As The King’s School looks towards its 500th anniversary, we aspire to be true to our original principles. When Henry VIII re-founded the school in 1541, his intention was to provide an education for ‘forty boys, poor and destitute of the help of friends, of native genius… and apt to learn’.
King’s would not be the wonderful school it is today without the generous support we receive from many members of our family.
Our vision Throughout its history, King’s has welcomed pupils from all social backgrounds. We want King’s to remain a school that any able and aspiring child can attend, regardless of financial circumstances. We also believe that success in life should not be limited by your background but should be the product of your own endeavour and ability. Put simply, King’s bursaries change lives. King’s would not be the wonderful school it is today without the generous support we receive from many members of our family. Our new long-term ambition is to raise the funds necessary to secure, in perpetuity, the forty free places at King’s, as specified by Henry VIII in his re-founding statutes of the school. This is a big ambition for which we need your support. Please help us to open the door to King’s for future generations. Thank you Gareth Doodes, Headmaster and Hugh Carslake, Chairman of Governors
ksw.org.uk/open-the-door
Help us to open the door to the pupils of tomorrow, so that talented children from all backgrounds can continue to come to King’s.
Opening doors for 475 years When Henry VIII re-founded The King’s School 475 years ago, his vision was to provide an education for children of ability with limited financial means. