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Dear Old Scholar, A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I am delighted to be able to write to you once more with news from the Old Scholars and from the School and to enclose the latest edition of The Avenue which, as ever, gives a flavour of some of the events and successes that we have already enjoyed this academic year. Looking back you will, I’m sure, be pleased to hear that last summer’s exam results were very good, with 17% of ‘A’ level grades at A* (ie marks of over 90% in the exam) and 42% of GCSE grades at A or A*, easily our best ever. Last year’s Year 11 were a talented group and most stayed on into our growing sixth form which now numbers 40 in the first year. The Senior School has 268 pupils, the biggest it’s been for many years and finding enough classrooms is a problem – but a nice problem to have. Building of our new Junior School has commenced and, as I look out of my window and down the Avenue, I can see the roof of the new Nursery/Reception building and the walls of the new Junior School hall rising to first floor level. To get to this point has taken a huge amount of time and effort and much work has been undertaken by ex-Clerk of Governors and Old Scholar, Tony Watson and so it is entirely fitting that the governors have agreed to name the Junior School hall ‘The Watson Hall’. Another major development has taken place in the form of the closer working relationship between School and OSA, which has now been formalised by both parties. This will see the school picking up the running costs of the Association with the OSA in return providing funding for bursaries and some capital projects.
Head Graham Wigley, OSA President Julie Foster and President (Elect) Richard Haw sign up. Already we have had a super response from Old Scholars who have returned their forms either with generous ‘one off’ donations or indicating regular giving of an amount (gift aided) above the old subscription rate which is being phased out. I have taken the liberty of including with this letter a further copy of the relevant form and return envelope in case the original copy has been mislaid. An item of news that I would like to pass on is that two of our most recent Old Scholars, Leanne Kennerson and Georgia Rolls, who left after ‘A’ levels last year, have had their paintings chosen by the President of the Royal Society of British Artists to by exhibited at the RBA’s 2012 show. A lovely touch is that the co-ordinator of the exhibition is Chloe Bevan, herself an Old Scholar. As we move towards Christmas, with our traditional Christmas Dinners, disco and ‘Christmas Words and Music’ in St Mary’s church, it is good to look back over a busy term. We have raised money for ‘Children in Need’, had a drive on energy conservation courtesy of the Eco Group, seen our GCSE historians visit World War One battlefield sites (including witnessing a very moving ‘Last Post’ at the Menin Gate) and our artists visiting major exhibitions both locally and in London. A wonderful highlight was the lecture given in Quaker Week by Shami Chakrabarti, Director of ‘Liberty’ and Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University. Her appearance was almost trumped by the participation of Nobel Prize winner Dr Mike Jeffs MBE, who joined a distinguished panel of guests at a ‘Question Time’ event which focussed on the environment. No doubt next term will be equally as impressive and I look forward to keeping in touch with you again next Easter. Kind regards, Click here to download the Donation/Standing Order Form Click here to download the above letter which was mailed to Old Scholars Christmas 2011.
The School's Avenue Newsletter Click on the images to download.
Dear Old Scholar, You may be aware of the changes to the organisation of the Old Scholars’ Association that were approved at last year’s Annual General Meeting and of the even closer ties that the OSA now has with Friends’ School. We are now writing to keep you up to date with what these changes mean for the present subscription arrangements. Now that everyone who attended the school is automatically a member of the OSA, the costs of running the Association are being taken over by the school. Hitherto, your subscription has been used in two ways: to cover the costs of running the Association and to provide a regular donation to the School. We hope, however, that you will consider taking this opportunity to help the School even more by increasing the amount and/or the frequency of your donation and Gift Aiding it by converting it to a Standing Order. Click here to download the Donation/Standing Order Form which can be returned to the School using the Freepost details shown on the form. In this way the School will continue to reap the benefit of the vital support that Old Scholars like you provide to help future generations of young people to enjoy all the advantages of the Friends’ School education that you yourself received for instance through the provision of bursaries. From now on, with the School meeting the running costs, in the event that you do not make any changes, your current subscription will in practice become a regular donation which the School very much appreciates. How will my regular donation be used? The School constantly has plans to update and improve its facilities and you can feel assured that money donated through the OSA will be very well spent in a variety of ways. You can, however, specify a particular use for the donation that you make if you have a particular area of interest. • The School is committed to widening its provision of bursaries so that the ability to pay is not a barrier for those parents who would like their children to attend Friends’ School but whose income is more modest. Why not specify ‘bursary fund’ as a named use for your ‘Gift Aided’ regular donation? We assure you that every penny received will benefit Friends’ School pupils directly. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either one of us via School. Yours sincerely Julie Foster, President OSA Graham Wigley, Head, Friends’ School Click here to download the Donation/Standing Order Form Click here to download the above letter which was mailed to Old Scholars towards the end of October 2011.
