School Prospectus

Anything that doesn't fit anywhere else, but that's still CH related.

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wurzel
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by wurzel »

i got a copy of the prospectus and was pretty peed off to but it mildly - after all the hassle we had last year when we were basically told although our son met the educational level for competitive entry there were others in more need (and learning support thought he would be a handful due to his personality/lack of social skills compared with amazing maths). Now whilst I have no issue with him not getting a place if others need it more based on social/educational need etc etc it seems more and more it was actually as the school needs to get more full fee payers in.

We hade given up on the idea of putting daughter through CH as even with the generous scholarship/bursary he has been given by Wells Cathedral School (head Mrs Caincross and he is one of their first 4 new specialist maths scheme scholars) we have 0 spare money and also can not go through the months of hassle and heartache again - we had told ch admisisons this and had managed to console a 10 year old who sees her brother going off to what is a great school (which he needs due to the maths) whilst she will likely end up at the local not brilliant comp.

Now she has seen the big shiny brochure again and we have to deal with a grumpy / sulky "life's not fair" girl again. As CH admission specifically knew of our decision not to attempt entry and the reasons for it (i explained when we got yet another invite ot an open day) I actually think sending out the brochure was at best thoughtless and at worst cruel !!!!!!!!!!!!!
eucsgmrc
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by eucsgmrc »

ActionMan wrote:And have you noticed the carefully photo-shopped pics which add to the rosy glow? In particular though, have a look at the aerial shot which shows that Col A has mysteriously grown an extra entrance porch tower!
Thank goodness somebody else has noticed this bizarre photograph. I was beginning to wonder whether my memory is altogether scrambled: I thought I knew the relative sizes of the various buildings, and what buildings stood where on the site, but everything in the picture is weirdly displaced and swollen or shrunk as if in some substance-induced dream. Very disturbing.
John Wexler
Col A 1954-62
Foureyes
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by Foureyes »

Wurzel,
I note that you live in Reading. Did you try West's Gift for entry for either or both of your children?
David :shock:
wurzel
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by wurzel »

David - thanks but i may live in greater Reading but not under the old boundaries so with all the people in Reading, Newbury and twickenham ahead of any "contiguous areas" there was no hope, also West gifts is just another presentation, it makes getting a place easier but not the fees you pay (unless things have changed) so it makes no difference for daughter, as for son he is now settled at Wells Cathedral School and being in a class of just 4 for the specialist maths scheme (which is an extra 4 lessons a week outside the core curriculum doing enrichment activities) he is getting the close supervision he needs to sort his approach out.
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DavebytheSea
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by DavebytheSea »

I can see why the prospectus is of concern to many of us Old Blues who are totally committed to the founding principles of Housey. Maybe it is a marketing exercise directed at the privileged and wealthy. But let us pause and reflect for a moment; if attracting a higher proportion of full fee-payers enables us to retain the same total number of children in need as hitherto, is this not something to be thankful for?

Christ's Hospital has for several centuries attracted pupils from all walks of life - we have provided education, board and bread for the occasional noble scion as well as for the needy. Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of CH is the social mix, and I for one would not wish it otherwise.

We have for some years been bombarded with doom and gloom about the financial resources of the school - a shrinking endowment generating reducing income because of low interest rates, colossal expenditure necessitated by the demands of health and safety and the need to give children greater privacy in the modern world etc. etc. Those of us who attended Old Blues Day this year will have heard little of this - instead, the Headmaster spoke with great optimism and assurance about the future. His commitment to the founding principles of our school was firmly stated in a way that has not been so clearly enunciated of late and if he took pride also in the academic achievements of his pupils and their obvious care and concern for each other, I cannot see anything wrong with that.

Finally, having served my allotted two terms, I have stood down from the CHOBA Board. I am told I was the first "elected" member and I know I have been something of a maverick, more than once taking issue with those who seemed happy to "go with the flow" when difficult decisions were being made concerning the governance of the school and the role that CHOBA should play in it. CHOBA has an important role to play in the welfare of the school and its pupils - it is our official voice as Old Blues, and I believe we are, and should remain, an essential part of the Christ's Hospital community. We have come a long way since the CH Club morphed into the CHA and thence into CHOBA, but we have still a long way to go.

There is no place for any "a**e lickers" on the CHOBA Board; like John Hopgood (see above), I don't believe we have ever had any! Indeed, it is my heartfelt belief and hope that the Old Blue community should keep a firm hold of the Association and assert its ownership of it. If this means a more direct involvement by Old Blues in the election of Board Members and transparency of its affairs (financial and otherwise) then I would welcome it. I would urge any of you who might be contemplating how you can best serve CH, to consider seeking election to the Board, and continue to move it forward to a position where it provides ever stronger support to the school and continues to seek new ways to bind Old Blues in a firm brotherhood (and sisterhood) as envisaged in the school motto. To serve in this way, is one way of fulfilling our commitment to the Charge. It is a way I have found both instructive and satisfying. Now, however, I must stand down; it is right to make way for others so that the Board will never stagnate; it must always move forward to meet the changing needs of Christ's Hospital as we move forward towards the sixth century of this great institution to which we all owe so much.
David Eastburn (Prep B and Mid A 1947-55)
DavidRawlins
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by DavidRawlins »

Apparently the prospectus was aimed at prospective full fee paying parents (and pupils). This explains it's content.
Col A 1946-1953
CHDad
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by CHDad »

I have it on good authority that is correct, the prospectus is definitely aimed primarily at full fee payers.

I couldn't agree more with Dave by the sea, the school is using the money from full fee payers to fund the deficit, this enables them to carry on helping many hundreds of less well off pupils each year. The measures that the school is taking now should mean the school will still be true to it's founding principles for generations to come.
Katharine
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by Katharine »

I wish I had been told in the covering letter that the prospectus was intended for future full fee payers. I may have looked at it differently.

