Rules of the Westonbirt Association
1.1 Any girl who has been a member of Westonbirt School shall be eligible to become an Ordinary Member of the Association.
1.2 Any member of the Westonbirt staff shall be eligible to be a Current Staff Member of the Association. Any member of staff who has been at the school for not less than three years, whether or not as a Current Staff Member, shall upon leaving become eligible to be a Staff Member. Other former members of the staff, whether or not they were Current Staff Members, shall be eligible for election at a meeting of the General Committee. Present members of the staff may attend the Annual General Meeting and social functions by invitation.
1.3 The General Committee shall have the power to elect as an Honorary Member any person, usually for outstanding service to the Association or to the School. Such an Honorary Member shall not be eligible for the General Committee or position as an Officer or have a vote unless she (or he) has previously been an Ordinary Member, Current Staff Member or Staff Member. Proposals for Honorary Membership should reach the Secretary before the Executive Committee Meeting each Spring.
1.4 The Head may, upon leaving, be invited by the General Committee to become a Vice-President. Past Presidents of the Association who have served at least five years shall be eligible to be invited by the General Committee to become a Vice-President.
2.1 The girls leaving the School in any one year-group and becoming members of the Association shall be referred to as a Section. All staff members are included in a separate section. A member may apply to the Secretary to change section.
2.2 Each new Section shall select a Representative before they leave the School. A representative shall hope to serve at least five years and shall then be responsible for submitting to the Secretary the name of a member of her own section who is willing to take her place.
3.1 The Head shall be an ex-officio member of all Committees of the Association.
3.2 The General Committee shall have the power to elect any member of the Association as President for a period of five years, with an option for re-election for further period of five years. No President shall serve for longer than ten years without a break. At any meeting of the Association, or the General or Executive Committees, the President shall have a second, casting, vote in the event of a vote resulting in a tie.
3.3 The Honorary Secretary (also referred to in these rules as the Secretary) and the Honorary Treasurer shall be elected by the General Committee every five years. Re-election is possible at the end of the first five year period.
3.4 The Vice-Chair shall be elected by the General Committee for a period of five years. No Vice-Chair shall serve for longer than five years without a break except in exceptional circumstances, in which case a majority vote of the General Committee is required.
3.5 The representative of the Association on the Governing Body shall be elected by the General Committee. She shall serve for three years and shall be eligible for re-election for a further period of three years. She may not serve for longer than six years without a break.
3.6 The Staff representative to the Association shall be elected every five years by all full members of the current Westonbirt Staff Meeting. . Re-election is possible at the end of each five year period.
3.7 Other Officers shall be elected by the General Committee as required, for periods of no more than five years. Re-election is possible at the end of the first five year period.
3.8 Only the Officers of the Association shall have the authority to enter on behalf of the Association into a contract or other commitment with a third party including the School. Decisions to enter into such contracts or commitments shall be properly minuted and all such dealings shall be documented.
4.1.The General Committee shall consist of the Officers and the Section Representatives.
4.2 There shall be at least one meeting of the General Committee each year. The meetings shall be summoned by the Secretary giving notice in writing at least one month before the meeting.. The quorum is fifteen. The General Committee shall have the power to appoint sub-committees for any purpose.
5.1 The Executive Committee shall consist of no more than twelve members, including the officers of the Association. Within the maximum of twelve members, the Committee may co-opt up to three additional members from the Association, who shall serve for two years. At the end of that time the co-opted members shall be eligible for further co-option for a second period of two years. They shall then not be eligible for the following period of two years unless appointed by the General Committee.
5.2 The Executive Committee shall meet at least twice a year, in the spring and the autumn. The meetings shall be summoned by the Secretary. The quorum is five.
5.3 The business of the Executive Committee is to carry out any work delegated to it by the General Committee, to prepare agenda for meetings of the General Committee and the Annual General Meeting and to deal with any business needing action between the meetings of the General Committee, provided that such business does not involve any infraction of rules laid down by the General Committee.
5.4 Any person considered to be of use for the business of a meeting may be invited to that meeting by the Executive Committee but may not vote.
5.5 The Executive Committee shall have the power to fill temporarily any vacancy in the officers of the Association that may occur between the meetings of the General Committee.
6.1 There shall be an Annual General Meeting, normally in the first half of the Autumn Term, the exact date to be confirmed at the preceding Annual General Meeting. Further meetings may be arranged at the discretion of the General Committee.
6.2 Notice of any General Meeting must be given in writing at least one month before the meeting. The quorum is twenty-five.
6.3 Rule changes are agreed at a General Meeting.
The life subscription to the Westonbirt Association shall be £70, normally payable while at the School through the prepayment plan. Former pupils wishing to join the Association after leaving school will be charged £70 less a discount of £8 for every 10 years that have elapsed since they attained 20 years of age. The subscription for Current Staff shall be £15 to cover the period at the School. The life subscription for a Current Staff Member becoming a Staff Member shall be £20. The life subscription for Staff Members who have not been Current Staff Members shall be £35. A subscription may be deposited for the Association News. The Executive Committee may review subscription rates annually.
The archives of the Association shall be retained at the School, but remain the property of the Association. Access to the archives shall be via the School Librarian.
The database of the Association shall be retained on the School computer network, but shall remain the property of the Association. With the permission of the General Committee, the School may make use of the information contained therein, but only for matters that have a direct benefit for past, current or future pupils.
Revised 2010