The information portal for the alumni of Chesterfield School.

OLD CESTREFELDIANS' TRUST

THE TRUST ....

.... is constituted as a Company limited by guarantee (Co. no. 8905242), is recognised as a Charity by HMRC and was registered with the Charity Commission from July 2018 (Charity no. 1179218).

The Trust was formed by Tom Roberts, Frank Gorman and Tony Hine in 2014 with the aim of providing an educational legacy in Chesterfield to be funded, at least initially, by Old Cestrefeldians.There are four Trustees/Directors, all OCs including a Solicitor.

AIMS

There are two strands to this intended legacy.

One is to gather together, preserve and display artefacts and documents relating to Chesterfield (Grammar) School over its long history.

The other is to provide grants and awards to assist and reward the efforts of 11 to 20 year olds in Chesterfield over a wide range of educational activities. This involves liaising with the Heads of local educational establishments to identify areas of need and deserving recipients.

ACTIVITIES

Remembrance Day Service.

This normally takes place at the Sheffield Road site beginning at 10:30am on November 11th. Further details are available beforehand on this website. Details of the latest Remembrance Day activities can be found here.

Old Cestrefeldians' Trust AGM

This normally takes place in early August in Chesterfield. All members of the Trust receive the copies of the Annual Report and Accounts earlier in the year. A report of the latest meeting is attached.

Currently award schemes are in place with Brookfield Community School (click to view BCS report of award presentation), St Mary's High School, Outwood Academy (Newbold), Parkside Community School, Whittington Green School and a music funding scheme with North East Derbyshire Music Centre.

Our other activities to date have included:

Promotion of a successful exhibition at Chesterfield Museum.
Restoration of the School's War Memorial boards to their original site in the old School building on Sheffield Road and professional cleaning of same.
Tours of School buildings at Sheffield Road and Brookside.
The Trust's large collection of documents relating to the School is now (while remaining the property of the Trust) in the safe custody of Derbyshire Records Office, where it can be accessible to all.
The Trust has a collection of School artefacts rescued and donated by John Roberts, Rob Wadd, Mike Hadfield and other O.C.'s and their relatives and continues (February 2019) to look for a suitably accessible permanent home for these.
The Trust secured the (free) services of distinguished local professional Historian and O.C. Philip Riden to write the history of Chesterfield School and funded the subsequent printing cost of this 700 page book.
Book sales to date (February 2019) have recovered the majority of the Trust's costs. The book can be purchased from Tom Roberts or at the Society's annual reunion Dinner.
The Trust has recently (December 2018) arranged for the restoration of the latin stone lettering above the entrance doorway at the front of the old School.

DONATIONS & MEMBERSHIP

The Trust's status as a Charity enables us to claim Gift Aid tax relief on donations (including Members subscriptions) and Inheritance tax relief will apply to legacies to the Trust.

Please support our aims by becoming a Member. The minimum annual subscription is £10 and we would be grateful if you could complete this membership/standing order form. One-off donations will also be gratefully accepted.

CONTACTS

Click here to access details. To aid our division of labour, preferred individual contacts are included.

OLD CESTREFELDIANS' TRUST AWARDS

In 2019, coincident with the offical opening of the Chesterfield College Sixth Form Hub in the Old School buildings, the OCT Trust made an educational award to one its most promising students. A full report of the occasion, courtesy of "Destination Chesterfield", can be found here.

The attached gives details of the Brookfield Community School 2019 awards.

In 2021, two awards were presented to Chesterfield College Sixth Form Hub students. Details can be found here.

Also in 2021, the award of a studio session was granted to talented singer, Hasland Hall student Lexi Lee. Click here for further details.

In 2022, at Outwood Academy student, Jak Ramsdale was the successful student, planning to use his prize to further his architecture studies. Click here for further details.

CHESTERFIELD SCHOOLS FOUNDATION

The Chesterfield Schools Foundation administers the endowment of the former Chesterfield Grammar School and smaller sums from St Helena School. Hurst House is included in this. The sole trustee of this charity is Derbyshire County Council.

The Chesterfield & District Civic Society (CCS) became concerned that Hurst House, a listed building in a conservation area, was being left to deteriorate after ceasing to be used as an adult education centre.

Following further enquiries, CCS found that the Trustee had made certain grants from the Foundation's funds which appeared inconsistent with the objects of the Chesterfield Schools Foundation.

More information can be found on the Chesterfield & District Civic Society website which includes a PDF containing background details.

If any member of the OCS has experience that could help progress this initiative further, please contact CCS.

OLD CESTREFELDIANS' TRUST PRIVACY POLICY

Please click here to view the OCT's Privacy Policy.