Community claims are misleading

He gives examples of how the charity, which owns most of the land, has given some money to Warwick’s two state secondary schools this year and also to two projects relating to medical care. Great, but what Mr Edwards fails to mention is that those donations come from just 20 per cent of the total income generated by the charity’s assets and that same 20 per cent has to be shared out between any requests from townspeople, clubs and societies as well as all the state schools. And yet, after the churches have had their 50 per cent share, all the remaining 30 per cent of the charity’s income is given to the Warwick Schools Foundation: Warwick Boys, King’s High and Warwick Preparatory School, the majority of whose pupils come from outside CV34.

How extraordinary, given that King Henry VIII’s original charter stated that the money should be used ‘To educate the poor boys of Warwick’!

The charter was changed by the Charity Commission in 1978 to give the 20, 50 and 30 per cent shares and, when asked to review this arrangement by the state school head teachers in 2002, the commission confirmed its 1978 ruling.

I question the argument that the Warwick School Foundation money benefits the community by paying bursaries to pupils. Personally, I would prefer that those pupils went to our wonderful state schools and that the money should follow them there. I’m sure that many other Warwick people would also like to see the 1978 ruling changed and I sincerely hope that one day the trustees will be able to achieve this.

As the charity stands at present, Mr Edward’s promotion of the sale of the land as a benefit to the community without mentioning the Warwick Schools Foundation of independent schools is somewhat misleading.

J. Sault, email address supplied