Governors’ Report2018-19

I am delighted to present the annual Governors’ Report. This covers the 2018-19 year and aims to report clearly the facts and figures of the past year for the School’s stakeholders.

In 2018/19 the School welcomed its 28th Headmaster, Mr Leo Winkley, who, along with his wife and family, enjoyed a very successful first year.

In May 2019 we welcomed pupils, staff, parents and the wider community from Packwood Haugh School into the Shrewsbury family of schools, reinforcing the strong ties already held with Packwood.

We have also seen the formal opening of two new Shrewsbury international schools, City Campus in Bangkok, for children aged 3-11 and Shrewsbury International Hong Kong, also for children aged 3-11.

I am pleased to report that the school is thriving, and we are in very good shape to meet the various challenges of the future and retain our focus on providing a diverse, challenging and supportive educational experience for all the pupils in our care.

Tim HaynesChairman of the Governing Body

Introduction

2

Pupils at Shrewsbury School once again achieved a strong set of A Level examination results in Summer 2019 in the context of the new, more robust and fully linear A-Level landscape.

A total of 44% of all A-Level and Pre-U papers were graded at A* or A, and over 73% of all grades were A* to B level, meaning that pupils are now poised to take up places at leading higher education institutions. Nine pupils achieved a clean sweep of A* grades and a total of 37 achieved an A* or A in every subject. Successes came right across the curriculum – with pupils demonstrating their ability skilfully to combine breadth and excellence across all disciplines.

65% of all GCSE papers sat by the Fifth Form pupils were graded at A or A*. 26 individual pupils achieved a clear sweep of A* or A grades of these, nine produced an immaculate set of top performances. 82 pupils gained at least one of the new, coveted grade 9s.

Educational Achievements and University Entrants

3

2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014

A-Level (A*, A + B) 73% 80% 79% 79% 86% 83%

GCSE (A* + A) 65% 66% 66% 71% 64% 65%

School Prizewinners, Speech Day 2019

Beyond the core academic curriculum, in 2018-19 our pupils once again distinguished themselves in a range of academic competitions from Olympiads in the sciences through to exceptional performances at national Model United Nations meetings.

• Fourteen Upper Sixth biologists took part in the first round of this year’s Biology Olympiad, organised by the Royal Society of Biology. They achieved outstanding results, winning four gold medals, three silver medals and one bronze medal with a further three pupils highly commended. The Lower Sixth, competing at the intermediate level, also acquitted themselves very well indeed – picking up four gold medals, two silvers, seven bronzes and a highly commended.

• Pupils also did very well indeed in the British Mathematic Olympiad. The twelve competitors accumulated two distinctions and five merits – a very laudable achievement.

• The Chemistry Olympiad also went well for us, with six gold medals, seven silver medals and seven bronze medals gained by 24 participants in what is recognised to be an exceptionally challenging competition.

• Eight pupils entered the Physics and Astro-Physics Olympiads and achieved remarkable success, with seven medals and a commendation awarded overall.

• The Geography Faculty were able to celebrate recognition with one of their pupils being awarded a certificate for achieving the highest mark in the country at Pre-U – similar successes at GCSE level were reported by English and German.

4

Richard Hillary Essay Prizewinners with Air Marshal Sir Michael Simmons, one of the founders of the competition, and author Graham Hoyland, who judged the competition

Chemistry Olympiad gold medal winners Tony Wan, Peter Yang, Adam Pattenden, Veronica Munday, Jenny Xu (Chris Wong is not pictured)

The tables below analyse the destinations and subject choice of our 2019 leavers, where the information is available. A number of pupils apply to university after A-Levels.

The list below shows university and college destinations chosen by two or more of the 2019 leavers:

5

The distribution of degree subjects remains wide and generally consistent with previous years.

Bath 4 New York University, USA 2

Bristol 11 Manchester 3

Cardiff 3 Newcastle Upon Tyne 16

Durham 11 Nottingham 6

Edinburgh 7 Oxford 10

Exeter 14 Oxford Brookes 13

Falmouth 2 Reading 5

Liverpool 3

London: Imperial College 6

London: LSE 2

London: UCL 4

Loughborough 3

This section focuses on the major sporting, musical and theatrical events, giving a flavour of some of the many activities during 2018-19.

Activities

Combined Cadet Force:• Two cadets gained places on the prestigious CLAC (Canadian Leadership and Challenge Course), spending six weeks in Canada over the summer break.• The Royal Marines section won two stands at the national Pringle Trophy (endurance race and leadership stand).

