating additional SpringBoard Bursaries. At the end of the 2019 academic year, I will be retiring from Oakham School after 10 memorable years. It is my genuine hope that during my remaining tenure, we hit and exceed our first phase target and are within reach of the £4 million target for the second phase of fundraising.

I am enormously proud of everything the School has achieved and how it has developed during my time as Headmaster, and I want to ensure that part of my legacy is to leave behind a secure foundation for many more future generations of pupils to flourish.

Oakham School has a long history of inspiring the brightest pupils and celebrating exceptionally high standards in Music and Drama. With your support we can continue to grow these key areas of importance within our School to fulfil our ambitious expectations.

With best wishes Nigel Lashbrook

Ever since Robert Johnson inspired those around him to give generously to build Oakham School in 1584, philanthropy has played a key part in the development of the School. In recent years this is evidenced by the highly ambitious fundraising projects led by the School’s Foundation and Development Team.

You can see this in the multitude of impressive facilities which have fundamentally changed every pupil’s learning environment.

Notable examples are the Faculty of Social Sciences in 2017, the BAF Smith Pavilion in 2014, the Mehra Faculty of Science in 2013, the Wilson Auditorium in 2011, the Jerwood School of Design in 2009 and the Smallbone Library in 1994. These developments were all made possible by generous gifts from parents, Old Oakhamians and many generous donors who shared the same long-term vision for the School.

Our ambition for a new Performing Arts Centre will be a significant development for Oakham, building on our reputation for excellence in the Performing Arts, as well as enriching the cultural experiences of our students. This is an ambitious five-year project and we are delighted with the initial response and hope that 2018 will be as successful as 2017. I hope that in the next annual report we can announce that building work has commenced, as we are able this year to report that the money raised so far has enabled an additional fully-funded SpringBoard Bursary student to start in September 2018, for which I am delighted.

Professor Neil T Gorman DL

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Figures in £’000

From the Director of Operations & Strategic Planning: I am delighted to be able to provide the first financial update in the Oakham School Foundation Annual Report which highlights our strong financial management and underlines the importance of fundraising for the School.

Oakham School Income, Surplus & Expenditure

Figures in £’000

Pupil numbers at Oakham have been good in the last three years, albeit with a slightly changing mix. Full boarding is becoming marginally less popular yearon-year, and we have responded to this national trend by introducing the Flexi-Boarder offering, for those children who board for up to 5 nights per week.

A full Oakham School in terms of pupil numbers would probably be 1080, compared to last year’s roll of 1062, but I know that a number of areas of School infrastructure would be under extreme pressure at this higher number.

Fee Income In terms of staff numbers, we have 160 Teaching Staff, another 30 or so closely supporting Teaching and 280 permanent Support Staff, many of whom are not full-time. On top of that, we have casual staff such as minibus drivers and lifeguards. Whoever suggests that a school is easy to run is wrong when you think we are an organisation with 500 staff catering for 1060 pupils.

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Multiplying pupil numbers by the published school fees yields a theoretical Gross Fee Income, from which we must deduct fee concessions such as bursaries and scholarships to yield the Net Fee Income figure referred to above. The level of means-tested bursary support for those unable to pay full fees currently runs at just under £1 million pa and support is provided to 76 pupils. Included in this pupil body are two recipients of SpringBoard Bursaries attracting 110% fee remission in order to cover extras such as uniforms and extracurricular activities.

Bursary support, most of it effectively unfunded, represents 3.8% of Gross Fee Income and it is the Trustees’ stated objective to try and increase this to 5%, subject to directed funding.

3 year aggregate

Year ending 31 August

2015

2016

2017

Gross Fee Income

24,258

25,601

26,194

Less: Concessions paid for from Unrestricted Funds

2,515

2,711

Net Fee Income

21,743

22,890

Net Income from Group Operations

,016

,(200)

,732

Depreciation

1,195

1,484

1,327

Surplus

1,211

1,284

2,059

(1,385)

(3,270)

(2,767)

,446

,018

,344

Purchase of Tangible Assets Those of you involved in business will be familiar with the concept of Key Performance Indicators. In many ways, the most fundamental KPIs from a school business perspective are pupil numbers and staff numbers.

