Rules

Our constitution.

Adopted at the Annual General Meeting on 6th November 1996; and amended at an Extraordinary General Meeting on 4th April 2002, the Annual General Meeting on 11th November 2008, the Annual General Meeting on 4th November 2009, and an Extraordinary General Meeting on 17th April 2024.

In these rules,

• 'the Association' means the Old Carolians Association;
• 'the Committee' means the members appointed at Annual General Meetings to administer the Association's affairs;
• '(the) Committee Members' means members elected to serve on the Committee, but not as Officers;
• 'the Governing Body' means the Local Academy Board of King Charles I School, Kidderminster, part of the Four Stones Multi Academy Trust;
• 'the Magazine' means the yearbook called The Old Carolian;
• '(the) Officers' means members elected to serve on the Committee in named positions – that is, other than 'Committee Member';
• 'the School' means King Charles I School, Kidderminster;
• 'the Schools' means the School, and the now-defunct institutions of King Charles I Grammar School for Boys, Kidderminster; Kidderminster High School for Girls; and Queen Elizabeth I Grammar School, Hartlebury – all three of which amalgamated in September 1977 to form the School as it is known today;
• 'the Website' means the Association's website, the uniform resource locator of which is oldcarolians.org.uk; and
• 'the Year' means the Association's calendar, which is from the relevant agenda item at each Annual General Meeting until the relevant agenda item at the next Annual General Meeting.

1)

• These rules

a) govern the Association;

b) supersede any former rules;

c) must be observed as a membership condition;

d) are to be regularly reviewed by the Committee to ensure that they reflect the Association's and/or School's current circumstances; and

e) may be amended if a written proposal is sent to the Association Secretary before 30th June in any year for consideration at the next Annual General Meeting, or, if considered urgent enough, at an Extraordinary General Meeting.

2)

• The Association's objectives and duties are to

a) maintain contact among members by arranging events such as the Annual Dinner, by publishing and distributing the Magazine to all members, and by administering the Website;

b) maintain ties with, and help further the interests of, the School;

c) assist, through its leaving scholarship and any other funds that may become available, former pupils of the School to attend higher and/or further education institutions; and

d) appoint, when necessary, a suitable person to serve on the Governing Body.

3)

• The Association's objectives and duties are financed by

a) members' subscription payments; and

b) any other funds raised.

• Members' subscription payments are due on 1st January each year.
• The subscription payments' rate is to be reviewed yearly by the Committee; any proposed change to it is subject to members' approval at a General Meeting.
• Honorary life membership may be granted in recognition of exceptional service to the Association and/or the Schools; this is subject to members' approval at a General Meeting. Those so honoured are not expected to make any subscription payments, but they may choose to do so.

4)

• Anyone that fits into at least one of the following categories is eligible for membership:

a) all former pupils of the Schools;

b) all present and former staff members of the Schools; and

c) anyone that has given exceptional service to the Schools and/or the Association, subject to the Committee's approval.

5)

• Membership may be terminated at the Committee's discretion when

a) subscription payments are more than two years in arrears; and/or

b) if the member's conduct is such that these rules are breached and/or the Association's and/or Schools' reputation(s) are damaged.

6)

• Members are

a) asked to keep the Membership Secretary apprised of any changes in their personal details, especially postal and email addresses; and

b) to give written notice to the Membership Secretary of their intention to resign – any outstanding subscription payments must be settled before resignation is confirmed, however.

7)

• The Committee comprises

a) the Officers, which are

i) the President,

ii) the Senior Vice-President,

iii) the Junior Vice-President,

iv) the Association Secretary,

v) the Treasurer,

vi) the Membership Secretary,

vii) the Magazine Editor,

viii) the Website Administrator, and

ix) the Auditor;

b) not fewer than eight other members, including the President whose term of office was in the preceding Year (if he or she wishes to serve) and the School's Headteacher, who holds the position ex officio; and

c) any co-opted members, including other School staff members if it is considered that their expertise be useful to the Association.

• All except the Officers are each to be listed as 'Committee Member'.
• The Committee may form sub-committees to enable the Association's objectives and duties to be fulfilled; their membership and terms of reference are to be determined as needed.

8)

• The President, the Senior Vice-President and the Junior Vice-President are to be elected at the Annual General Meeting for a term of office to end at the next such meeting.  At that next meeting, it is expected that the Junior Vice-President become the Senior Vice-President; the Senior Vice-President become the President; and the President become a Committee Member.
• The other Officers and Committee Members are also to retire yearly, but all are eligible for re-election, and their terms of office are to be considered continuous.

