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St Paul’s has a strong history of philanthropy extending from our Founder, John Colet. To both honour this and celebrate those who are awarded a bursary at St Paul’s, we have introduced the name Founder’s Awards for the overall St Paul’s bursary programme in order to reposition the scheme and allow recipients to feel confident about their part in the school community.

We have set ourselves a target to support 10% of the school cohort on bursaries annually. This is the equivalent to approximately 151 pupils at St Paul’s.

Founder’s Awards are means-tested and therefore, depending on the parents’ financial circumstances, the award could be between 2% and 100% of fees. However, the awards do not only include fees, but a number of extras that ensure that each pupil will enjoy the full St Paul’s experience, which are covered at a level to match the percentage of bursary awarded. Extras include items such as music lessons, trips, books and uniform.

The current climate in Independent Schools contains some uncertainty related to proposals that – were there to be a change in the political leadership of the UK – might lead to VAT charges being imposed on Independent schools. This will potentially have an impact on the ability of our donor group to give – and perhaps their motivation to want to do so. We need to be sensitive to this and in a position to adjust our ambition and time frames accordingly. For that reason we have not tied ourselves in to a longer timeframe, enabling us to be responsive and in a position to listen to our community.

St. Paul’s School has a long-term vision to become the first academically selective school in the UK to have a level playing field of access for the right pupils, in terms of financial ability. This ambition reflects Colet, our founder’s, vision. We also want to ensure that more of those who could benefit from a St Paul’s education, but who might never come into contact with the independent sector, are aware and reached by our offer.

Our proposal is that over the next two years that we position ourselves as fit for that purpose. We will maintain our ambition for 10% of the school to be supported by bursary funds (at an average 75% level ) and we will massively increase our partnership commitment based on the pilots we have been conducting over the past 5 years. Our aim will be to provide a pathway for more students to access a St Paul’s education whether directly through a bursary or via a combination of digital and in-person partnership work.

Unlike many schools that benefit from an endowment, St Paul’s School is dependent on philanthropic support and this next stage of our journey is going to take time and the full support of our community.

Under the umbrella of our Shaping our Future campaign, launched in 2018 and successfully concluded this year, we have delivered the following:

MORE SERVICE IN THE COMMUNITY – Increased community service opportunities for Paulines, with a four-fold increase in the number of pupils regularly volunteering in the local community, especially in state primary schools on both sides of the river.

WORKING IN PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP THE SKILLS OF ENTERPRISE – St Paul’s has been a seedbed for entrepreneurs, making us well-suited to spearhead a programme that inspires the next generation of entrepreneurs, both within St Paul’s and in West London as a whole. We founded the West London Schools’ Entrepreneurs Partnership in 2018 to impart knowledge, mentorship, and meaningful opportunities to young people to become the next wave of entrepreneurs. This is now fully embedded within the West London Partnership (WLP) as the ‘Start-it’ Sustainable Entrepreneurship programme which has been used as a case study by both Young Enterprise and the LSE.

EXPANDED PROGRAMMES FOR PARTNER SCHOOLS AT ST PAUL’S – As well as the collaboration within the West London Partnership (WLP), we now offer a wider range of programmes on-site, from sports tournaments for primary schools to academic courses at weekends for pupils from state schools (both primary and secondary) run by staff and pupils. We also support with applications for universities for students who don’t have the same level of support as Paulines. We have doubled the number of STEM holiday courses, with the residential summer schools picking up a national award. We also work closely with St Mary’s Ukrainian School with weekly volunteering and holiday courses at St Paul’s.

BUILDING AWARENESS OF THE BURSARY OFFER – We raise awareness of our bursary offer through a series of initiatives, including our partnerships with schools, which are designed to reach those boys for whom a St Paul’s education would be the right fit. We have also extended our support to the Barnes Literary Festival’s schools programme, which has reached over 15,000 pupils.

Financial barriers should not deter bright pupils from applying to St Paul’s. We aim to attract those who can afford full fees, partial fees, or no fees at all. Middle-income families have been the backbone of schools like ours for generations, however, there is a danger of becoming out of reach for these households. We do not wish to become a school that caters only to the very rich or those requiring 100% fee assistance. Instead, we want to welcome talented pupils from diverse backgrounds who represent the world in which St Paul’s exists. In support of this drive, the governing body has agreed that all bursaries of 50% or below will be funded from the school’s income.

Our bursary programme enables the brightest young people to attend
St Paul’s, regardless of their family’s financial position. Since the inception
of the Shaping Our Future campaign in 2019, the programme has already
supported over 200 families, with one in 11 pupils in our school currently in
receipt of a bursary award. In the last five years, 39 recipients have gained
places at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial, UCL and Ivy League institutions in the US. The degree courses pursued by these students encompass a diverse range, spanning Aeronautical Engineering, Chemistry, English, Theatre Studies, History and Medicine to Zoology.

Hear first hand testimonials from some of our Bursary Ambassadors on our Founder’s Awards page.