If you read my opening post, the point I made there was that The School like no other appeared to be like no other simply because it has a funny uniform, rather than its origins. I can see that when trying to chase full fee payers you might want to play down the charitable foundation - I'm not saying that I agree with playing it down.

It should have been possible to have had different covering letters for different recipients, eg tell all the OBs that this prospectus is intended for this purpose, please help us recruit more full fee payers so that we can continue helping those in need.
Katharine Dobson (Hills) 6.14, 1959 - 1965
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J.R.
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by J.R. »

DavebytheSea wrote:I can see why the prospectus is of concern to many of us Old Blues who are totally committed to the founding principles of Housey. Maybe it is a marketing exercise directed at the privileged and wealthy. But let us pause and reflect for a moment; if attracting a higher proportion of full fee-payers enables us to retain the same total number of children in need as hitherto, is this not something to be thankful for?

Christ's Hospital has for several centuries attracted pupils from all walks of life - we have provided education, board and bread for the occasional noble scion as well as for the needy. Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of CH is the social mix, and I for one would not wish it otherwise.

We have for some years been bombarded with doom and gloom about the financial resources of the school - a shrinking endowment generating reducing income because of low interest rates, colossal expenditure necessitated by the demands of health and safety and the need to give children greater privacy in the modern world etc. etc. Those of us who attended Old Blues Day this year will have heard little of this - instead, the Headmaster spoke with great optimism and assurance about the future. His commitment to the founding principles of our school was firmly stated in a way that has not been so clearly enunciated of late and if he took pride also in the academic achievements of his pupils and their obvious care and concern for each other, I cannot see anything wrong with that.

Finally, having served my allotted two terms, I have stood down from the CHOBA Board. I am told I was the first "elected" member and I know I have been something of a maverick, more than once taking issue with those who seemed happy to "go with the flow" when difficult decisions were being made concerning the governance of the school and the role that CHOBA should play in it. CHOBA has an important role to play in the welfare of the school and its pupils - it is our official voice as Old Blues, and I believe we are, and should remain, an essential part of the Christ's Hospital community. We have come a long way since the CH Club morphed into the CHA and thence into CHOBA, but we have still a long way to go.

There is no place for any "a**e lickers" on the CHOBA Board; like John Hopgood (see above), I don't believe we have ever had any! Indeed, it is my heartfelt belief and hope that the Old Blue community should keep a firm hold of the Association and assert its ownership of it. If this means a more direct involvement by Old Blues in the election of Board Members and transparency of its affairs (financial and otherwise) then I would welcome it. I would urge any of you who might be contemplating how you can best serve CH, to consider seeking election to the Board, and continue to move it forward to a position where it provides ever stronger support to the school and continues to seek new ways to bind Old Blues in a firm brotherhood (and sisterhood) as envisaged in the school motto. To serve in this way, is one way of fulfilling our commitment to the Charge. It is a way I have found both instructive and satisfying. Now, however, I must stand down; it is right to make way for others so that the Board will never stagnate; it must always move forward to meet the changing needs of Christ's Hospital as we move forward towards the sixth century of this great institution to which we all owe so much.

Nice to see you back posting, DBTS.

I totally agree with your post.
John Rutley. Prep B & Coleridge B. 1958-1963.
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DavebytheSea
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by DavebytheSea »

Thanks - now the weight of responsibility is lifted. :)
David Eastburn (Prep B and Mid A 1947-55)
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by kerrensimmonds »

Well done David. I am just amazed that the school 'wasted' what must have been an Awful Lot of Money on printing and then posting the glossy magazine (sorry, prospectus) to zillions of Old Blues who would not be in a position to put forward full fee paying pupils - either from the UK, or from Europe/Asia, or day pupils - which are the categories at which this publication is focussed.
Kerren Simmonds
5's and 2's Hertford, 1957-1966
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DavebytheSea
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by DavebytheSea »

... but Old Blues have the happy knack of knowing the right people. I think like bread upon the waters it may return a thousandfold. As all advertisers know it is difficult to get the target right. The knack is getting enough into the right place and this means casting the net widely. (I think I have multi-mixed metaphors here.) Too narrow a circulation gives you a higher unit cost and means that you miss those not already known to you - you are merely informing those who you have told already.
.
David Eastburn (Prep B and Mid A 1947-55)
kerrensimmonds
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by kerrensimmonds »

David... I don't know ANYONE to whom I could have usefully passed my glossy magazine. Am I that unusual....????
Kerren Simmonds
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michael scuffil
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by michael scuffil »

I have always been unhappy about 'full fee payers' as usually understood, but when I think about it, I was one too, in the sense that the school got the full fees from my local authority. Local authorities don't do this anymore, which is part of the problem. Rather than chasing after rich kids, though, I wonder whether the school shouldn't be looking for private sponsors to replace the LEAs.
Th.B. 27 1955-63
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Richard Ruck
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Re: School Prospectus

Post by Richard Ruck »

kerrensimmonds wrote:Well done David. I am just amazed that the school 'wasted' what must have been an Awful Lot of Money on printing and then posting the glossy magazine (sorry, prospectus) to zillions of Old Blues who would not be in a position to put forward full fee paying pupils - either from the UK, or from Europe/Asia, or day pupils - which are the categories at which this publication is focussed.
I agree, Kerren. An e-mail stating the school's position, with a link to the prospectus and a request for help in spreading the word, together with an offer to send printed copies if and when appropriate might seemed more suitable under the circumstances. I know that an e-mail is not as attention-grabbing as a big glossy prospectus, but it might have prevented any unwanted impressions of profligacy.
Ba.A / Mid. B 1972 - 1978

Thee's got'n where thee cassn't back'n, hassn't?
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