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CLAIRES COURT & RIDGEWAY SOCIETY
Charity Number:1052993

MINUTES OF THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
THURSDAY 25 SEPTEMBER 2008

Present:

• Phyllis Avery (President)
• Julia Lindley ( Chair)
• Wendy Reeves (Vice Chair)
• Debbie May (Secretary)
• James Wilding
• Karen Rogg
• John Rayer
• Susan Payne
• Rosemary Barker
• Nicola Ross
• Karen Walter
• Beverley Grey
• together with a number of parents and teachers.

Phyllis Avery opened the meeting with an introduction and an invitation at the end of the AGM to join the 'College PTA' in the mezzanine floor of the Sports Hall.

Phyllis Avery gave to a warm welcome all present, and advised that at the end of the meeting there would be a presentation from Mike Hudson on the 'South Africa Rugby' trip.

Apologies for absence

Brian and Laura Cullingford

Approval of Minutes from the last AGM

These were approved by John Rayer and seconded by Debbie May

Chairman's report

Welcome Lady President, Committee members, parents, staff, and thank you for all attending tonight's AGM.

During the academic year 2007-2008, the society have organised many activities and events to help raise funds for new facilities, equipment and opportunities to benefit all of our pupils. Last October, down at Station Ground, Taplow, we were entertained with our Dads V Staff rugby match, the Tri-it Challenge and of course our fantastic Fireworks Party. Thanks to a number of Dads from Claires Court, Ridgeway and College and the staff from all three sites, we were able to witness a hard fought and largely enjoyable match, which unfortunately, resulted in a win for the staff. Following this we saw a record number of pupils participate in the Tri-it Challenge. In the evening we enjoyed another dazzling firework display by Star Fireworks, whilst enjoying a drink (or two!) from the free bar! A big thank you must go to James Wilding and the Firework Committee and the many staff volunteers who helped out during the course of the day and evening. With everybody's support and help, the day raised some £7000 in income, resulting in a healthy amount for the Society/PTA funds.

Once again during the second half of the Autumn Term, the society ran two more events - the Christmas Fair and the Chess Tournament. The Annual Society Christmas Fair, held once again here at Ridgeway, gave us all an opportunity to choose that special gift for someone from the excellent range of stalls. Many thanks to Wendy Reeves, our vice-chair, for organising this event, when I know it was a very busy and demanding time work wise. I would also like to thank Debbie May and Beverley Grey for their help also with this event. As a result of their hard work, the Society was able to add some significant funds into the account.

The day after the Christmas Fayre, the Society hosted their Annual Chess Tournament, where a number of children of all ages from a number of different schools participated in a great day's chess. With this now being a key date in the Chess calendar, I would like to thank Susan Payne and Eileen Goffard for the organisation of this event and also a thank you to the kind volunteers who helped with refreshments during the course of the day.

During the Lent term one drizzly Saturday afternoon, we once again were faced with some familiar characters from the Mad Hatters Tea Party! My many thanks go to the Sixth Form students who entertained all of our egg hunters, big and small, so incredibly well. We were served with some excellent food and drink during the afternoon, thanks to Lorraine, the chef here at Ridgeway. Thank you to everybody, who helped make this such an enjoyable event for all the family.

We next turned our attention to a little adult fun - the Dads V Odd Sox (staff) V Form Students five a side football tournament. The stage once again was at Station Ground, Taplow following the annual cross country event. The format, a round robin tournament and the result, have one guess? Oh yes, the Odd Sox, otherwise known as the staff won the tournament.

The Summer Term always welcomes us with the organisation of our two major fundraising events, the annual Summer Fete and the Summer Party. This year the Summer Fete was welcomed by rain at the beginning, as I remember my family and a few kind volunteers, Mr Foy, setting up the tables for the afternoons activities. However, despite the rain and the many phone calls (is it still on!), the day kicked off with the football tournament, kindly organised and ran by the Ridgeway PE staff (thank you), with teams participating as Euro 2008 countries. Congratulations to the eventual winners, Turkey. With the Fete officially opening at mid-day, the weather gradually improved and everybody enjoyed the afternoon, browsing around some interesting stalls, enjoying the entertainment provided by our pupils, welcoming the Thames Valley Athletics Club and of course we were all able to enjoy a bite to eat from the barbecue or quiche stand and a drink from the bar or Pimm's tent! This year we also welcomed the inaugural Caribbean Cricket Carnival where 6 teams competed against each other for the right to play the staff side, the Odd Sox. For me personally the Summer Fete had been a success, which was gratitude enough for the number of hours the committee and myself had put into this event.

