Shrewsbury School Foundation - Annual Report & Donor Roll - 2022 - 2023

From the Director of Development
There is diversity of thought and convention on the number and model of continents
in our world, much as with the number and stages of economic cycles.
No attempt is made to anchor your view on these here, but they are examples of
unresolved and diverse theoretical discourse, co-existing in the constant ‘contactreality’
of time. In much the same way, our duty to educate, empower, and enable
young people at Shrewsbury School is illuminative of diverse theory, but necessarily
present, and immediate. Life demands that our pupils need a foothold on the world –
and its continents; and the economy – and its cycles, both in theory, and in practice,
and now.
Connecting this immediacy of duty is the privilege of our work at Shrewsbury
School, where young people provide us with daily evidence that there is connection
and opportunity to be found in diversity of thought: in the demand it places on us
to question and explore intellectually, rhetorically, and practically; and its demand
that we test, analyse, criticise, and consider difference distinctly from both change,
and consistency.
In much the same way, the work of the Development Office cannot hibernate at the
first mention of a headwind, and we must work in the ‘now’. So this year we have
taken a leaf out of our pupils’ books; finding, thinking and working in diverse and
innovative ways: counting connections and opportunities, rather than continents
and contractions.
Development Offices are always a good barometer of the economy, and recently we
have needed to pivot our activity through our established global network in response
to market. The result of this, powered by the incredible generosity of our donors, is
that we have again raised in excess of £1 million of in-year cash donations for the
Shrewsbury School Foundation. Moreover, this success is coupled to our securing a
further and additional £3 million in pledge commitments during the year, meaning
that now, as a whole campaign, we carry in excess of £10 million in gifts and pledges
– an incredible milestone to have passed on Campaign 2020 – 2030. I offer my
unreserved thanks to all those donors in our global community of alumni, parents,
friends and supporters who share in their authorship of this success for Shrewsbury
School.
To remain at the front as a global leader of excellence in education, Shrewsbury
must constantly move forward. Fees only cover the School’s recurring expenditure,
so Shrewsbury has always relied on the generosity of donors to sustain, enhance and
optimise the School’s environment for our pupils today and tomorrow.
You will find my own family listed on the Donor Roll in the Gold Sponsors’ Giving
Club later in this publication. We are donors to The Family Development Fund and
are proud to support the School in this way with a regular gift, as Shrewsbury
numbers amongst our philanthropic priorities as a family. We appreciate the
value and importance that fundraising continues to play as a vital part of the
School’s capacity to deliver its mission. If you wish to add your own family’s name
to the Donor Roll and join our global community of donors, may I be prompt in
saying both ‘thank you’ and ‘welcome’.
The School’s commitment to widening access remains our current focus in the
Development Office, and is realised through The Means Tested Bursary Fund.
This enables a Shrewsbury School education for qualified, bright and capable
young people whose financial circumstances would otherwise preclude them
from attending.
Planned gifts continue to be an important component of our income year
on year, and we are humbled by the ever-increasing number of donors who
choose to make gifts both during their lifetime, and a further commitment
to the Shrewsbury School Foundation in their Will. In so doing, they
become members of The 1552 Legacy Society, and we honour and
recognise those very special donors later in this publication.
Shrewsbury School’s ethos, aims and educational philosophy
are encapsulated in our approach, to create global citizens of a
borderless mindset, who not only see and sense, but live and share
their lifelong link to Shrewsbury: For Life from the moment they
become Salopians. Our approach to learning, teaching, and life
is embodied in The Salopian Spirit, and our Six Salopian Virtues:
Kindness, Courage, Spirit, Self-Mastery, Integrity, and Wisdom.
Shrewsbury is a School that is keen to share where it has
protected the past, and where we have moved to the future.
All great institutions see themselves in the mirror of youth
– and that regular reckoning makes them consider change,
and makes them consider consistency – a healthy creative
tension – which we are proud to uphold.
We remain motivated by your unwavering support,
engagement, and generosity which enables Shrewsbury
to remain strong as a community united in purpose,
and with clarity of vision for its future.
Oliver A. Jackson-Hutt
Director of Development
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