Westminster School

Westminster School THE COLLEGE SOCIETY Minutes of the seventeenth and eighteenth AGMs held on Wednesday 30th September 2015 at 7:15pm in the Lecture Room

1. Apologies – James Fulton

2. Minutes of the AGM held on Thursday 26th September 2013 were accepted as correct. There were no matters arising.

3. Report and Accounts of the Committee for 2013/2014 and 2014/15:

a. The Chairman apologised for the lack of an AGM in 2014. This had in part been due to the School’s current policy of only allowing biennial dinners in College Hall, and the consequent lack of an event to tie an AGM to. The Chairman reported that the dinner policy, introduced to encourage an equal distribution of dinners among the house societies, had not led to the intended results, with only three other dinners having been held in the previous two years, and a further dinner having been cancelled owing to the low number of prospective guests. The Chairman explained that the committee had invited the new Headmaster to the evening’s dinner, but that the Headmaster had sent his regrets. The Chairman had expressed a hope that the Committee would not have to wait another two years to repeat the invitation!

b. The Chairman reported that the Committee was trying to arrange the first annual lecture given by a College alumna. The previous Society lecture, by Jonathan Katz, had been a great success, and the Committee was keen to try to provide a comparable speaker. Aside from the short-list of female speakers that was the Committee’s current focus, there was a longer list of male candidates that could be approached if needed. It was anticipated that the lecture event would take place in mid to late April 2016.

c. The Chairman informed the meeting that the Committee was planning to arrange an event in Westminster Abbey in the second half of 2016, possibly a poetry reading, followed by drinks and canapes in the Camden Room, and then an informal dinner on Victoria Street for those who would like to continue the evening’s festivities.

d. The Chairman requested that members continue to support the College Newsletter and to send in their literary contributions to the Master of the Queen’s Scholars. Further, the Chairman encouraged members to continue to contribute to the College Society financially, and asked any non-members to consider filling in standing order forms so that the Society could continue to support former and current members of College. The Chairman explained that the Society had previously received funds through the non-refund of gown deposits, however since 2009 this practice had ceased and no alternative funding mechanism had as yet been put in place.

e. The Chairman explained that the main purpose of the College Society was to support former and current members of College. To that end, the Society can give travel grants or grants for other worthwhile purposes to current members of College, and will be publicising this further with the help of the Master. The Chairman reported that the Committee had recently made an award of £300 to Shalaka Bapat, who was spending her gap year volunteering in Central and South America, in order to assist her with intensive Spanish lessons.

f. The Chairman announced that there was to be some reorganisation of the current Committee. The Chairman thanked Charles Low, who as secretary of the Committee had efficiently performed almost every task apart from those normally undertaken by a secretary. Fortunately for the Society, Charles would continue to be a member of the Committee and would continue to impart all of his learning and wisdom to members of younger generation.

g. The Chairman also gave thanks to Jeremy Burnett Rae, who had announced that he was stepping down from the Committee, having been a founder member, and the draftsman of the Society’s constitution.

h. The Treasurer reported on the College Society accounts. The bank balance stood at £7460.52 compared to £7492.55 at the last AGM. The Treasurer also noted that for the first time attendees had been able to pay on-line for tickets to the biennial dinner, which had been a successful innovation.

4. Election of Chairman for 2015/16 – the Chairman, Duncan Matthews, was elected unanimously.

5. Election of other Honorary Officers for 2015/16 – the following were elected unanimously: Arda Eghiayan (Secretary) and Andrew Havery (Treasurer)

6. Election of Committee members for 2015/16 – the following were elected unanimously: Jonathan Katz, Oliver Gillie, James Fulton, Joe Suddaby and Oliver Rubens.

The meeting closed at 7:35pm.