The vast majority of income we receive is generated by parents of pupils paying fees, and the majority of operating costs are people costs – in Oakham’s case about 71% of Net Fee Income. What do these look like in detail?

3 year aggregate

Sale of Assets

2,962

23,232

4,554

Net Capital Expenditure

,(939)

(3,252)

(2,423)

(6,614)

Surplus Less Net Capex

,272

(1,968)

,(364)

(2,060)

Sources of Income & Surplus There are other sources of income and surplus (charity-speak for profit before depreciation). An associated charity, the Elizabethan Trust, has investable assets of around £5 million, with income of around £200,000 pa directed at supporting scholarships and bursaries at the School. We utilise our real estate as best we can which makes an additional contribution to surplus of around £250,000 per annum through lettings and the School Shop.

The Foundation raises funds for large developments, bursaries and smaller projects which currently fall outside of School budgets.

So these four sources of surplus, the School itself, Investment Income, Commercial Activities and the Foundation, collectively

generated just over £2 million of surplus in 2016 /17. In the last three years we have earned accumulated surpluses of £4.6 million.

Capital Expenditure In the same three-year time period, we have spent £6.6 million, net of two property disposals. In these three years, we have built the new Johnson Building on the Merton Wing and the £2 million Faculty of Social Sciences. We have refurbished and remodelled the Sports Centre at a cost of £1.5 million, resurfaced the Lower Astro and updated the kitchen in the Barraclough. We purchased the old Police Station and converted it into a magnificent Medical Centre and functional Bursary and additionally purchased the strategically located Odd House Tavern Site. Whilst new buildings

Source: Statutory Group Accounts. Elizabethan Trust fully consolidated in 2016 and 2017.

Surplus stated before any unrealised investment gains

are a vital part of ‘future-proofing’ the School, we spend £1.2 million each year maintaining our estate to make sure the School’s facilities are up to the expected Oakham School standard.

I think those of you who have known the School for a number of years will agree that under Nigel Lashbrook’s leadership, the School campus has been substantially transformed.

The School has financed this capital expenditure through these accumulated surpluses and an increase in Fees in Advance, backed by a £3 million revolving credit facility taken out in July 2016. The School has no longterm debt. The Senior Leadership Team, of which I am a part, knows it must work hard at keeping costs to a minimum, notably by keeping

control on the number of people we employ, being as efficient as possible in everything we do, whilst at the same time trying to make our School more attractive and recognising that value for money is key at a time when the affordability of independent education is ever-more in the spotlight.

However we know we must push on with fundraising for the development of the School. The generosity of donors will be vital in making a new Performing Arts Centre a reality for generations of pupils to come; as well as ensuring that we achieve our ultimate long-term goal of two fully-funded SpringBoard Bursaries in each year group. I anticipate exciting times ahead.

Simon Piggott 5

Foundation Projects

We are delighted to have been able to finance these projects and enhance the activities already on offer at Oakham. Thank you to our donors for helping to make these projects a reality. Your support makes a huge difference, helping to enrich pupil’s learning environments.

We will shortly be launching the 2018 scheme of new Foundation Projects.

The Foundation not only supports the strategic vision of the School by raising funds for Capital Development and Bursaries, but also supports smaller projects. The Oakham School Foundation Project Fund allows the School to put in place projects that enrich the experience of our pupils both inside and outside of the classroom.

These smaller projects usually take less than 12 months to establish, and the benefit is immediate for current pupils, as well as for future generations of Oakhamians.

Gamelan The Music Department has always embraced internationalism in its curricular teaching, and last year the pupils had their first experience of performing Gamelan music on tuned percussion instruments from Indonesia. We are incredibly privileged to now own our very own Gamelan, thanks to generous donors who made this vision a reality. In recognition of the spiritual nature of the Gamelan, the instrument was blessed by Father Tim Tregunno in November 2017.

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Books for Lower School Boarders A selection of new books has been provided for our Lower School boarders to enjoy.

Reading regularly is a key learning habit that helps to enhance our pupil’s education and mental well-being.

Sports Psychology The achievement of high-level sporting performers is not surprisingly associated with positive behaviour traits such as determination, confidence, persistence, autonomy and selfefficacy. These broad characteristics enable the pursuit of excellence and the realisation of potential. The Foundation has funded a Sports Psychologist to develop these skills within our pupils.

Wooden debating stands New wooden debating stands in the Faculty of Social Sciences have raised the profile of debating across the School, providing a purpose-built platform for debate. The stands are used by many pupils as part of their Citizenship and Politics lessons, as well as those who participate in the Debating Society.

Equipment for the GreenPower kit car The Design and Technology Department has embraced the opportunity to get pupils involved with STEM projects (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics).

The GreenPower kit car is a three-year practical project that engages young engineers at all stages of creation, design and engineering. Once completed, the pupils will take their kit car to compete against other schools in the Formula 24 race at Rockingham next year.

“I’ve really enjoyed working on this project from the initial design and planning stage, to the more practical mechanical engineering and aerodynamics – sorting out the electrics, steering, gears and designing the panels. I can’t wait to race it next year and see all our hard work come to fruition.”

– Fred (Form 4)

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The Oakham School Foundation | Annual Report 2016/17

Foundation News

Foundation Fundraising

The Faculty of Social Sciences

How Oakham School has benefited from fundraising in 2017

The donations and pledges raised over the past year have been allocated to specific funds and projects.

2017 – A year in numbers Youngest donor

How you have supported the Foundation with your pledges and donations.

Oldest donor First-time donors

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Lord Clarke – OO (61) and former Head Boy – officially opened the impressive three-storey Faculty of Social Sciences in September 2017.

The building was funded in part by generous donations pledged through the Foundation Office and now offers leading-edge learning facilities for the School’s Business, Economics, Politics and Citizenship students. The classrooms, presentation rooms, offices and flexible learning spaces within the Faculty of Social Sciences mirror the business world in its styling and décor in order to help students prepare for the corporate world.

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Regular donors Smallest gift

£10

Largest gift

£500,000

Project

Amount raised

n Performing Arts

£390,015

n Bursaries

£306,549

n Other

£61,029

n 1584 Society

£59,860

n Sport

£54,344

n Social Sciences

£26,484

n Legacy Fund

£12,375

n Foundation Project Fund

£8,395

Total as of December 2017

£919,052

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Fundraising & Voluntary Action

Our Supporters Thank you to all our donors who have supported the School in the last two years.

Mr Kenneth Alloway Mr David Bailey Mr Christopher Bastow Ms Anna Bentley Mr Robert Berry Mr Victor Biraben Miss Rachel Borrill Mrs Zillah Brown – in memory of Elliot Brown Mr John Buckingham Mr Michael Bullock Mr Oliver Burns Mr David Butcher Mr Simon Camamile Mr Thomas Casswell Mr Edward D’Alton Church Mr Michael Churchouse Mr Christopher Clarke Mr David Colville Mrs Alison Copley Mr Shiv Datt Mr Geoffrey Dawe Mr John Dillon Mr Anthony Earl Mr Robert Eayrs Mr Richard Foulkes Mr Andrew Gordon Mrs Rachel Hadley

Mr and Mrs Haefeli Mr Edward Heckels Mr Peter James Mrs Sophie Janak Mr Labeeb Kawar Mrs Jennifer Kelly Mrs Camilla Kemp Mr Peter Kerruish Mr Duncan Kingham Mr and Mrs Klohe Mr David Lambert Mr Joon Heng Lee Mr Peter Leffler Dr Leslie Lewis Mr Jamie Lewis Mr Miles Linney Mr and Mrs Lucas Mr Ian MacLaren Mr Giles Marshall Mrs Claire Moody Mr Brian Needham Mr David Neville Mr Tim Noel-Johnson Mr and Mrs O’Boyle Mr Derek O’Brian Mr James Opinsky Ms Lucy Pearson Mr David Porter

Mr Nicholas Priestnall Mrs Janet Ridley Mr Philip Rowe Miss Katherine Sharp Miss Madeline Simon Mr Ian Smith Mr James Smithies Mr and Mrs Stafford Mr Nicholas Summers Mr Michael Swallow Mr and Mrs Swart Dr Ken Tan Vale of Catmos Lodge of Freemasons Mr Laurence van Someren Mr Nikolay Vlasenko Mr Vyvyan Wainwright Mr and Mrs Warre Mr Jonathan Watts Dr Olivia Webb Mr Adam Welch Mr and Mrs Wilson Mr James Wolstenholme Mr Stephen Woolfe Mr Ian Wright Mrs Olga Zabolotneya Mr Richard Ziegler

We would also like to thank all of our anonymous donors for their generous gifts.

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OSCA – Oakham School Charities Association

OSCA – how it all began

Fundraising is an important part of every day life at Oakham and since its inception in 1986, OSCA has engaged thousands of Oakhamians from all year groups to support a wide range of charities. Pupils have come up with numerous fundraising ideas from – ‘Tough Mudder Runs’, rock concerts – including a staff band! – to the ever-popular cake bake sales and NonUniform Days. OSCA has successfully raised over £170,000 over the past eight years, for a multitude of local, national and overseas charities, such as the North Karati & Nyondia Primary Schools in Kenya and more recently YoungMinds, which promotes positive mental health amongst children and young adults.

The Oakham School Charities Association (OSCA) was set up in 1986

by Oakhamians Lisa Hooley (87) and current OO President, Ben Walsgrove (87) while they were both Upper School pupils following the tragic death of Diana Ridley (85) from cancer while at Oakham School. Encouraged by the School Chaplain, Reverend Darryl, Ben decided to organise the charity’s first event: a sponsored fancy dress race around Oakham from the Sports Hall to the Market Place. The event raised an incredible £4,000 for the Macmillan Nurses who had supported her throughout her illness. OSCA has since inspired pupils to continue fundraising for a multitude of worthy causes.

OSCA is led by Teacher of French, Chris WestSadler, who is a keen champion of ensuring every Oakhamian exercises their charitable muscle and shows solidarity with those less fortunate than themselves.

He encourages pupils to come up with fundraising initiatives and to be motivated to organise each event themselves. Pupils give up their free time to run up to 15 events per year to support the community.

Voluntary Action (VA) is an opportunity for pupils to give something back to the local community. Each week, VA pupils attend placements or activities helping out in a variety of ways: volunteering in local primary schools or nurseries, planting trees for Oakham in Bloom, or teaching ICT skills to local elderly residents to allow them to make better use of current technology. A variety of projects take place over the October and March Service Weekends and the School holds a party every October for around 300 elderly members of the local community, which pupils organise and host.

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The Campaign for Oakham

Proposed Outline Scheme of the Performing Arts Centre

Education in its fullness embraces not only the intellectual but also encompasses the development of moral, social and spiritual values, sport, creativity and well-being.

The launch in 2017 of phase one of our fundraising Campaign for Oakham marked the start of the most exciting chapter in the development of Oakham School for more than a generation. Our long-term ambition is to raise £4 million to support the development of a Performing Arts Centre and to increase the number of SpringBoard Bursary places available at Oakham.

“Music at Oakham gives me a voice to express myself in ways that I can’t in everyday life, it connects me with not only myself but with other like-minded musicians and always lifts my spirits.”

Lily (Form 6)

The Performing Arts Centre The strength of the performing arts at Oakham School is something that we are incredibly proud of, but the popularity and success of the Music and Drama departments means that they have outgrown their current facilities.

The need for a Performing Arts Centre is very real to allow our students to continue to thrive. Please support us by making a donation however large or small, to make this happen.

“I felt privileged to witness such young talent giving all their worth.

The production allowed them to fly and gave the best possible spotlight for Oakham School Drama, Music and Dance. Please do build on this full use of all the Performing Arts at Oakham and recognise that these skills do bring a great deal to the development of creative minds. Combining their various disciplines in the one project brings invaluable experience. It goes a long way to realising the aspirations of the new Performing Arts space.”

Richard Hope OO (71) with the cast of Sister Act

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If you would like to donate please go to www.oakham.rutland.sch.uk/Donate-Now

or contact Anna Bentley email: aeb2@oakham.rutland.sch.uk, phone: +44(0)1572 758808

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Oakham SpringBoard Bursaries Since 2014 Oakham School has combined forces with the SpringBoard Bursary Foundation to search for genuinely deserving pupils from the most disadvantaged social groups and offer them a fully-funded place to learn in our School.

Collaborative Giving “Oakham has given me more hope for the future by providing opportunities that I wouldn’t necessarily get if I had stayed at my previous school.”

SpringBoard pupil

Enhancing our Sporting Facilities

The 1584 Society is a simple, effective and affordable way to get involved with Foundation fundraising.

The 1584 Society was established in 2017 to recognise the impact of collaborative giving by providing the opportunity for Old Oakhamians to become part of an extraordinary network of School supporters.

The 1584 Society is a highly respected and valued part of the Oakham School Community and members are invited to join us for some of our most popular celebratory events, including Speech Day and our annual Gala Concert.

The invitation to join The 1584 Society is open to all, whether it be current or former parents or alumnae - the minimum contribution is £1,584 per year for five years. All supporters also receive our beautifully designed 1584 lapel pin.

The aim of the SpringBoard Bursary Scheme at Oakham is to transform the lives of young people for the better by providing a happy, stable and safe environment for living and learning during term time. Recipients benefit from broadened horizons and aspirations, improved social skills and interactions, improved academic performance and an increased awareness of social diversity.

Ultimately the SpringBoard Bursaries have a positive impact on the whole School 14

Community as well as the pupil’s community at home. Our aim is to raise £525,000 in the first phase of the Campaign which will allow three fully-funded Bursary students to come to Oakham. We have already raised enough to fund one student from 13-18 years of age and we are delighted that they will join us in September 2018. We need your support to enable more students to benefit from these opportunities.

The second phase of our fundraising Campaign for Oakham will focus on the enhancement of our sporting provision. The physical and mental benefits sport brings to pupils of all abilities is a long-standing belief at Oakham.

Our excellent facilities attract the best staff who enable pupils to reach for the top – many being selected to represent the county and beyond to national and international levels.

The 1584 Society has helped the Foundation to raise over £50,000 in its first six months supporting the Campaign for Oakham, for which we are very grateful.

Please contact Anna Bentley for a membership pack and further information: aeb2@oakham.rutland.sch.uk 01572 758808.

The Foundation are delighted to welcome the first-ever President of The 1584 Society, Katherine Sharp OO (98). After leaving Oakham, Katherine read Russian and Czech at Oxford University and now lives and works in London.

“I am delighted to be appointed as the first President of The 1584 Society and as such, support the School’s commitment to continue the outstanding developments that have been achieved in all areas of the campus. Oakham has a long heritage of encouraging all pupils to excel in every aspect of their schooling and I am proud to support this latest initiative to ensure that future generations will continue to benefit from first-class facilities.

I would highly recommend that OOs consider a visit to Oakham to see just how far things have come.”

Katherine Sharp, The 1584 Society President 15

The Foundation aims to support the strategic vision of Oakham School by raising funds for Capital Developments, Bursaries and smaller projects that would otherwise not be possible.

Oakham School Foundation College House Oakham Rutland LE15 6DT • +44(0)1572 758699 www.oakham.rutland.sch.uk/The-Foundation • foundation@oakham.rutland.sch.uk Registered Charity No. 1131425-2