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award:• Fifteen Bronze completions• Nine Gold completions

Drama:• Critically acclaimed Edinburgh production of ‘The Drowned Bride’, continuing a 25-year tradition of home-grown Shrewsbury musicals at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Music • First Shrewsbury School Music Tour to Hong Kong• 10 pupils took ABRSM Grade 8• Cadogan Hall Concert in London performed by well over 100 pupils in orchestras, choirs and wind orchestras, joined by OS musicians.• The Chapel Choir sang Evensongs at Chester Cathedral and Oxford.• The Community Choir based at the School gave its 30th anniversary performance of Handel’s Messiah, and a performance of Bach’s St John Passion, in addition to involvement with the School itself in concerts.

Sporting and Co-Curricular Achievements

6

RAF cadet Ben Holehouse after his first solo glider flight

‘The Drowned Bride’ Gala Concert at the Cadogan Hall

Salopians taking part in the first ever Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Snowshoe Expedition

Shrewsbury School Music Tour to Hong Kong

Girls’ Cricket: • The U15s were runners-up in the School Sport Magazine National T20 Cricket Cup. • The 1st XI were runners-up in the National U18 Cup. • First Co-ed Cricket Tour : Our girls’ and boys’ 1st XIs and the boys’ U15 squad had a successful tour to South Africa over February half-term.

Boys’ Cricket: • The 1st XI regained the highly coveted Silk Trophy.• The U17 XI reached the Regional Finals of the U17 National Cup.• The U14 XI won the County Cup and qualified for the Lord’s Taverners’ Trophy next season.

Girls’ Hockey: • Regional England Hockey Competition.

Senior Netball: • First VII qualified for Midlands Regional Netball Tournament and best results to date

Golf:• The Golf Team finished sixth in the ISGA National Finals.

Football:• Runners-up in U18 County Cup Final, losing 1-0 to TNS.

Fives:• Pupils won national titles at U14 boys, U18 boys, Girls Open, and U18 mixed. • The National Fives Championships were hosted at Shrewsbury School.

RSSH (Royal Shrewsbury School Hunt - Cross-Country):• Team bronze at national Knole Run. • County Champion in the Intermediate Shropshire Schools’ Cross-Country Championships, with senior girls claiming team bronze. The boys’ teams won county title trophies in all three age groups.

• A team competed in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race and won on debut. • Deputation to World Cross-Country Championships in Aarhus, Denmark in recognition of Shrewsbury’s role as the birthplace of cross-country running.

RSSBC (Royal Shrewsbury School Boat Club):• The Girls’ 1st Quad won the first championship medal (silver) for a Shrewsbury girls’ crew at the National Schools’ Regatta.• The Boys’ 1st and 2nd VIIIs, the Girls’ 1st Quad and the Old Salopian Sabrina crew all qualified for Henley Royal Regatta. The Girls’ 1st Quad reached the semi-final of the Diamond Jubilee Challenge Cup.

Sport

7

Senior Girls’ Quad at Henley Cross-country team

1st XI with the Silk TrophySenior Girls’ Team - winners and semi-finalists at the Fives National Schools’ Championships

The School awards charitable grants in the form of scholarships and bursaries. These are an important part of our policy to ensure that the benefits of a Shrewsbury education are accessible to those who do not have the means to pay the full fee. Scholarships are prizes based on competitive examination, while bursaries are means-tested awards for talented pupils who would not otherwise be able to attend the School. In many cases, means-tested awards are used to augment scholarship awards.

The School awarded scholarships and bursaries worth £3.4m during 2018-19, of which £2.3m were means-tested. Scholarships and bursaries are funded from charitable donations, commercial activities, modest income from the School’s endowed funds, and from School fee income. In addition to the non-fee sources of funding, the School has a long-term target that approximately 5% of gross fee income is budgeted for bursaries and scholarships. In 2018-19 the actual portion funded from fee income was higher, at 7%. With other sources of funding, the total remissions figure was 12.8% of gross fee income.

Scholarships, Bursaries and Other Charitable Activities

8

A detailed grant-making policy is available on the School’s website.

Year Pupil Remission % of fee income

Total recipients

Means- tested

recipients

Means- tested £

Means- tested % of fee income

Total 791 £3,430,765 12.76% 299 164 £2,281,139 8.49%

The table below analyses the level of remission awarded to the 164 pupils in receipt of means-tested awards.

