Meeting Minutes 04 November 2024

Present

S. Pickett (HM Ex officio), T. Deller (Staff), G. Purvis, A. Roberts, N. Whales, R. Bijster, N. Barton

Apologies were received from

A. Cousins, B. Whinney, A. Jones, M. Whittington (Pres.), R. Sheardown, T. Webster SP chaired the opening of the meeting in absence of President.

Minutes from the last meeting and actions arising

Minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and approved by all in attendance.

Actions:

From previous meeting: All new posts agreed to write a pen portrait’ for the website. SP had sent out an example and had received some responses, others awaited. Ongoing.

6.1: Andrew Jones to contact Zest and check/confirm availability for 14 December. Not confirmed as yet done. SP to contact Andrew J. Action ongoing.

6.2: Mark Whittington to search for after dinner speaker. Not resolved yet, absorbed into Action 6.3. Action closed

6.3: Simon Pickett to ask Alumni for any after dinner speaker suggestions. Several names have been suggested.

• Ross Edgely expected to be v. expensive, so not pursued.
• Gary Waterfall (ex. RAF) – RB to follow up. New action.
• Jon Hardman (earthquakes) – SP to follow up. New action
• John Crossley (ex. MET) – RB to follow up. New action

6.4 & 6.5: Simon Pickett to prepare/issue email advertising event to all. Notices to appear on LinkedIn and through email flyers prior to event. Final push for ticket sales to be made, minimum sales to be ~40. Deadline for accepting bookings will be end Nov. Actions closed.

• Ben Whinney to check available dates with Newark. Date for rugby at Newark set for April 19 2025 (Easter Saturday). Action closed.
• Ben Whinney to advise AJ on shirt requirements. Action ongoing.
• Ben Whinney to issue a general request for team sponsorship. Action ongoing.
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• Andrew Jones to issue current Constitution to members for review. SP will remind AJ.

Action ongoing.

1.  

• Simon Pickett to distribute current mission statement & 6.12: All members requested to assist with establishing Alumni vision, mission, activities etc. prior to next meeting. Mission statement has not been issued however a couple of draft mission/vision statements were discussed at the meeting. NB agreed to carry out a further review prior to finalising.
• Objectives will follow on once agreed. New action on NP.

6.13: Simon Pickett to report back on way forward on archiving records. Nottingham University are involved in helping with archiving with a meeting due later in November. £10k has been allocated for initial work. Action ongoing.

Report of the President

President was not present at the meeting, hence no repot.

Report of the Honorary Treasurer

AJ was not present so no report.

Items and reports for discussion and action

1. The Annual Dinner

• Discussed as above. Date/venue set, tickets on sale. Still a number of things to be sorted before dinner.

2. Cricket

• Needs a rethink, possibly coupled with a school open day on the day after the cricket, i.e. Saturday. Potential for Alumni to help with school tours. SP agreed to look into tour options. Action on SP.

3. Rugby

• Location and date set. Details (shirts/sponsorship) still to be finalised as discussed above.

4. LinkedIn

• TD reported that LinkedIn interest continued to grow following the recent publicity efforts. TD stated that he would issue stats at a later date. Postscript: Alumni site now has >400 members.
• There was a discussion on contacting Head Boys as a way into expanding interest. TD intends to continue with this effort.

5. Archive

• Nothing further to report

6. PTFA ball

• Moved to 12 October due to clash with rugby. Will be at Masonic Lodge.

AOB

Major events coming up in next few years:

• 2026 – 100 years of Old Boys Society
• 2027 – 300 years since Isaac Newton’s death
• 2028 – 500 years since school re-endowment

All offer opportunities for School and Alumni. This item should remain on the agenda for the foreseeable future.

Dates of next meeting

Alumni 3 will be held on 13 January at 7.00pm in the library.