2012 - ANNUAL CONFERENCE

The IDPE 2012 Annual Conference

Thursday 21 June and Friday 22 June 2012

The Celtic Manor Resort, Coldra Resort, Usk Valley, Newport NP18 1HQ

We are delighted to announce that registration is now open for  the IDPE Annual Conference 2012 which will be held at the prestigious Celtic Manor Resort, home of the 2010 Ryder Cup, on Thursday 21 June and Friday 22 June 2012. The Early Bird Rate applies to all conference bookings received by 1 March 2012.

How to Register

If you are an IDPE Member and would like to register for the Annual Conference 2012, please click here.
If you would like to register for the Conference, but are a not yet a Member of the IDPE or you are a Corporate Member, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call the IDPE Office on 01225 829030.

 2012 Conference Leaflet - please click here to download

The Celtic Manor Resort

The Celtic Manor Resort provides a purpose built Convention Centre and Exhibition Hall, coupled with superb accommodation and leisure facilities, including three golf courses. Set in 1400 acres of parkland, The Celtic Manor Resort is easily accessible, situated just off the M4 (J24), 90 minutes from London Heathrow, 45 minutes from Bristol and Cardiff-Wales International Airport and five minutes from the Severn Bridge. The Resort is located close to intercity rail services at Newport, with direct trains to Cardiff, London Paddington, and Birmingham.

Please click here to download more photographs of the venue.

Keynote Speaker

Bryn Parry, OBE, Co Founder of Help for Heroes (H4H), will deliver the Keynote Opening Address at the Conference on Thursday 21 June 2012.

Bryn was a soldier and then a cartoonist, before a chance visit to Selly Oak Hospital in 2007 led to H4H being established shortly afterwards.  So far, H4H has raised £118m in support of servicemen and women wounded in action. In November 2010, Bryn and his wife Emma were awarded OBE’s by the Princess Royal.  We are extremely grateful to Bryn for agreeing to open the Conference and telling us the inspirational story of the establishment of one of the UK’s most successful charities of recent times.

For details of all our Speakers, please click here.

2012 Conference Programme

Experienced Development Directors

Sessions for our most experienced practitioners will include:-

• One of the UK’s most experienced and successful Development Directors, Debra Price, reflecting on her 21 years as Development Director of Benenden School, under the title, ‘Staying the Course.’ In an industry where turnover of Development appointments is frequent, Debra addresses one of the essential qualities of any Development professional, ‘stickability’.
• Tania Jane Rawlinson, Director of Campaigns & Alumni Relations at the University of Bristol will highlight key priority areas for good Development Offices at any stage of maturity in 'Development Lessons Shared:  Schools, Higher Education and Charities'.
• The Sutton Trust is at the cutting edge of charities aiming to increase social mobility and improve educational opportunities for young people from non-privileged  backgrounds.  The Projects and Policy Director of The Sutton Trust, James Turner, will be telling us about the important work of the Trust, under the heading 'Independent schools, bursaries and the challenge of social mobility'.

Heads, Bursars and Governors

Thursday’s sessions will once again include a stream dedicated to Heads, Bursars and Governors:

• Dr Helen Wright will be talking at the Conference on the subject of ‘Leadership in a Changing World’. Dr Wright is Head of St Mary’s School, Calne and President of The Girls’ Schools Association (GSA).  She was recognised in the Tatler Awards 2010 as ‘Best Head of a Public School’.
• The Headmaster of King's College Taunton, Richard Biggs, and his Development Director, Leisa Lavender, will be examining how Development Directors, Heads and Governors might work together to best effect.
• Caroline Pascoe, Headmistress, Truro High School and Wanda Nash, Development & Alumnae Director, St Mary’s School, Ascot will explain how to recruit and crucially, retain, a Development Director.

Alumni Relations

A stream of sessions on Friday will focus on Alumni Relations and explore the essential components for keeping an Alumni Relations Programme alive:

• Why we should love and nurture both our database and our data
• The intrinsic value  that volunteers can bring to our institutions and our alumni relations programmes
• Communications -  from virtual communities to coffee table publications, and how they play a part in getting our constituents involved
• Archives, events and when and how to involve young alums
• How do schools provide mentoring opportunities for their alumni?

Friday and Conference Close

Friday’s sessions will address up to the minute topical issues including Social Media Trends with Tracy Playle, Founder and Director of Pickle Jar Communications, whilst roundtable sessions will cover a wide variety of Development related subjects from ‘Legacies’ to ‘Fundraising Overseas’ to ‘Making the Ask’.

The Conference will close at lunchtime on Friday 22 June. Barnaby Lenon, Chairman of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), has kindly agreed to close our Conference as our Closing Keynote Speaker. The ISC represents most independent schools in the UK and lobbies on their behalf. Before taking up his current appointment, Barnaby was Head Master of Harrow School

For more information about the Conference timings, please click here.

Activities and Networking Opportunities

All daytime refreshment breaks will take place in the Exhibition Hall, providing plenty of opportunities to network with other delegates and meet with the exhibitors throughout the Conference.

An IDPE Golf Tournament will take place for anyone interested in participating on Wednesday 20 June followed by an evening Drinks Reception and Barbecue for early arrivals. The more formal Conference Drinks Reception and Dinner will take place on the evening of Thursday 21 June.

Delegates will be able to make full use of the Celtic Manor's leisure facilities during their stay. 

Conference Packages

The most popular two day Conference Packages, including the Conference Drinks Reception and Dinner, start from £275* (excludes overnight accommodation) and £375* (includes overnight accommodation).  There is also a special Thursday day rate of £205* and Friday rate of £105 for those who wish to attend for specific sessions.  Further details of all the Conference Packages can be found by clicking here.

*Prices include Members’ and Early Bird Discount.

 How to Register

The Early Bird Discount applies to all bookings received before Thursday 1 March 2012.  If you are an IDPE Member and would like to register for the Annual Conference 2012, please click here. If you would like to register for the Conference, but are a not yet a Member of the IDPE or you are a Corporate Member, please call the IDPE Office on 01225 829030.

For more information please contact the IDPE Office on 01225 829030 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it