Concordia
Merchant Taylors’ School
Development:
Deadlines for Concordia articles
seem to come around extremely quickly.
I can scarcely believe that six months
have passed since the last. I am pleased
to report that a lot of exciting projects are
now underway, keeping the Development
Office extremely busy.
New database and website
The move to the new database will
change significantly the way we operate.
It is a far more powerful system that will
enable us, as a community, to communicate
far more effectively. You will be able to log
into the school’s website and make use of
a number of services there. This will also
be the site of the new Careers Directory.
There will be a search function for you to
track down old friends and contemporaries.
Registration and payment for events will be
possible through the website, with tickets
issued via email. Online giving will now be
possible; we are always overwhelmed by the
generosity of OMTs and parents towards
the school. In the past, this has involved
writing cheques and filling in donations
forms – these options will remain, but
there will be now also be the option to give
securely through the website.
Update your details
Many of you will have received an email
fromme inMarch asking you to follow a
link to complete an online form to update
your details. Those who didn’t should have
received a hard copy through the post. As
well as improving the data that we hold
about you, we asked a number of questions
about the types of events that you would
like to see us run and your preferences for
the way in which we communicate with you.
Once we have gone through the process of
uploading that information to the database,
we will respond accordingly. I have been
delighted by the level of response we have
had and am very grateful to those who
completed the form.
Careers
One of the questions on the update form
was whether youwould be prepared to
helpMerchant Taylors’ boys andOMTs by
offering careers advice or work experience. It
was heartening to see that somany of you are
happy to help. It is our hope that in future, our
careers andmentoring scheme will mirror the
systemof tutor groups atMTS, where there is
a systemof guidance, help and support that
trickles down through the generations. I will
be in touchwith everyone who responded
to offer careers guidance soon. Youwill be
issuedwith login credentials to the website
mentioned above, where youwill be able to
check, amend, or expand upon, the details
that will appear in the Careers Directory
before its launch in September.
Networking events and reunions
The City Network event run in February
was a fantastic start to what I hope will
become an annual fixture in the calendar.
The aim is to offer something similar for
other professions. We began with the City,
but we certainly won’t end there. By getting
in touch with us to let us know about
your current role and what sort of events
you would like us to run, you will make
this possible. In addition to employment-
related events, we will soon be launching a
programme of rolling year group reunions,
giving all OMTs an opportunity to return to
Sandy Lodge to catch up with old friends, to
reminisce and to see the new developments
to the school.
Fundraising
Fundraising for our Campaign for
Bursaries continues apace. We have been
delighted by the number of donations and
the generosity that parents andOMTs have
shown. InDecember 2012 we held our first
Benefactors’ Day. Benefactors were invited
back for lunch with the HeadMaster and also
had the option of a tour of the school from
members of our current Upper Sixth, or to
watch the a rugbymatch between this year’s
and last year’s 1st XV. It was a wonderful
occasion and one that will be repeated
annually for those that have supported in
any given year. A separate annual event
will also take place for members of our 1561
Foundation – those who have left a legacy to
the school. Our campaign is taking place at
a tough economic time and competes with
many extremely worthy charitable causes,
so we are very grateful for your support. We
aremaking a very real difference to lives
by supporting bursaries, breaking down
barriers to the wonderful opportunities that
aMerchant Taylors’ School education offers.
This summer the school will be running its
first telephone campaign: over a two week
period, current boys and youngOMTs will
be telephoningOMTs and parents. Some
will be asked to support the campaign;
others’ views will be sought on the range of
initiatives we are running. We hope it will
be a great success and that those called will
enjoy the experience.
Development Director’s Update
Contact
Please do stay in touch with us.
Keep us updated on where you are
and what you’re up to. Whether that is:
just to ensure you continue to receive
Concordia; to include an update in
Class Notes; to join our growing group
of careers advisors; or whether you
would just like to come to visit and have
a tour of the school. It is always good
to hear from you. I can be reached at
or 01923 845545. I
look forward to hearing from you.
