What does an organisation do when faced with a dwindling membership due to old age, incapacity and inevitable death, and has difficulty in filling officer and committee positions because there is no new young blood to join the ranks? Answer: suggest that the organisation be officially closed down.
The Wennington Association was faced with this dilemma in 2012, 37 years after the school closed. Unable to rustle up a new chairman, members were notified of the suggestion to disband and asked to comment. An AGM was convened in 2013 to discuss the future of the Association which was attended by 22 people.
The outcome was that the majority of Wenningtonians wanted the Association to continue. With a little gentle bullying from the outgoing chairwoman, not only was a new chairman elected but also a new post of deputy chairman was filled as well as a full complement of committee members.
So, for the next few years the organisation seems viable. We shall continue to meet and socialise with life-long friends and do what we can to perpetuate the understanding of the unique type of education offered by Wennington..
Will we survive into the 2020s? Watch this space.