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January 14, 2024Report of the Governors and Financial Statements
for the year ended 31 July 2023
Melville College Trust -signed accounts 2023 [...]
May 1, 2019THE GOVERNORS OF THE MELVILLE COLLEGE TRUST
The election of Trustees is made at the Annual General Meeting. Only members of the Daniel Stewart’s and Melville College Former Pupils Club who are former pupils of the school are eligible to vote. The term of an elected Trustee is 3 years with a maximum of 9 years. Trustees may become eligible for re-election after vacating office for a period of one year.
HONORARY MEMBERS
I G Gardiner
A B Dobson
R Holroyd
E S Ray
K H Richards
N Ross
G Macrae
K R G Richardson
J M Scott
A Veitch
EX-OFFICIO GOVERNORS
J Hamblin (Merchant Company of Edinburgh Education Board)
K H Richards (Merchant Company of Edinburgh Education Board)
K J W Russell (President, Stewart’s Melville FP Club)
ELECTED GOVERNORS (2021/2022)
S L Patterson – Chair
C M Collingwood
M G MacColl
R A Scott
S P Newlands
T Bryson
V J N Coltherd
CLERK AND TREASURER
D N Dunsire LLB
c/o Lindsays
Caledonian Exchange
19a Canning Street
Edinburgh
EH3 8HE [...]
May 1, 2019MELVILLE COLLEGE TRUST(S) – BRIEF HISTORY
THE MELVILLE COLLEGE FIELD TRUST (formerly Edinburgh Institution Field Trust)
Created between 1924 and 1925
Bazaar held to raise funds, £5700, to purchase 12 acres of ground (Windlestrawlee Farm), known as Ferryfield
New Field Trust registered 21/10/1927
Salvation Army land of 2.648 acres purchased in July 1961, plus a further 0.11 acres purchased from Edinburgh Corporation in October 1981.
The Melville College Field Trust Scheme (1976) was created for the purpose of transferring the Field Trust assets to the Merchant Company Education Board
The land at Ferryfield was sold in 1981 (East) and 1987 (West) by the Merchant Company
THE BOARDING HOUSE TRUST
Set up after 1914-1918 war
Purpose to create War Memorial to FPs killed in Great War
Registered 22/12/1933
Purchased 12 Buckingham Terrace
The assets were sold and transferred to the Melville College Trust (now the Memorial Fund)
MELVILLE COLLEGE TRUST
Set up in 1947
Partly as a memorial to those killed or wounded in 1939-1945 war, and partly to receive additional legacies
The Trust supported dependents of FP’s killed / wounded in war, provided financial assistance to Melville College, and/or for any purpose directly/indirectly connected with Boarding House and playing fields
It also administered smaller funds – Alistair Leslie Memorial Fund, WR Annan Memorial Fund, Connell Fund, Cockburn Prize Fund and Wight Rutherford Awards.
2 further funds also existed – John Walker Prize Fund and Tom Sturrock Prize Fund
The Melville College School buildings at Melville Street were sold by the Merchant Company Education Board, and proceeds used to enhance the School facilities at Queensferry Road.
MELVILLE COLLEGE TRUST
Set up in 1976
The assets were amalgamated from –
Melville College Trust (original fund from 1947)
The Boarding House Trust
The general funds from Melville College at closure of School (excluding heritable and moveable properties and expenses of liquidation)
Alistair Leslie Memorial Prize Fund
WR Annan Memorial Prize Fund
Connell Prize Fund
Cockburn Prize Fund
Wight Rutherford Awards Fund
John Walker Prize Fund
Tom Sturrock Prize Fund
The total of these assets formed the Memorial Fund
Large legacies from James Wight Rutherford in 1987, and then Colin Young in year 2000++?, led to the creation of 2 additional funds (Wight Rutherford and Colin Young) and along with the original fund are now all governed under the Melville College umbrella. The original fund created in 1976 is known as the Memorial Fund. [...]
May 1, 2019Summary of 2015 Chairman’s Report
The new Chairman of the Melville College Trust, Grant Macrae, said he had been honoured to be asked take on the role at last year’s AGM. He paid tribute to the leadership of Andy Scott, who had chaired the Trust for the previous three years.
The following is a summary of the key points from his report:
The Trust continued to support the three schools with substantial bursary income. 34 pupils received bursaries for the 2014/2015 school year – 15 attended Stewart’s Melville College, 15 attended The Mary Erskine School and 4 attended Primary 7 at the junior school.
£10,000 was made available to the school for small grants to support extra-curricular projects that would otherwise not have received funding. Ten awards were made including:
snare drums for the Pipe Band
additional artefacts for the History Society
harnesses and helmets for climbing
electronic keyboards
kindle equipment for the Cromarty Library
The Trust Reserves Policy sought to maintain the capital value of the funds in order to maintain future income streams to finance grants payable. [...]
May 1, 2019Summary of 2016 Chairman’s Report
The key points from Grant Macrae, Chairman of the Melville College Trust, report at the Annual General Meeting of the Trust in December 2016.
The Trust Fund Bursaries –
We continue to support the three schools with £230,000 of bursary funding. In 2015/16 there were 32 awards (two less than in 2014/15). 16 of these were to pupils in SMC, 13 to MES pupils and 3 to primary seven pupils in the junior school. Of these 7 were 100% bursaries.
