Long before the Local Authority provided education, many village schools were established as charitable trusts. Many years later, with the closure of these schools, the Charitable trusts were re-established with the object of furthering the education of local children.
I have had the pleasure of sitting as a trustee on two of these trusts. The Over Alderley Primary School trust and Lindow School Trust.
Over Alderley finds itself in an interesting Catch 22. The land on which the little building sits is owned by 2 trusts and sadly, the "other" trust has lost all its trustees. It is proving impossible to get this trust back up and running so that the 2 trusts can dispose of the school. So currently the little old primary school has planning permission to convert it into a house but cannot be sold. In order to maintain the planning permission the building has to remain, being maintained at the tax payers expense. This trust therefore has no money and is not able to do anything until its fellow trust gets its act together.
On the other hand, Lindow sold its building many years ago. It is the Jehovah's Witnesses building in Chorley. The trust therefore has a sum of money on deposit and gives out little grants of a few hundred pounds twice a year from the interest that the capital generates.
In order to apply, you have to be a resident of, or live close to, St John's LIndow Parish, Your letter of application should be addressed to Simon Gales,St John's Vicarage, 137 Knutsford Road, Wilmslow. SK9 6EL.
The objects of the trust are to further the education of local children and so we find ourselves giving out small grants to allow school children to join in on school trips abroad which otherwise they could not afford, funding additional tuition and other similar provision.
Sadly we are caught on the horns of a bit of a dilemma. We do not have lots of money to give out and so we do not want to over promote ourselves for fear of a flood of applications, most of whom we would have to refuse, on the other hand, at our meeting last spring we had no applications and this week we only had one. We therefore do have some funds to award.
If you think you qualify our next meeting is in March 2010.