0-25% 26-49% 50-74% 75-99% 100%Number of means-

tested awards 39 47 60 10 8

In addition to direct charitable grants, the School is involved in a range of activities in support of its charitable objects, as well as other activities within the local community.

The School keeps a register of these activities and, for the purposes of this report, these activities are separated into those related to schools/youth groups and therefore supporting our charitable object of education, and equally important, those activities supporting the community but not directly related to education. Some examples are listed below.

Partnership with other schools and youth organisations• The School’s support for Shrewsbury House Youth Club (known as ‘the Shewsy’) in Everton, Liverpool, founded in 1903 by a master at the School, has remained strong and continues to develop. Joint activities with the Shewsy this academic year included five Lower Sixth Form Social Studies residential visits, Outdoor Week trips for Third Formers, sports fixtures for boys and girls, a Day Out at Shrewsbury School for the Shewsy’s Junior Club (organised by the Postors), and a Third Formers’ confidence- building workshop. The Warden of the Shewsy, Rev. Henry Corbett also came to the School to deliver an academic extension talk on the Hillsborough disaster and its ramifications. Shrewsbury School leavers have now begun to take up Gap placements at the Shewsy.• Shrewsbury once again welcomed teams of young scientists to take part in its annual Darwin Science Competition. The competition pitted together Yr 7 pupils from eight different prep schools with both written and practical rounds covering Biology, Chemistry, Astronomy and Physics. Elsewhere the Drama and Music Faculties joined forces for a number of workshops including the Choir and Big Band and a Musical Theatre Day based on ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ for around 80 Yr6-8 pupils from 6 schools. A ‘Shakespeare Day’ was also organised for 60 Yr6-8 pupils.• As part of the Higher Education programme, during the Michaelmas Term, Shrewsbury held its Biennial US Universities Conference on making successful applications to university. Over 100 Salopians, parents and visitors from other schools heard a range of eminent speakers discuss all elements of the American system. • All our Careers and Higher Education talks (around 30 per year), as well as the Universities and Gap Year Fair, were open to all local secondary schools and colleges.• Shrewsbury continued to offer opportunities for boosting academic performance and aspiration to students from local state schools. A broad ranging series of ten ‘Academic Extension’ lectures, on the theme of ‘Controversy’ was open to local

Scholarships, Bursaries and Other Charitable Activities

schools and colleges. Lectures by the Shropshire Geographical Association – organised and hosted by our Head of Geography – were also attended by students from other schools. The Library has extended its World Book Day events – involving a visiting author – to local schools.• The School hosted students from the Marches School for mock interview practice for Oxbridge courses and medical / veterinary applications. More generally Shrewsbury teachers have been giving time to support the applications of Oxbridge students from a number of schools in a range of subjects, including in the humanities, science and languages – this has included subject-specific tutoring and guidance through the UCAS process.• During the 2018-19 academic year our Maths Department developed a strong and successful partnership with Shrewsbury Academy school offering three sessions each week for Year 11 pupils in order to boost GCSE results both at the top and bottom end of the ability range. Each of these after-school sessions was followed by supper in the School canteen. Many of the students taking advantage of this programme were registered as Pupil Premium pupils.• During 2018-19 the School was able to provide support to the Priory School to meet a shortfall in native speaker support for GCSE Spanish students. The Hispanic Fellow, employed by Shrewsbury School, was seconded one morning a week at no charge to support oral work for Year 10 and Year 11 pupils. • The School continues to make its sports, music and other facilities available to local schools and sports clubs either free of charge or at a subsidised rate. Use of the swimming pool has enabled local primary schools to deliver swimming lessons (part of the National Curriculum). County pathways into cricket and hockey have been made possible using the School’s facilities. Schools have used our spaces to host concerts. Our PE Department extended its Dedicated Athletes Programme to provide opportunities to local state school sportsmen and women – supporting them with individualised mentoring and strength and conditioning to boost performance.• A growing number of Shrewsbury teachers have taken up trustee / governor roles in schools throughout the county, both in support of primary and secondary education.• The School hosted a Model United Nations conference in March 2019 organised by Sixth Formers. More than 200 students attended. Efforts continued to support and to develop this activity in local state schools.