My thanks goes to each and everyone of you who turned out to support this event, but in particular I would like to say a special thank you to the Summer Fete Committee members, those being Wendy Reeves, Debbie May, Beverley Grey, Nicola Ross and Karen Walter. Your help and support through the planning stages to the actual day was invaluable throughout, and you were all a pleasure to work with. So, thank you once again to everybody who worked so hard to ensure the day was a success.

Our last big social fundraising event for the school year was the Summer Party. As you may have realised, this year tickets sold slowly and at one point the event was in danger of cancellation. This would have been a terrible shame, but thanks to the PTA, and in particular Kim Pringle-Stacey, Amanda Howman and Dermot Woolliscroft, the evening proved to be a really excellent evening with lovely food and a great disco. So our sincerest thanks to the PTA for ensuring a very enjoyable and friendly event.

It goes without saying that these events would not be the success they are without your continued support. Your support means that the Society has again been able to support the life of the School through financial support. Funds raised from the Society have this year gone towards the following projects:

• Funds for further interactive whiteboards from which pupils from both Ridgeway and Claires Court have benefited from.
• Funds for the JOPA scheme - the Junior Outdoor Pursuits Award
• A donation of £10 000 for Sixth Form media.
• Equipment for the Fishing Club at Claires Court to accommodate new members with kit to a basic level.
• Sporting mannequins to assist in the coaching and development of sports such as football, rugby and cricket.
• A contribution (£2000) for a group of Year 13 students who during the summer travelled to South Africa to coach rugby to children in the impoverished areas around Cape Town.
• The sporting, academic and commemorative awards, which are awarded to the pupils for their achievements on days like speech days, sports days and prize giving days.

As you will recall at last years' AGM, we were given information on two projects that the Society could assist with during the 2007-08 academic year. For Ridgeway the new pool project and for Claires Court a new two storey drama centre and extended kitchen. Unfortunately both of these projects were met with problems. Sadly, we were unable to raise the funds required for the building of the new pool but despite having to close the door on this project until a later date, there were many people who put a lot of time and effort into this for which I would like to thank you.

The building developments for the proposed dining and arts block were put back due to complications with the floodplain. It meant for Claires Court radically revising their plans and until the Environment Agency agrees to these, CC are not able to finalise any proposals. However, if and when these projects require any funding I am sure the Society would be happy to make a donation.

I would like to finish my report by recognizing the fantastic group of parents and teachers we have on the Claires Court & Ridgeway Society Committee. Without their hard work and energy and determination none of the above would be possible. Our Committee has received tremendous support from our parents and teachers again this year and I would just like to thank James Wilding and his staff; Karen Rogg and her staff; the Society Officers and committee members; our class reps, the parents and a special thanks to the ladies in the School Offices. Their help and support each week is invaluable. The strong and well-established committee is very capable of continuing to rise to the challenges ahead in working towards the Constitution and fundraising objectives.

Finally, it has been a privilege to serve as Chair of this Society this year, and I look forward to chairing the Ridgeway Committee this academic year.

Thank you.

James thanked the Committee for their continued efforts and support.

Proposals for consideration at the Claires Court and Ridgeway Society.

This has been a difficult year for the Society, working as it has without a Treasurer. Whilst Mr Rogers in the Finance Department at College has been willing to step up to the mark and assist in the management of these arrangements, the situation remains unsatisfactory, and we are unable to provide updated accounts for this annual general meeting for the year 2007/8.

The reasons for these difficulties are as follows:

• It has been clear throughout the School's 48 years of existence that there exists within our parent community individuals willing to contribute in a variety of ways to the School's development, hence the existence of our Parent Teachers' Association, the Claires Court and Ridgeway Society. This provides a forum for views, a committee structure to ensure useful activities take place, and presentation annually to the parent body a report of the year's work including financial accounts. The Society follows the NCPTA model constitution and in addition is separately registered with the Charities Commission reg. no. 1052993. This membership provides valuable advice from the NCPTA, as well as insurance for the variety of Society activities and assists the Committee in bringing a level of authority to its work. In addition, we are able to claw back income tax for example paid on subscriptions.
• The Charity is required to have trustees, and the figurehead role of the Society, the President, is Phyllis Avery, a past parent and a professional who has made a distinguished contribution to English netball and to the wider sphere of Sport for which she was recently awarded an MBE. The vice-presidents are Brian and Laura Cullingford and Roger and Marsha Spanswick, and further trustees of the Society are Greg Clark and Lesley Williams. These positions were seen initially to be non-working posts, though in recent years the Charity Commission has directed that good governance would require the trustees to be furnished with complete professional paperwork at regular intervals through the year to ensure they could execute their trusteeships effectively. The correspondent to the Charity is that person who ensures paperwork is sent to the Commission at regular intervals, and in practice should be able to provide a sensible link between the working committee and the Trustees, currently managed by Rosemary Barker, a former parent, past chairman of the Society and now PA to the Principals. Recent resignations of Trustees have encouraged us to write to immediate former parents who have made a strong contribution to the Society/school community, and I am delighted to confirm that Tom and Karen McCormack are very willing to serve as working Trustees in order to promote further the effective working of the Society. We are also waiting to hear from a further set of parents who have also been invited to act as Trustees.

The following proposals have been discussed at the most recent Society Committee meeting, shared with the President, and agreed by both Karen Rogg and John Rayer, heads of the respective junior and senior schools. The ideas have also been discussed with our sister committee, the College PTA.

1. It is proposed that the President, Trustees, correspondent, Treasurer, Principals, Heads and representatives of the Society Committee meet formally three times a year to conduct the business of the Society, namely to ensure orderly accounting, the provision of information to the Charity Commission in a timely manner, and to review the on-going work of the Society to ensure it continues to comply with statute as well as meet its constitutional objectives. Let us call this the Main Board. Its scope is not to do too much of the regular PTA activity, but to focus on finance, constitutional, legal and charity issues.
2. It is further proposed that the Society delegates to two working Committees, one for Ridgeway (RY) and one for Claires Court (CC), the practical arrangements to be made to ensure events happen, current examples being the Fireworks (CC), Summer Fete (RY) and second hand uniform (both). As the Sixth Form largely works on the third site, that of College, it is suggested that a third working group be formed in principle, to ensure their needs and ideas may be taken forwards.
3. Mrs Rogg and Mr Rayer would then agree arrangements with their local Committee, may even meet together on occasion, but both committees would be able to work with their colleagues knowing that the formal requirements for the Society are being managed.
4. Because Committee members change relatively frequently, it is proposed that the bank signatories be those of employed staff within Claires Court School. In this way, appropriate dialogue can be had with auditors and banks to ensure the management of accounts and of their publication to members, whilst at the same time the individuals can be held to account for the timely nature of their actions. Mr Rogers is happy to act in this capacity and to act as treasurer to the Society Main board, and in a further member of staff could act as a co-signatory.
5. The Main Board Committee would of course be elected at each AGM, and in addition the working sub-committees, which would be able to establish their own Chairs, Secretaries and Treasurers to take forward work at the local level. I imagine that each committee would agree who would meet with the Main Board, as and when notified.

It is likely that the College PTA faces similar issues in the longer term though for the time being are well served by their Chairman, Treasurer and Trustees. These arrangements provide scope for the two PTAs to consider merger under a common banner, without jeopardising their operational independence but ensuring that the same finance, constitutional, legal and charity issues are covered.

Irrespective of the above, in order to ensure the accounts for the Society are managed effectively for the foreseeable future, it is proposed that Graham Rogers and one other member of the employed staff of Claires Court Schools become nominated bank signatories to ensure that an orderly return can be made to both members of the Society and to the Charity Commission.

Comments/Questions

Nikki Kelly asked that the counter signatories both come from the Committees, therefore Debbie May and Julia Lindley will retain that authority.

Election of officers for Ridgeway

The following officers stood for re-election:

• Chairman - Julia Lindley
• Vice chair - Wendy Reeves
• Secretary - Debbie May
• Charitable Donation Treasurer - Jackie Cremin

All of the above where proposed by John Rayer and seconded by Susan Payne.

Election of members - Ridgeway

The following members stood for re-election:

• Karen Walter,
• Nicola Ross,
• Beverley Grey,
• Seema Goyle.

New members:

• Nina Bennett,
• Una Lockery,
• Felipe Foy (Treasurer),
• Chris Basley

School representatives:

• Karen Rogg,
• Susan Payne.

Committee Members that have stood down:
None.

Election of members for Claires Court

New members:

• Patrica Black,
• Debra Townsend,
• Nikki Kelly,
• Lyn Leuzinger,
• Jean Kingsley,
• Ann Crawshaw
• and Donald Issacu.

Main Board members

Julia Lindley and Debbie May to join the 'joint' main board.

Future Projects

On completion of the reconciliation of funds, projects will be discussed at a local level.

