It is a little while since we updated you on the work of The Queen’s College Foundation.

You will recall that The Foundation was established to spearhead the setting up of an endowment fund to facilitate capital projects and bursaries.

Progress has, in certain respects, been slow and it might be thought that little has been achieved but in fact this is not the case.

The deliberations of the Foundation have played an important part in leading to a decision taken by The Governors to set up a Development Committee which has the responsibility of co-coordinating the policy and operational matters relating to the fund raising objectives of the School’s Development Office.

The committee embraces all parts of the School’s constituency including Governors, Old Queenians, Parents, Staff and The Sidney Lawton Trust.

Quite deliberately there have been no fundraising activities. A policy decision was taken by The Foundation and endorsed by the Development Committee that first and foremost we had to seek to involve people in the life of the school. Friend raising is just as important as fund raising.

We want people including Old Queenians and Parents of OQ s to really feel part of the school and be involved in its life and not just the recipients of periodic pleas for money.

In this respect the work of Kim Boalch, our Alumni Relations Manager, has been crucial and already she has arranged a number of very successful reunions and other events. With the 1990s reunion to be held on 4 July this year, we will have held a reunion for each decade of leavers since the 1950s in the last three years. The OQs November and Summer reunions and the annual Exeter Christmas Dinner are increasingly well supported events. This year, we plan to restart a tradition of holding a Christmas lunch in London. Queen’s News and The Old Queenians’ Newsletter now have a very wide circulation and this is terribly important in keeping the School in touch with people and people in touch with each other.

We are still committed to the appointment of a Development Director and hope that an announcement will be made shortly in respect of an interim appointment of a Development Manager who may in due course become the Development Director or serve under one. When in office, the Development Director, working with Kim and Keith Wheatley will constitute, we believe. a very effective Development Team, well placed to carry forward the work of The Foundation and The Development Committee.

Although there have been no appeals it is gratifying to be able to report that the Foundation has received a number of gifts so already it has been able to assist in the financing of a number of projects including floodlights for the new Astroturf, support for the Learning Support department and the forthcoming Girls’ Hockey and Netball tour of Australia and Singapore.

We hope that in the near future we will be able to launch a planned annual giving and legacy programme and we are confident that this will be well supported. Queen’s has exciting plans for its future development and funds are tight (particularly in this current economic climate). We very much hope that you will feel able to help.

If in the meantime anyone would like to contribute to The Foundation then please contact: one of us; the school’s Finance Director, Richard Abolins; or Chris Alcock, Headmaster.

David Sargison
Chair of The Foundation Trustees

Stephen Lawson
Chair of the Development Committee

Updated: June 2009