Local community action by Shrewsbury School Global Social LeadersA group of Lower Sixth pupils, participating in a Global Social Leaders (GSL) programme initiated by the charity Future Foundations, developed a series of social action projects:• The GSL group developed their leadership and organisational skills by taking charge of stand-alone school events, including two tea parties for 100 elderly people in KH. Pupils in the School’s Thursday Cooking groups provided the food and the Concert Band entertained the guests with a mixture of performances and a sing-a-long – c25 students made a contribution.• A PSHE Drama Project was produced on the subject of social integration – it was delivered in two state schools• 15 students helped run the Food Bank Christmas Fair raising over £2.5k Local community links• During the year the combined fundraising efforts of the School raised over £35,000 for more than a dozen charities – local, national and international (including The Shewsy in Everton, and Medic Malawi, which runs a hospital and orphanage in Africa).• As part of the Community Service programme on a Thursday afternoon, Shrewsbury students undertook volunteering at local care homes for a couple of hours every week to help with activities and talk to the residents, in charity shops and in primary schools helping with reading and as sports leaders.• Pupils provided live music to parts of the community which may otherwise have had little or no access to it, for example at various residential settings for the elderly in and around Shrewsbury, as well as at the Redwoods Centre in Shrewsbury. A group also provided a musical assembly at a local primary school.

NOTE:A detailed inventory of the School’s extensive charitable activity has been compiled and is updated periodically, and this is an area of activity which will be expanded during 2019-20 with Stuart Cowper now in role as Head of Partnership & Community Engagement. In addition, the School records partnership activity on the schoolstogether.org website

9

The School appointed Dr Maghin Tamilarasan as International Development Director, the 2018/19 academic year, to oversee relations and links with our existing international schools and develop new opportunities for sharing the educational vision of Shrewsbury School.

The links between Shrewsbury School and its existing licensed international sister schools continue to grow stronger and stronger. In addition to regular UK Governor attendance at Board meetings, there have been a growing number of successful operational visits and events both in Asia and the UK. Our international schools highly value their links to the UK ‘home’ school, a tangible manifestation being the successful recruitment weeks run every year. There is an intention to establish an annual international summit of senior leaders, building on a series of successful international principal visits and interactions with staff in the UK this year.

A summary of progress across areas of focus is given below.

Bangkok Riverside – continues to be highly successful maintaining its position as the benchmark international school in the city. A pupil roll of over1700 is at the limit of current physical capacity necessitating the significant expansion projects already underway. An annual gap year programme with leavers from the UK spending time supporting activity in Bangkok is now well established.

Bangkok City Campus – enrolment continues to grow strongly, currently standing at over 300 pupils. The guarenrolment continues to grow strongly, currently standing at over 300 pupils. The guaranteed place at Riverside is a major draw and operational

links are growing with the first cohort of pupils due to transfer to Riverside campus in August 2021.

Hong Kong – enrolment has grown to over 300. The school continues to grow a solid reputation in the face of competitive market conditions and a very challenging overall environment throughout the last year. China Schools – three new schools have been announced in China. Two of these will be located in Huangpu and Nansha districts of Guangzhou city, both due to open in 2022 and one in Jiading district of Shanghai city, due to open in 2023.

Business Development – additional focus has been given this year to identifying and partnering with new investors to expand the Shrewsbury family of schools into further territories. Discussions are underway to proactively identify opportunities in strategic focus countries. In addition, we are actively pursuing enquiries from interested parties in other parts of the world.

International Schools

10

The School spent just over £1.32m on capital projects and equipment during 2018/19.

This project is a £3.3m refurbishment of the Ashton Theatre to reimagine the existing facility and create new spaces for performing ar ts: The Barnes Theatreand Ashton Auditorium.

Planning also commenced on the extension and refurbishment of Riggs Hall.

There were a number of smaller projects either star ted or completed in this financial year, the notable ones were:

• The refurbishment of Alington Hall• An updating of the interior of Kingsland Hall• The relocation of the main School Reception Area

Buildings and Improvements to the School Infrastructure

11

The tables and graphs below are based on extracts from the School’s management accounts for the year ended 31st July 2019. The net movement in funds tie to the consolidated financial accounts.

The school aims to generate an operating surplus of around 5% of education related income to reinvest in the School for the future. (Operating surplus is defined as the surplus of the school fee income over school operations expenditure, excluding investment and trading income and interest and fund raising expense).

In the year ended 31st July 2019 pupil numbers were 790. This has translated into a net operating surplus of £1.7 m.

