On Friday evening, 21st January, current and former governors and staff of the Foundation met to express their thanks to Patrick Burns and Tim Clarke for their long and influential service to the Foundation.
Patrick was a member of the Foundation Board for 24 years, joining in 1998, and also served on the governing body of Five Ways, Camp Hill Girls and the joint governing body of KES and KEHGS. He was Chair of the Foundation Board, from 2015-2020, a time of major change, including: our commitment to making Birmingham the best place to be educated in the United Kingdom; leading the process of creating the Academy Trust; re-shaping the admission criteria for the grammar schools; bringing Balaam Wood into the Foundation; and creating an executive role for the Foundation Office. The scope and pace of some of these changes were subject to vigorous debate and the extent of the consensus achieved is a comment on Patrick’s skills in leading change.
Tim became a member of the Foundation Board in 2010, Chair of the Independent School Governing Body (ISGB) for eight years from December 2013 and vice-Chair of the Foundation Board from 2015-2019.
Working with others on the Finance and Investment Committee, their strategy leaves the endowment in a much healthier position than just over a decade ago. While supporting Patrick in pursuing the Foundation-wide changes, his leadership of the ISGB leaves the schools in a much stronger academic and financial position, extending the support available for assisted places and ensuring greater equity in access to financial support. Working closely with Patrick, his Foundation-wide perspective on our mission has been a considerable factor in developing a spirit of collaboration and partnership across all our schools, whether private or state funded, selective or comprehensive.
With respect to both Patrick and Tim, the depth of our appreciation for their contribution is all the greater given that they found the time whilst also meeting the considerable demands of their full-time professional commitments.
