I was delighted by the success of this year’s supper and thank John Clayton and Graham Belson for all their hard work. Having moved last year to a “buffet style” we refined and developed it this year and all the feedback I have had was very positive.
The Society is moving forward: our membership drive via the dropping of the membership subscription and maximising the use of electronic communication is certainly paying off. Membership at well over 700 now is something to be proud of.
Those who were at the supper heard the Headmaster lamenting the Government’s education funding policies which will mitigate against schools like MGS with large post-16 cohorts (i.e. sixth forms). How ironical that a bastion of English educational tradition which was (in the main) well funded under a supposedly antagonistic Labour government should be stripped bare of essential funding by a coalition of the centre-right. The Society is writing to the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, to express its bitter disappointment and to urge a change of heart.
Meantime your Committee are working hard to assist students at the school in some small way financially by reinvigorating the Awards scheme. A re-launch will happen later this school year (summer term) and you may be asked to see if you can contribute in whatever small way. Keep an eye on the website and elsewhere in this newsletter. I hope we can all respond to this call to financial arms for the good of Maidstonians all.
Richard Ratcliffe
Committee Chairman
April 10th 2011