Why Should I…
Why should I give money to the School?
I realise in setting up the Development Fund that I am undertaking one of the least popular tasks that fall to the Principal of a school. In advising Governors of the necessity to initiate some fund-raising for the new school I am aware of a colleague, the Headmaster of Bradford Grammar, who is adamant that the first three years of any appeal for a school is characterised by resentment. Having been battered by requests from my own school, university college and schools in which I have formerly worked, believe me, I know the feeling. With the Development Fund I have tried to warn people of its advent for the last few years (the resentment period), so that when we really need the funds to flow there will be a general understanding that we are not asking for this money lightly or frivolously, it is really needed.
“What for?” is the first legitimate question. To understand that, you need to understand two things. The first is that with the amalgamation of Londonderry High School and Foyle College the sum of the two parts was greater than the requirements of the pupils then and now. Two Assembly Halls, two gymnasia, two Headmaster’s offices! Such over-provision was unintended but rather luxurious for all of those who have enjoyed the benefits since 1976. Clearly the accommodation in the new school will be better, easily maintained, technologically advanced but, crucially, not bigger. Indeed, the real issue for staff in the past few months is how much smaller? The Department of Education in NI has its own guidelines for the size and the make up of school accommodation which are not particularly flexible. The idea is that all schools get the same, no one school is favoured above others in what tax-payers’ money provides, and perfectly good schools are built under these guidelines. There is no escaping, however, that this is the Lowest Common Denominator approach to building. We want something special for Foyle and that means extra money.
If you were to ask, “What do we want?” the priorities are:-
1 Teaching bases for all staff.
2 Specialist room provision to reflect the school’s strengths e.g., Geology and Business Studies.
3 Enhanced Music facilities to develop the considerable talent which pupils show in this area.
4 Performance facilities to match the profile of the school in the Music and Drama life of the City going back many years.
5 Sports facilities to reflect the high standards which Foyle teams have exhibited in a range of activities.
If I can make a more detailed example of this last category, say ’sport’, and people automatically think of rugby, cricket and hockey. If these are the traditional school sports and those, therefore, that would be cateredfor in the Department’s planning, the minimalist approach is obvious when we make the simple point; New Foyle will have three rugby pitches, at present we have seven, one hockey pitch, as opposed to two at present, one cricket square as opposed to the two (one artificial) that we have now. Why so? Because the acreage of the new school, as provided for in the DENI guidelines, is just over half that of the present school. And what about those other areas of activity which help make Foyle special, such as fencing, shooting and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme? Nearly sixty pupils fence, many at national standard for their age group; over one hundred and twenty are in the Combined Cadet Force and nearly one hundred and sixty are doing badges in the DoE. The Sports’ Hall at Duncreggan houses fencing, but it was provided by appeal nearly thirty years ago, it is not a Department of Education facility. The base for cadets is currently the rifle range, but shooting will not be catered for in future unless we do it ourselves. As for the award scheme, Foyle is somewhat unique, in that Gold Expeditions in recent years have taken place in canoes, on bicycles and even on horseback. Storage for canoes and other equipment, including dehumidifiers, is in use nearly every day. There is no provision in the square meterage allowed to new-build schools, to match what we are leaving behind. We need to finance all this ourselves.
“Easy,” some people say, “just sell off the land and you’ll have plenty of money.” Sadly, not so. First, the land value is not determined by the market, but by the Valuation and Land Agency in line with the zoning for certain types of use. Recreation space, for instance, is valued at a much lower level than that for building. Secondly, all of the proceeds of the land sale are subject to Department clawback. The logic is that the Department are funding the new school, so they are entitled to claw back some of that money from the Foyle lands that are disposed of. So land sales will not help the new school.
People often imagine that Foyle is a rich school. Again, not so. Successive Finance Committees and Bursars have kept the school in good financial shape, but especially in recent years there has been no ‘fat’. All of which brings us back to the difference you can make. We estimate that we need at least a million pounds to make the new school the special place that will truly benefit future generations of pupils in the way you gained benefit in the past. The new school will be our home at the time of our Four Hundredth Anniversary of Foundation - only the fourth home since our beginnings in Society Street. It is a proud record of consistency and excellence which must not be dissipated by a sub-standard building put up on the cheap. Indeed, in one important respect, I want the new school to go beyond anything provided for in the past. We are looking to create an Archive for the school to bring together all of those documents and images that have never had a home in the school. The legacy we will leave for those who come after us, will not only be a fine public building, but its contents and its ethos.
Our architects, Isherwood and Ellis, fully share our ambition to create a fine public building, but the budget provided by the government cannot be expected to make that new school stand out. Since he was redeemed in the 1940s, generations of pupils have passed by the statue of Lord Lawrence. To keep him in his place for future generations, we need money to set up his plinth. Don’t stand back and expect others to do the needful, help us with your contribution, be it ever so small. We are now making our major effort for the Development Fund.
The schedule ahead of us is ambitious. We want to be in the new school in September 2011. The bulk of the design work will take place in 2008, and the architects need to know how much leeway they have in terms of cost to enhance this building. Now is the time to make your presence felt. All the information is contained with this magazine. If you want to know more, contact me or William Lynn, or Neil Stewart at the school.