Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain (copy attached).

The Board considered a report of the Chamberlain proposing that authority to approve Foundation Scholarships is delegated by the Court of Common Council to the Board of Governors of the City of London Freemen’s School.

The Chairman reported that the most recent Foundation Scholarship application had been approved by the Court of Common Council at their meeting last week. He stated that the Board were now seeking delegated authority to deal with these matters in their entirety and that, if the Court were to agree to this, no changes to the School’s current terms of reference would be necessary.

A Governor questioned the use of the word ‘Freewoman’ in the appended ‘Regulations for admission’. Others agreed that there was no such thing and pointed out that all who were granted the Freedom of the City were termed ‘Freemen’ regardless of gender.

The Comptroller and City Solicitor highlighted that this had been the wording approved by the Court of Common Council in 1960. It was agreed that the Court’s approval to remove the term ‘Freewoman’ from this document should therefore also be sought. As this was to be a public document it was suggested that a footnote clarifying that a Freemen could be male or female/ a mother or a father be added to the document.

A Governor went on to question the wording at paragraph 2 (a) entitled ‘Maintenance in the School’, stating that those applying for Foundation Scholarship were most likely to be Day pupils. It was agreed that the officers should also take this opportunity to clarify this point.

The Headmaster added that, under the heading ‘Eligibility’, paragraph 1 (c) (ii), it was no longer necessary for the School Doctor to certify to the Board that an applicant was physically fit to enter the School as a Boarder.

The Board granted delegated authority to the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, in consultation with the Chamberlain, the Comptroller and City Solicitor and the Town Clerk, to approve the final wording of the regulations before their submission to the Court of Common Council in March.

RESOLVED – That,

·        the Board seek the approval of the Court of Common Council to delegate authority to approve Foundation Scholarships to the Board of Governors of the City of London Freemen’s School; and

·        the Board grant the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, in consultation with the Chamberlain, the Comptroller and City Solicitor and the Town Clerk, delegated authority to approve the final wording of the regulations before their submission to the Court of Common Council for final approval in March.