The Royal Alexandra and Albert School is a state-funded, co-educational boarding school in Surrey for pupils aged 7-18 years. The School can trace its origins back to 1758, when a group of City gentlemen decided to create a boarding school for twenty orphan boys. The school opened in 1760 and twenty girls joined a few years later. The Royal Alexandra and Albert School Act of 1949 united the Royal Alexandra School and The Royal Albert School, which had been founded as a national memorial to Prince Albert. The charitable object of the Foundation is to assist ‘Foundationers’, who are pupils without one or both parents, or are pupils who would otherwise benefit from a boarding education but whose parents or guardians are unable to afford boarding charges.  

Accounting for approximately 12% of the school’s boarding places, Foundationers typically have lost one or both parents, have a chronically ill parent, have been abandoned or abused, or have a parent who can no longer meet their daily needs. The Foundation now funds the boarding facilities and pastoral care with the education being provided by a voluntary aided school, also called Royal Alexandra and Albert School. Supporting over 100 pupils, alongside other charities including the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation, Reedham Trust, Buttle UK, and Garfield Weston Foundation, as well as local authorities, the Foundation also supports over 60 boarding pupils with bursaries and the value of means-tested bursaries amounts to c. £470,000 annually.

Set in Gatton Park with its three lakes, serpentine and 260 acres of parkland, the Foundation and School are situated in the heart of an historic landscape created by ‘Capability’ Brown. The Foundation also owns the land and buildings in which the School is located. It has established a subsidiary charity (Gatton Trust Limited) which is responsible for the restoration and conservation of the historic parkland within Gatton Park both for the benefit of the general public and for the advancement of education including that of pupils at the School. The ethos and values of the School (which are determined in conjunction with the Foundation) are to provide pupils with an outstanding education for life that combines academic and non-academic achievements and where all students reach their full potential. This enables them to leave the school as confident young adults and become valued members of society.

Responsibilities of Trustees include:

• Securing the long term direction of the charity (furthering its objects or purposes as set out in the Act)
• Ensuring that the charity is run in a way that is legal, responsible and effective
• Attending Board meetings, taking an active part in discussions, advising on governance matters and contributing to decision-making
• Acting as an ambassador for the Foundation
• Undertaking all aspects of the role of Trustee in accordance with the Nolan Principles and the requirements for Trustees set by the Charity Commission

The Foundation seeks two new Trustees who will further strengthen its governance. The ideal candidates will have experience of applying the charity governance code and will bring either direct experience of running a similar charitable organisation or could have gained this experience from sitting on or chairing a governance committee. Ideally, candidates could come from the charity sector, civil service or higher education but above all they will bring a keen interest in supporting children from a disadvantaged background and providing opportunities for young people.

The Trustee role is unremunerated, but reasonable, pre-agreed travel expenses will be reimbursed. There are four Board meetings per year (eight hours per meeting, including preparatory work) and a Governance Committee meeting twice per year (four hours per meeting, including preparatory work) plus ad hoc events/visits to school. Trustees are expected to live no further than 90 minutes from the School to ensure that they can engage with its activities. They are appointed for a three-year term, with the possibility of renewal. Meetings are currently held virtually, but the School will eventually return to in-person meetings when circumstances permit.