AOB

Eileen Goford - Thanked the Committee for their continuing support, with the numerous Chess Tournaments.

Presentation from Mike Hudson:

Back in the new year of 2008, Mr Warren Abrahams, a Games teacher at Claires Court approached James Wilding with a proposal to take some budding Sixth Form rugby players to South Africa for a unique opportunity. They were given the chance to become coaches, and teach rugby to underprivileged children in and around Cape Town. Being the first overseas tour since the death of Mr David Course last year, it was seen as a fitting tribute to a man who was dedicated to spreading the values embodied in the game of rugby union.

As the idea developed, preparation began in earnest. Some outstanding fundraising, particularly a lot of hard work from the boys' parents, as well as the boys themselves undertaking RFU coaching qualifications, meant that by late July, all was ready.

Arriving in Cape Town and witnessing early on the differences between South Africa and home, it was obvious to the boys and to me that we were going to experience a great deal on this trip. The boys were working for the Durban Ville Rugby Development Project, aimed at supporting Rugby Development in some of the poorest areas and schools on the deprived outskirts of Cape Town. The schools selected were almost exclusively black and coloured in their make-up, reflecting the pervading divide that still exists within the country.

Our first visit to a coloured farm school was a real eye opener. The young pupils took part enthusiastically, despite the fact that they had no kit or even boots to change into. They wore full school uniform, and wellies to play in - some had school shoes without even having laces. Furthermore, their pitch was nothing more than a dustbowl, simply a patch of playground with some grass scattered around. There were no lines, no posts, nothing. It was a stark introduction to the realities faced by the poorest in the country. Other schools simply had a concrete playground to use as a makeshift pitch - incredibly, playing in bare feet.

We were treated like heroes in many schools, visiting classrooms and being mistaken by many pupils as foreign rugby stars. When asked for autographs, the boys were only too happy to oblige. The boys' coaching skills were a pleasure to watch develop, and by the end of the trip I was thoroughly impressed with the confidence and expertise with which they carried out their duties.

The boys spent almost every day working alongside some of the most disadvantaged young children of Cape Town. We did manage to find time to visit the popular tourist destinations too, including Table Mountain, with the world famous Newlands Rugby Stadium beneath it, and Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.

However, probably the most memorable visit was to the Khayalitsha Township, where houses are no more than shacks; tin sheds with the most basic conditions imaginable. Thousands upon thousands of these homes are crammed in together to create a vast shantytown which incredibly stretches for miles. Visiting these people and seeing the warmth they were happy to extend to us was a humbling experience.

We were also able to sample a local delicacy of a sheep's head, happily shared out amongst the boys who as ever were trying to keep their protein levels up.

We were looked after fantastically well, both by the schools and our hosts at Durbanville Rugby Club. Food was in plentiful supply, with our hosts laying on braai - South African bbqs - with vast steaks which the boys obviously loved. We were welcomed warmly by the local people, and treated brilliantly.

One aspect which would be easy to skirt around is the fact that we did occasionally encounter some negativity from the Afrikaaner population. Some simply could not see the point of us coming all the way over from the UK to coach black and coloured children. In the words of one man "These black children are never going to achieve anything". Well, the boys were disappointed at occasional comments and attitudes like these, and I was incredibly proud when I heard them respond passionately about just what exactly the point of our trip was. The schools we were assisting receive no funding or support from the South African Rugby Union, nor the Western Province Rugby Union; despite the end of apartheid many things have remained as they were. Attitudes of the people themselves will take generations to change. The boys fought for what they thought was right, justifying themselves with authority, compassion and yet with politeness to those who questioned them.

It was at this point that I realised how important this trip was. Seeing the faces of the schoolchildren when we delivered t-shirts and rugby balls to them only reinforced this. Handing over a cheque for £1000 from the David Course Foundation to provide a lasting legacy for the Development Project was a proud moment for us all. I would like to thank the Claires Court and Ridgeway Society for their generous contribution and great support of the trip. Also much-appreciated were the donations from the girls at the College while the boys were fundraising - particularly the vast purchases of cakes at the Cake Sale!

The Sixth Form boys themselves gained a huge amount, personally and collectively, and it would be hard not to overestimate how much the trip changed them. They were simply outstanding ambassadors for the school and their families, and I know that a certain David Course would have been immensely proud.

There being no further business, the meeting closed at 8.15 pm and adjourned to the mezzanine of the Sports Hall for presentation of the Society Plaque to the Year 13 South African Rugby Tour.