Letter from the Head - January 2011
A Happy New Year to you and to your family! Looking back on the end of 2010 sees the school in a better shape at the end of the decade than at the turn of the century. Much has been accomplished and numbers, particularly in the senior part of the school, are healthy. As you know, much of this time has been taken up by the school in planning for significant changes on our beautiful Saffron Walden site and I am delighted (an also a little relieved) at last to be able to pass on to you news that we were granted planning approval for new Junior School buildings last October. These will complement the extensive renovation of the Leicester building that took place over the summer. As you can appreciate, we are looking forward to the fine detail of the relevant contracts being tidied up so that work can begin; a sensible estimate is that we will move into our new accommodation in time for the start of the new school year in September 2012 – a mere five terms from now. Although many will mourn the demolition of the old ‘San’ where the infant department is presently located, our pupils and teachers will benefit hugely from new, bright, airy classrooms adjacent to the playing fields and will enjoy having their own school hall instead of a ‘charming’ but cold Scout Hut. Already we are turning our attention to the Mount Pleasant end of the site and discussions are being held about our ‘next steps’ which could involve work on our original Victorian ‘1879’ building and boarding accommodation, although the Sixth Form Centre, Learning Support, the art department and the science department are all pressing their cases for being redeveloped. Although we are optimistic about the future at Friends’, we are realistic enough to acknowledge that the coming year (at least) is going to be a tough one, as it is for the majority of the country. Already we find our bursary fund stretched to the limit (and, possibly, a bit further) and so it was extremely heartening that at your Old Scholars’ Association AGM members passed a resolution that ties school and OSA even more tightly together. A strong and supportive OSA is vital to the school and the decision to open membership to all those who attended Friends’ School, not just those who pay, is a wonderful recognition of this. Already plans are being made for next summer’s OSA reunion on Friends and Families Day and Julie Foster, the new OSA President, is working hard to ensure that attendance at the OSA Dinner in the evening approaches 100, which would be a fabulous achievement. No doubt you will hear from her in due course. At school, terms fly by ever more quickly and with more and more being packed into them. No sooner have we celebrated last year’s excellent results than we turn our attention to preparing our next cohort for university application. Sport, music and drama continue to enrich our lives – we eagerly await our production of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ later in the year having enjoyed a most original ‘Christmas Words and Music’ celebration shortly before the end of the Autumn term in St Mary’s church. On the sporting front our girls in particular had a terrific season on the hockey field with some notable scalps taken in some exciting fixtures. As ever, much is captured in The Avenue and I am pleased to enclose the latest edition with my letter. For those who like to keep up to date with events at school, please visit our newly designed website (same address: www.friends.org.uk) which went ‘live’ just before Christmas. I hope you like the images and the info you find there. Remember, use ‘links’ at the bottom of the front page to get to the OSA pages or pick up the link via the list on the ‘Home’ page. The coming year should be a good one for Friends’ School; I hope 2011 is equally as successful and enjoyable for you. Best wishes, Graham Wigley Click here to download a printable copy of the above letter.
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