Development Report:
n ick fe rgu son
Development
Report
Nick Ferguson (C, 1961-66)
Among the Fellows, responsibility for
Development is often considered a tough task.
I
n fact, since I took it on some five years ago,
it’s been a joy. First of all, I’ve met with so
many Old Wykehamists, parents of Old
Wykehamists, parents of current Wykehamists,
and indeed Wykehamists themselves (through the
telephone campaign). The conversations have been
universally civilized and convivial, at times even
charming — including on those rare occasions
when I get a ‘no’. The high regard and affection
which all of you have for the school are what
makes this job straightforward and pleasant.
The second joy has been working with
the Development Team. Led by the hugely
experienced Lorna Stoddart and her Deputy,
Tamara Templer, the team numbers 10 people,
all of whom are highly skilled and professional.
So the combination of great donors and a great
team has made for a very happy experience.
For development to work, you can’t simply
involve people when you’re asking for money.
It’s essential that Old Wykehamists and parents
are kept in touch with the school regularly
and effectively. To that end, Winchester College
Society organizes 70 events worldwide each
year, ranging from OW cocktail parties to
House anniversaries. I probably attend about
10% of them and they are always fun.
48 The Wykeham Journal 2019
In the last few years our fundraising has revolved
around two important areas. The first is bursaries.
All of us on the Governing Body believe strongly
in the importance of Winchester being able to
attract boys from a wide variety of backgrounds.
Having been a bursary boy myself (my father
was a Naval Officer), I feel particularly passionate
about this. The money raised for bursaries and the
endowment mean that we now have some 17%
of the boys on bursaries. In the United States,
the definition of a school which is ‘means blind’
is where 50% of the students are on bursaries. So we
are a third of the way there. The generosity of our
supporters for the bursary programme is immense,
and has brought in approximately £8m over the
last five years. We cannot thank you enough.
The second big project has been the rebuilding of
our sports facilities, code named The KP project, as
that is where it sits. This is part of the larger Southern
Campus Development project which consolidates
the school’s support services, including the Works
Department and the Laundry, in a new facility
and converts space freed up in the main body of
the campus for educational use. Current work also
prepares for later phases, including a modern medical
facility, extension of Mill and the refurbishment
of Antrim House. A huge amount of work by the