A Summary of the Financial Results of Shrewsbury School 2018 -19

12

Shrewsbury School

Consolidated Income & Expenditure Account

2018-19 2017-18

£’000 £’000

Gross Fees and other educational income 26,486 25,661Scholarships and fee remissions (3,431) (3,290)Bursary Funding (mainly from Foundation) 580 627Incoming Resources from school operations 23,635 22,999

School operating expenses (22,341) (21,663)Operating Surplus 1,294 1,336Operating Surplus % 5.5% 5.8%

Investment Income and Net Income from Commercial Activities 1025 1089

Fundraising & Financing Expenditure (623) (634)Net Operating Surplus 1,695 1,791

Donations and Property disposals 299 724Pension Revaluation and investment gains/losses (1) 341NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS 1,993 2,856

The School continues to derive a portion of its income from commercial lettings during the holidays to re-invest in the School Site and the funding of bursaries. The pie chart below shows costs including fee remissions for 2018-19 of £25.7m. Staff and utility costs remain the major areas of expenditure. However, the depreciation charge continues to increase as a result of the capital expenditure programme in recent years.

The financial position of the School remains sound. However, the School does not have substantial endowed funds and its assets consist mainly of the School Site and buildings. The School aims to raise funds to invest in the future from operating surpluses, the generosity of its donors and from the expansion of appropriate commercial activities.

13

Shrewsbury SchoolConsolidated Balance Sheet 2018-19 2017-18 £’000 £’000FIXED ASSETS Tangible fixed assets 36,272 37,333Investments 5,797 5,075 42,068 42,408

CURRENT ASSETS Stocks 261 280Debtors 1,427 1,413Cash in hand 3,917 2,393 5,605 4,085

CREDITORS: amounts falling due within one year (5,520) (5,376)

NET CURRENT ASSETS (LIABILITIES) 85 (1,291)Total assets less current liabilities 42,153 41,118

CREDITORS: amounts falling due after more than one year (6,633) (7,697)

Defined benefit pension scheme liability (1,462) (1,356)

NET ASSETS 34,058 32,064

ENDOWED FUNDS 1,455 1,394

RESTRICTED FUNDS 598 574

UNRESTRICTED FUNDS 30,688 29,353

DESIGNATED FUND FOR FUTURE BURSARIES 1,317 743 TOTAL FUNDS 34,058 32,065

2018/19 Costs (incl. Fee Remissions)

Bursaries & Scholarships

Teaching Costs

Welfare Costs

Premises Costs

Support Costs

Depreciation

Foundation

Financing

Other

11%

39%

14%

14%

10%

9%

1% 1% 1%

The majority of fundraising is carried out through Shrewsbury School Foundation (SSF) and its activities. The table below shows the funds received by the Foundation over the last three years.

Fundraising Activity 2018 -19

14

Some donations received relate to activities in prior years, therefore SSF also tracks pledges and cash for the current year. Figures for pledges and cash received are as follows:

2018/19 £776,924 (including gift aid)2017/18 £564,697 (including gift aid)2016/17 £631,998 (including gift aid)2015/16 £630,430 (including gift aid)

The figures above do not include unsolicited legacies and pledges associated with the current Capital Campaign.

SSF undertook the following activities in 2018-19:

• Raising funds to finalise the Foundation’s commitment to the completion of the Ashton Theatre project, including running a Name a Seat campaign• Conducting two annual telephone campaigns directed to parents and Old Salopians• Maintaining commitment to bursarial funding by raising £550,000 a year with at least 70% for bursaries• Supporting the execution of the 2020 Vision in all ways• Holding a targeted leadership dinner to steward and attract principal gift support

Funds Granted to Shrewsbury School There is a timing difference between of money by the Foundation, and when that money is granted to the School. The Development Director, the Bursar and the Financial Controller track grants against funds raised to ensure that grants made to the School are sustainable.

2018-19 2017-18 2016-17

Endowment Funds - - 1,744

House Foundation Funds 89,474 143,969 108,648

Other bursary funds 183,213 167,352 171,519

2020: Capital Campaign 495,327 582,915 274,470

Projects 52,649 23,790 41,322

Unrestricted reserves 91,626 83,254 90,583

Total 912,289 1,001,280 688,286Grants to the School 2018-19 2017-18 2016-17

Projects and other grants 260,201 743,793 314,619Bursaries 559,016 592,392 466,193Total 819,217 1,336,185 780,812

www.shrewsbury.org.uk