Concordia

Concordia Winter 2018 21 Concordia Winter 2018 20 Development Merchant Taylors’ clubs and societies fund l t Development I n addition to the support we receive for bursaries and other designated projects at Merchant Taylors’ School, many of our benefactors choose to leave the decision of where to direct their support to the Head Master. With a small portion of that funding, for the last two years we have supported the initiatives of the boys through the Clubs and Societies Fund. This scheme allows the boys to bid for support for equipment or projects their clubs or societies would like to undertake, but do not have a budget for. They can bid for up to £5,000 each, and these bids are reviewed by a committee made up of boys, staff, OMTs and parents, who decide which projects they feel are most worthy of support. In 2018 we have supported a really diverse range of exciting initiatives that the boys are now enjoying. To develop our outdoor education programme, we funded a fleet of mountain bikes as well as watersports equipment for kitesurfing. The Senior Geography Society received a grant for an augmented reality sandbox which will become one of the centrepieces of the new geography building when it opens in 2019. Describing what the iSandbox can do on paper is not easy – a tour of the new building at the official opening on 2nd March is recommended (see forthcoming events on page 24); failing that a visit to YouTube (search for iSandbox) will show you some of the exciting ways it will bring geography to life for the boys in the classroom. The Equestrian Club – horse-riding is now a popular games option – received a grant to support two competitions during the year: one internal and one against other schools. Both of these were a huge success. Phab Club were also beneficiaries, receiving funding for a karaoke machine and various giant-sized games. It also paid for our pupils to be trained in Makaton, and in how to run a charitable organisation. As Phab Club receives no funding apart from a very small attendance fee which goes towards food for the guests, support from the Merchant Taylors’ Fund has made a real difference to what our Divisions and Fifth Form boys are able to offer their guests on a Friday afternoon. A group of boys were awarded a grant that enabled them to establish a new club for robotics. They bought a kit and entered a competition that involved building a working robot. We look forward to reviewing the next round of bids from the boys and then seeing these projects come to life in early-2019. Merchant Taylors’ Community – Thank you for your support W hen many institutions consider how successful their Development programmes are, they look at two things: how much did we raise this year, and how many people gave? This would be a rather reductive measure of all that goes on in the Merchant Taylors’ community in support of the school, its pupils and fellow OMTs. Of course, raising money to support projects like the bursary scheme, opening access to this wonderful school, is hugely important and we are delighted that so many OMTs and parents do support the school by making donations. However, in the last year, in addition, as many as 169 OMTs have given their time to help our current pupils with our careers programme, as well as helping their fellow OMTs through our online careers directory – mentoring or advising those who get in touch – and many other OMTs have supported our events programme. Over the course of 2017/18, 20% of our OMTs gave their time or supported financially, which we think is a fantastic level of engagement, and a far better measure of the impact that OMTs have on the Merchant Taylors’ community. The telephone campaign is a wonderful time to see this generosity of spirit in action. Over a two week period in the summer, OMTs were called by fellow (younger!) OMTs to talk about the school and all these ways of getting and remaining involved. 30% of those we spoke to made a donation to the Merchant Taylors’ Fund, giving a total of £100,000, which is an amazing level of warmth and generosity. A huge number also added their names to the list of OMTs in the online careers directory, or offered support for our current boys. We were also able to talk to them about forthcoming events and understand more about what sorts of things we don’t currently do that people might like to see. Our team of callers were the beneficiaries of a solid two weeks of careers advice too, so it was a great experience for them; a number lined up work experience placements as a result! We are so grateful that so many of you got involved this year, and we hope that many more will join in with the Merchant Taylors’ community in 2019.