In 2016/17 the number of awards reduces to 30 because of school fee increases and the mix of the value of individual awards. While school fees continue to rise unfortunately income from investments has not and in the current uncertain times investment income may fall, so the Governors have decided to earmark some reserves with a view to maintain the total level of support for bursaries over the next few years.
Other awards –
After discussion with the Principal, we decided to award a Melville College Trust prize annually “for outstanding contribution to SMC by a pupil in S4, S5 or S6”.
We also support the three schools by funding £12,500 for 16 different projects and activities, 6 to SMC, 3 to MES,3 for use by CCF across both senior schools and 4 for the Junior School. These ranged from equipment for the Latin club, a boxing ring floor, history club artefacts and equipment for the shooting club at SMC; an honours board going back many years and a new trailer for the CCF; a geography exploration library, allotment club equipment and robotics club equipment for MES; and in the Junior School, a hockey trophy and medals for a sevens tournament in P7, tools for product design and waterproofs for children in the nursery.
Other activities –
This year we were able to arrange a one-off tour for sixty of us to part of our old school premises in Melville Street. While a great deal has changed internally as the individual buildings have been converted into offices, the original staircases helped us get our bearings. We were delighted to welcome Mrs McKelvie, who most of us remember as Miss Pratt, to her old classroom. Outside, the Melville Street frontage is largely unchanged except for the removal of the entrance porch, but the rear elevation with the demolition of the gymnasium to form a car park, looks very different although the old science block remains now in the form of offices. Our afternoon trip down memory lane in Melville Street was followed by a gathering at Inverleith.
Since our visit to Melville Street both the current tenants and landlord of the premises have consented to a plaque on the outside of the building as a permanent record of the former use of the building.
Alan Veitch and Ken Richardson kindly produced an updated leaflet about the Trust in time for the Melville Street visit and have also worked on our website, both of which make it easier for our alumni to keep up to date and also to keep in touch with us.
We were delighted to learn recently that Professor Fraser Stoddart, a former pupil of Melville College, is one of the joint winners of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. We understand this is the first time a former pupil has won a Nobel Prize. He will be coming to the school to speak to current pupils in December and the Trust plans to find a suitable way to recognise his award. [...]
May 1, 2019Summary of 2017 Chairman’s Report
The key points from Grant Macrae, Chairman of the Melville College Trust, report at the Annual General Meeting of the Trust in December 2017.
The Trust Fund Bursaries –
We continue to use investment income to support the school with £230,000 of support for bursaries.
In 2016/17 there were 30 awards, 17 to pupils in SMC and 13 to MES pupils. These were at different percentages of tuition fees with several at 100%. In 2017/18, 31 awards have been made 15 at SMC, 15 at MES and one in P7 of the Junior School. We are very aware that the number of applications for support towards fees continues to rise which is the main reason we seek donations & legacies to be invested to allow us to provide support to more pupils in the future either as bursaries or in cases of hardship.
Other awards –
Our grant of £10,000 for equipment, together with unspent funds from the previous year held by the school, resulted in almost £15,000 used on 15 different projects across all three schools. These included a theatre for P5 puppet making club, orienteering equipment, four tenor drums for the pipe band, equipment for the newly established Comic & Anime club and equipment for the Coding club. In light of the increased numbers of boys as well as girls playing hockey we provided Hi-POD performance monitoring equipment for use across the schools.
Sir Fraser returned as a speaker at Founders’ Day in June 2017 and presented the Sir Fraser Stoddart prize to the first two winners Andrew Ricketts & Anthony Hughes of S4 which comprised a commemorative certificate to each pupil signed by Sir Fraser together with a book token.
Sir Fraser also presented The Melville College Trust Prize for Outstanding Contribution to the School which was awarded to Leo Johnston of S5.
Other activities –
Over the past year we have continued to develop our strategy for the future sustainability of the Trust by publicising our activities on our updated web site and encouraging donations and legacies. To help us keep up to date with best practice, Trustees have again attended training sessions on current challenges facing charities. This will all be reflected in further focus on long term strategy going forward.
Last year I reported on a successful tour of our old school premises in Melville Street during which we welcomed Mrs McKelvie to her old classroom. I’m sorry to report her death in Spring 2017. A number of her former colleagues & pupils attended her memorial service.
The process of gaining permission for listed building consent, planning permission and conservation area consent for the plaque outside our old school premises in Melville Street continues.
Most of us remember the “Ferryfield Gates” which were relocated to Inverleith following the sale of Ferryfield.. During the past year these required refurbishment which the Trust has paid for on the basis that the school has now taken over responsibility for all future maintenance.
In December 2016 Sir Fraser Stoddart became the first former pupil to be awarded a Nobel Prize. Immediately after receiving the award in Sweden he came to the school to talk to senior chemistry pupils and a few guests including Miss Christie. During that visit and in conjunction with the current Principal we discussed with him a suitable way for the Trust to recognise this achievement. The decision was taken to award a prize for collaborative research in Chemistry by a team of two pupils or more.
We also congratulate former pupil G Arthur D Christie (brother of Margot) on being appointed Chevalier de L’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur by the President of France in recognition of his contribution to the liberation of France in 1944. [...]