Minutes of the Alumni Committee 17 November 2025

Present

Tom Webster, Rich Bijster, Nigel Barton, Robert Sheardown, Michael Barney*, Tony Shearer*, Paul O'Reilly*, Andrew Roberts

*via Teams

Apologies were accepted from: Mark Whittington, Ben Whinney, Andrew Jones, Simon Picket, Gavin Purvis

Minutes from the Last Meeting and Actions Arising

No comments were raised on the previous minutes so they are considered accepted by the Committee.

No specific actions arose from the previous meeting however, outside of the meeting, SP had reported that the School will go live with the new Digital Archive in January. It is looking good at this point and has hundreds if not thousands of images and articles; including all Granthamians – these it turns out were originally the School's newsletters.

SP has agreed the date for the rugby with Newark Rugby Club.

Report of the Chairperson

TW welcomed everyone to the meeting. The Chairperson noted that several of the subcommittees were starting to work well together. The careers/mentoring and fundraising subcommittees had been a bit slower in starting up but it was anticipated that, after this meeting, they would be able to make progress.

Report of the Treasurer

The Treasurer had reported that, as of 10 November, the bank balances totalled £12,290.25 with no recent expenditure items.

It was noted that all funds received for the dinner were being routed through the school's accounting system as this was the easiest method at this time to arrange payments. The Chairperson noted that, as the Alumni develops further, we should be looking to take on more such activities, reducing the burden on the school.

Report from Sub-Committee Leads

Events Co-ordinator – RB

RB reported that there had been a short subcommittee meeting recently to progress some of the open items relating to the dinner. Currently, 47 tickets have been sold however we need to aim for at least 60 attendees. A new prompt was needed to promote final sales ahead of the date. MB reported that the simplest approach was to ask SP to get a reminder issued in the next day or so, via email and LinkedIn. The text had been drafted. RB agreed to send it to MB who would review and issue to SP for issue. TD will assist with LinkedIn.

The agenda for the day is settled. A speaker has been found, Damon Solley, who has had a distinguished career as Superintendent in the West Yorkshire/Lincolnshire police forces.

The question of whether we should continue to seek speakers who have been high performers in their field as this does restrict the choice of speakers available to us. Also, whether it is necessary for a speaker to be an old boy of the school.

It was concluded that when planning for the 2026 dinner, an early request for possible speakers who could give an entertaining speech on a subject without him being a particularly high achiever. Making good use of our database in this task is essential. Being an old boy is preferred but not a firm requirement, the subject of the speech being more important.

The plan for the event is settled. NW agreed to check if we could get some music played prior to the meal starting.

The welcome will now be done by TW – his welcome and state of the alumni address will be combined into one at the start.

Payment machines are to be arranged with SP. Prizes for the Heads and Tails games could be in the form of a voucher for a local business (e.g. Watkins, a restaurant, Syston farm shop, etc.). RB would contact Syston.

Help with selling tickets, collecting donations, set up/tear down will be proposed by RB. 13:00h is the expected start time for set up. There will not be any place names this year.

TD's mum will again do the table decorations – a small donation to buy materials was agreed.

The menu is set. No issues raised. Selections will have to be made at least a week prior to the event. Bar is all arranged by SP.

No progress was made in last few weeks on rugby and cricket fixtures for 2026. These will be picked up as soon as the dinner is over with.

Communications and Communities Co-ordinator – MB

MB reported on the following:

The adjusted Strategic Goals Framework had been sent to the Chairperson. TW said that the changes were all OK so these are now confirmed as finalised. TW agreed to update the Strategic Goals Framework and issue to the Committee.

A useful subcommittee meeting (currently MB and BW); grateful for anyone who feels they have a vested interest to get in touch so that they can be involved in the next steps. TD ought to be on the subcommittee with his involvement with LinkedIn.

Will now (with final prompt to buy tickets now drafted) push dinner tickets hard. This will likely be through the School-owned MailChimp distribution and LinkedIn.

A useful meeting was held with SP to discuss options for efficiencies/deconfliction in school/Alumni comms. Several work-strands were ongoing as a result but the aim is for Jan/Feb launch of brand/database/etc. once the School have appointed comms/fundraising support lead early in 2026 (ahead of key anniversary events). This was seen as a positive step by the school and will allow us to make best use of this asset and school access to various corporate services whilst avoiding comms fratricide.

Some clarity was provided by NW on the possible role of the new appointment.

The Committee discussed ownership of databases. Should this be taken on by the Alumni or left with the School? Ensuring ongoing access by all parties will be a requirement without having duplication of databases. This is a longer-term issue to be resolved.

Fundraising and Development Co-ordinator – POR

POR stated that he had yet to set up/arrange a sub-committee meeting on fundraising. The challenge faced is to decide what/who are we seeking to raise funds for. TW reminded the Committee that collecting money to donate to a charity didn't make much sense – it was better for us to guide our efforts to a school-related fundraising issue. Anything we did would of course need to be coordinated with School-initiated projects.

NW outlined a number of bursary/hardship funds currently ongoing within the school. NW agreed to summarise these funds to committee members.

The Committee concluded that the use of funds has to be the main focus of the subcommittee along with how funds are raised. This will become linked with the various fundraising events (rugby, etc.) being scheduled. Offers to be on the sub-committee came from TW, TD, MB, AR & RB. AJ should also be involved at some stage as Treasurer. TD summarised current fund-raising initiatives within the school and how the pupils are a prime source of ideas for how funds could be used in school.

Committee members agreed that a declaration of where donations collected at the dinner would be directed to was required so possible purposes/causes should be identified ahead of that event. Plan needs to be well coordinated over all sub-committee subjects.

KingsCon was briefly discussed as a major future fund-raising event. TW noted that no real progress was expected or had occurred on this subject since the last meeting. A sponsor was envisaged therefore a professional events coordinator would be needed. KingsCon was expected to involve all sub-committees. This will be picked up in January with TW as lead.

Careers and Mentoring Co-ordinator – GP

GP had provided the following update prior to the meeting:

I have reached out to a number of people. So far, I have commitment from two individuals, Tom Wood and Hugh Pilkington to support and I am due to schedule a chat with another potential individual called Josh Bolus. I reached out to Nathan Whales last week regarding what the school is currently doing and will be going in to meet with him once arranged.

Items and Reports for Discussion and Action

No further items were discussed.

Any Other Business

None.

Date of Next Meeting

The next Alumni meeting will be on 12 January 2026 at 7.00pm in the library and online. The agenda with online joining instructions will be issued no less than 7 days prior to the date of the meeting.

Actions Arising

• Action 2.1: RB to send proposed ticket prompt to MB for review/issue to SP
• Action 2.2: RB to issue a request for names for set up/clear up, fundraising tasks
• Action 2.3: TW to issue final version of Comms strategic goals framework to the Committee
• Action 2.4: POR to arrange a meeting of fundraising sub-committee prior to the dinner. Opportunities for projects to be proposed

Attachments

None.

Andrew Roberts
Secretary