Founding Chair
Peter Murray founded Ormiston Trust in 1969 in memory of his sister Fiona Ormiston Murray who sadly died in a car crash on her honeymoon. His experience in commercial property investment enabled him to grow the original donation of £500 into a financially strong, proactive, grant-making trust. He founded Ormiston Families in 1980 assisting them to develop its charitable programmes across East Anglia.
In 2009, Peter sponsored Ormiston Trust’s first academy (The Gateway Academy, now the independent Gateway Learning Community) followed by Birmingham Ormiston Academy (BOA, Ormiston Stage and Screen and Ormiston Digital). He then founded Ormiston Academies Trust. In 2018, he formed a link with the National Lottery which resulted in a £4m programme for social action by pupils in their communities. In his early career Peter was a Samaritan, Chair of Westminster Volunteer Bureau and All Stars Youth Club. He was also joint founder of the Association of Charitable Foundations.