9)

• The Committee's main duties, by position, are

a) for the Officers,

i) the President's chairing Committee meetings, chairing the Annual Dinner and other events, and reporting on the preceding year's affairs at the Annual General Meeting;

ii) the Senior Vice-President's deputising for the President, and shadowing the President to gain insight for when having succeeded to that office;

iii) the Junior Vice-President's deputising for the Senior Vice-President, and/or the President if needed, and shadowing the Senior Vice-President to gain insight for when having succeeded to that office;

iv) the Association Secretary's taking and keeping minutes of all formal proceedings, sending all necessary notices, being permitted to sign cheques as the secondary signatory, and maintaining (with the Treasurer, the Membership Secretary and the Magazine Editor) a comprehensive membership record;

v) the Treasurer's maintaining a bank account in the Association's name, keeping appropriate financial records, being permitted to sign cheques as the primary signatory, maintaining (with the Association Secretary, the Membership Secretary and the Magazine Editor) a comprehensive membership record, and reporting on the preceding year's finances at the Annual General Meeting having prepared a statement of accounts for the year ending on the preceding 31st August that is to be checked and endorsed by the Auditor before being distributed at that meeting;

vi) the Membership Secretary's handling all applications for membership and resignation, and maintaining (with the Association Secretary, the Treasurer and the Magazine Editor) a comprehensive membership record;

vii) the Magazine Editor's producing and arranging the publication and distribution of the Magazine, and maintaining (with the Association Secretary, the Treasurer and the Membership Secretary) a comprehensive membership record;

viii) the Website Administrator's operating and regularly updating the Website, and notifying the entire membership of important announcements through a specialist mailing platform; and

ix) the Auditor's checking and endorsing the statement of accounts for the year ending on the preceding 31st August when provided with this by the Treasurer; and

b) for the Committee Members to support the Officers as needed, which might involve the Officers' delegating some of their duties to Committee Members, details of which are to be recorded in the minutes of the relevant Committee meeting.

• If any Officers are temporarily absent, Committee Members may be appointed to perform the duties until the Officers are able to resume their duties.  A particular example of this could be, if he or she lives sufficiently far from the local area that his or her attendance at regular gatherings would be impractical, the President, at the outset of his or her term of office, may nominate a willing Committee Member specifically to chair meetings; this person is then to be listed as 'Chair' and take precedence immediately after the President, and his or her service is to end when the President's term of office expires.
• If vacancies occur among the Officers, any member may be appointed to fill such positions until the next Annual General Meeting.
• Any Officer, Committee Member or member appointed to organise any event is to keep financial records to the requirements of, and for submission to, the Treasurer.

10)

• The Association's general management and finances, with the distribution of the funds referred to in rule 2) c) and the appointment referred to in rule 2) d), are to be entrusted to the Committee.

11)

• The time, date and venue of Committee meetings is to be at the discretion of the President and/or the Association Secretary.
• A special Committee meeting is to be called by the Association Secretary within twenty-one days of the receipt by him or her of a written request, specifying the purpose of such a meeting and endorsed by not fewer than six members, who may attend but not vote unless they are Officers or Committee Members.
• Six members are to form a quorum at all Committee meetings, and the President, or in his or her absence the Senior Vice-President, or in his or her absence the Junior Vice-President, is to chair such meetings; in the absence of all three, another Officer or Committee Member is to be voted to the chair.
• Any Officer or Committee Member that fails to attend three consecutive Committee meetings without having given oral or written notice to any attending Officer or Committee Member is to be considered to have resigned from that office.

12)

• The Association's Annual General Meeting is to be held on any of the first twenty-one days of October, on a date, at a time and at a place to be fixed by the Committee.
• Extraordinary General Meetings may be called at the discretion of the Committee; alternatively, within twenty-eight days of the receipt by him or her of a written request, specifying the purpose of such a meeting and endorsed by not fewer than twelve members, the Association Secretary is to give notice of such a meeting.
• Not fewer than seven clear working days' notice of any General Meeting is to be given.
• For Extraordinary General Meetings, the notice is to include the purpose of and agenda for the meeting.
• Ten members are to form a quorum at any General Meeting, and the President, or in his or her absence the Senior Vice-President, or in his or her absence the Junior Vice-President, is to chair such meetings; in the absence of all three, another Officer, Committee Member or member is to be voted to the chair.
• Votes are to be taken by a show of hands unless otherwise decided by the meeting and, when necessary, the person chairing the meeting is to have the casting vote.  A simple majority of members present is to be enough to carry any proposition at all General Meetings, except in the case of amendments to these rules, which requires a two-thirds majority.