Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes and non-public summary of the meeting held on 20^th September 2021.

The public minutes of the meeting held on 20^th September 2020 were approved as a correct record, subject to an amendment recording Paula Haynes and Neil Greenwood as having been present. 

NB Amatey Doku’s appointment to the Board, as an External Governor, was confirmed during the non-public part of the meeting, having been recommended by the Remuneration and Nominations Committee.  

To receive the following sets of public minutes :

The public minutes of the following Committees were received:

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received the Principal’s public report and during the discussion, the following points were noted:

1)         The School’s low latency system, which had enabled 50 venues within the School to join together for teaching and performances, had won the Industry’s top 3 awards for the best performance venue, best educational project and  best entertainment event project.  Given that this is a predominantly male dominated industry, Governors were pleased to note that the design team had been 50% female and asked for their congratulations to the AV and IT Departments to go on record.   The Principal advised that the project had received a £350k investment, which had been 50% match funded by the City of London Corporation. 

2)         A summary of the exchanges in Parliament about future higher education policy, as included in this report for the first time,  would be helpful in future reports, noting that the Higher Education White Paper and  Free Speech Bill were still pending. 

3)         The Principal had contacted the City’s Remembrancer, in order to be kept updated on any parliamentary briefings. A Governor suggested that the Higher Education Policy Institute might have some insight. The Principal further advised that the School’s Leadership Team are working on strategies to mitigate any changes.

4)         Concern was expressed  about issues which could impact the school; i.e. –fee reduction, possible minimum entry levels for English and Maths (which might be a challenge for some students who excel creatively) and lowering the threshold of student loans.  A Governor suggested that financial planning should assume an £8500 fee at this stage

5)         There are two imminent changes in top higher education posts; i.e. - the Chief Executive of the Office for Students, and the Head of Research England. 

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board considered a report of the Principal in respect of the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) Higher Education Code of Governance.  Governors noted that the Code has had a number of iterations; the latest version having been published in June 2020 at height of the pandemic. The document appended to the report was a self-assessment of the Board’s compliance with the Code, using the tool-kit recommended by the CUC.   The Chair confirmed that the Governance and Effectiveness Committee had looked at this report in detail and their suggestions had been incorporated.  Geoffrey Crossick, Maria Delgado and Katharine Lewis were thanked for their work on the report.

Governors noted that the ‘red’ item relates to  the School’s relationship with the City of London Corporation, and it could be relegated to ‘amber’, as it would be picked up as part of the City Corporation’s Lisvane Governance Review.  Both the Target Operating Model and the Lisvane Review had been included in the actions list, given their impact across a number of areas.   The City Corporation’s Audit and Risk Management Committee, and Barbican Centre Board have a second   Deputy Chair who is one of the co-opted members.  The Chair explained that this would be a possibility for the Board, but the Chair would need to be a Common Councillor (of the City Corporation) in order to retain oversight and to be able to represent the GSMD in Court of Common Council. This second deputy could also be the Senior Independent Governor for the CUC code. 

It was suggested that the Code of Compliance should be a standing item at every Board meeting, as Governors need to be aware of the requirements in terms of best practice, where the School adheres to it and if, why and where this might not be the

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received a report of the Principal in respect of the  Academic Board, which was established under the Instrument & Articles of Government and reports to the Board of Governors. Governors noted that the Academic Assurance Working Group will consider this report and other quality documentation, at its next meeting, when it undertakes its Review of Academic Assurances. 

During the discussion the following points were noted:

1)     The Academic Board should give assurance on grade inflation to the Board, and not the Academic Assurance Working Group.  However, the Academic Board could appoint an urgent Task and Finish Group to consider the matter.  The Principal advised that he had chaired the Academic Board last week, where this had been discussed at length. 

2)     External Examiners recommend the full range of marks, which should not change the boundary classifications, but it was accepted that  a 10% rise in the number of ‘Firsts’ needs to be fully investigated.  The external examiners oversee the marking and attend programme boards, to gain assurance of standards.

3)     During the lockdown some music students, who had been required to record themselves, improved their self-learning in this area.    It had been suggested that a reduced number of social distractions, with less travel and more time devoted to studies, might have been a factor in improved grades.

4)     The gradings are final for 2021 but if a specific factor comes to light, notwithstanding the pandemic and lockdowns, it will be possible to mitigate in the future.  The Academic Board would be reporting to the Board in May 2022 on grade inflation and the  Principal advised that there had been similar experiences across the sector.

5)     Consideration used to be given to boundary variables within 0.5% of a higher classification and, in such cases, the overall standard of work would

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music & Drama.

The Board considered a report of the Principal which set out the Remuneration Annual Report for 2021 for the Guildhall School, as required by the Office for Students.  Governors noted that the Remuneration and Nominations Committee had considered the report at its meeting on 2^nd November 2021 and recommended it to the Board.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.   

There were no questions.

There were no items.

MOTION - That under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED – That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act as follows:-

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 20^th September 2021.

The non-public minutes of the meeting held on 20^th September 2021 were approved as a correct record.

To receive the following:

The following non-public minutes were received:

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received the Principal’s non-public report

Principal to be heard.

The Principal was heard.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received a report of the principal.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received a report of the Principal

To receive 2 updates from the Head of Research, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received two updates from the Head of Research in respect of:

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received the Principal’s non-public report.

RESOLVED, that – the report be noted.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama.

The Board received a report of the Principal.

Report of the Principal, Guildhall School of Music and Drama

The Board received a report of the Principal.

One item was agreed whilst the public were excluded.