The William Jones Fund

The William Jones Fund was launched in the summer of 2018 to former pupils of the Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools. This major new bursaries campaign is central to the future of Monmouth School for Girls whilst remaining faithful to the founding principles of William Jones.

The William Jones Fund enables donors to support girls and to choose how their donation is allocated (academic, music, sport). The first telephone campaign at Monmouth was a very good start and we thank everyone who took our call and who chose to donate or leave a legacy.

The cost from September 2020 is in excess of £16,000 for a day fee per annum per child and is beyond the incomes of many locally. Whether you are able to contribute a small percentage of a day fee or commit to educating a child through their whole school career, all is helpful.

So many have benefited from the generosity of William Jones and his foresight over 400 years ago, but we need to build on his legacy. The endowment provides only half the money needed to meet our current bursary commitments. If Monmouth School for Girls is to remain the socially diverse place it is today, it is reliant on the generosity of former pupils.

For further information please contact the Development Office, development@habsmonmouth.org

The Monmouth Schools’ Charitable Trust

The Monmouth Schools’ Charitable Trust has established a vehicle for future fundraising that is separate from the William Jones Foundation and gives an independent identity to the existing funds that have already been bequeathed, pledged or donated whilst reassuring potential donors and legators that all gifts are administered by those with a clear loyalty and close connection to the Monmouth Schools.
Initially the charitable trust is being applied primarily to Monmouth School for Boys gives a clear message to all constituent groups (OMs, current and former parents, current and former staff and current and former Governors) that a new chapter in the history of the School has begun in time to mark the 400th Anniversary in 2014.
The Charitable Trust has been formed to cover all the schools in the Monmouth group but with individual, ring-fenced funds for separate school interest. The diagram is an example of how this might operate in the future.
The first Board of Trustees has been selected by the Headmaster of Monmouth School for Boys from the wealth of available talent in the current parent and OM community.
The Trustees will meet at least twice a year and will proactively support development and fundraising initiatives, led by the Development Director, at Monmouth School for Boys or Monmouth School for Girls.
An Annual Report on the activities of the Trust will be produced by the Development Office for circulation to the main constituent groups. If you are an Old Monmothian you will automatically receive a copy. Please contact the Monmouth School for Boys Development Office if you are interested (but are not an OM) in receiving the report.
Registered charity number: 1151698

A message from Chairman of Monmouth Schools' Charitable Trust

In the past, a Monmouth School education for girls of ability, from low-income families, was a given. Generations of girls, whether their parents could afford full fees or none, have been educated to the highest standard and gone on to play their part locally and nationally in business, academia, the arts, politics and sport. The Direct Grant system and latterly the Government Assisted Places Scheme (which ended in 1997) made Monmouth accessible for more families at different times in our history.

Over the past few years, the school has reassessed its priorities and focused on much-needed repair and renewal work around teaching and boarding and is currently building a fantastic Performing Arts Centre. This work has inevitably depleted reserves and reduced the amount available to the school from the endowment. The focus now for fundraising is very firmly on the longer term aim to build a new William Jones (Bursary and Scholarship) Fund solely to provide ‘the gift of education’ to as many girls of ability from the local area as possible. The new fund will help with fees for girls who show potential not just academically but also in music or sport.

We believe that a well-rounded education, which encourages children to become independent thinkers and leaders, is a life-changing gift. We believe that every child who is talented, willing to work hard and contribute to the ethos of the school should have access to the first-class education Monmouth provides, regardless of their personal financial circumstance. Please support Monmouth today.

David Hitchcock OBE
Chairman, Monmouth Schools’ Charitable Trust

Testimonial

“Winning a Jones scholarship to Monmouth School for Girls when I was 11 years old (and my family lived in a caravan) changed my life and my opportunities completely. I will never know what my path in life would have been if I had not gone to Monmouth, but I am fairly certain that I may not even have gone to university (no-one in my family had gone before me) and by inference am unlikely to have had careers in so many different areas of life – social work, education, politics, the voluntary sector. Without that scholarship my life would have been much less rich and rewarding, and I suspect I would have given much less back to society.”

Jackie Ballard
Monmouth School for Girls (1964 – 1971)

Board of Trustees

David Hitchcock OBE – Chairman of the MSCT, Old Monmothian and currently Executive Chairman of Cyrus Investment Management

Richard Booth K.C – London-based Barrister, Old Monmothian, former parent and a Haberdasher
Prof Richard Carwardine – recently retired President of Corpus Christi College Oxford, Old Monmothian, a Haberdasher and current Governor
Warren East CBE, FRS – CEO of Rolls Royce Holdings PLC and former CEO ARM Holdings Plc, Old Monmothian and a Haberdasher
Noel Manns – Retired Principal & Founder Partner of Europa Capital. Old Monmothian, Governor and a Haberdasher
Bridget Barker – Retired partner of MacFarlanes and Old Girl
Charlotte Hume – Communications Consultant and television presenter, Old Girl and a Haberdasher
Martin Anderson – Former Governor, Haberdasher and Chairman, Presteigne Broadcast Hire
Claire Martinsen – Founder of the award winning soft drinks company Breckland Orchard, Old Girl
Julian Stevens – World renowned specialist in laser refractive surgery and consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital, Old Monmothian
Sarah Melvin – Head of UK at Blackrock, Old Girl
Tom Wheeler – Recently retired career Crown Servant; now part-time consultant. Old Monmothian

Donations Policy

The Head of Monmouth School for Girls, Governors and the Trustees of the Monmouth Schools’ Charitable Trust welcome offers of donations of all sizes, whether in connection with specific campaigns or to add to the William Jones’s Schools Foundation (the endowment), as these enable the school’s continuing development over the long term.
Donations must be freely given with no expectation of anything in return other than due thanks and recognition. The officers of Monmouth School for Girls (usually the Head, the Bursar and/or the Development Office) are pleased to accept lawful donations which are given in good faith and which are compatible with the aims, values and strategic objectives of the school. As Monmouth School for Girls values and safeguards its autonomy, integrity and reputation, we are unlikely to accept donations when a condition of acceptance would compromise these fundamental principles.

If you are a UK tax payer please click here to download a printable Gift Aid form  (MS Word – 18kB)

For more information about making a donation or about leaving a gift in your will, please contact the Development Office on 01600 710447 or email development@habsmonmouth.org

DONATIONS

By Cheque:

Please make your cheque payable to ‘the Monmouth Schools’ Charitable Trust’ and write ‘Girls’ on the back of the cheque to show that your donation is for the benefit of the girls school.  Post your cheque to the ‘Development Office, Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools, St. Catherine’s House, 17 Hereford Road, Monmouth, NP25 3HG’


Set up a regular Direct Debit (Monthly, quarterly or annually):

Click here to set up a regular Direct Debit


One off Online Donation: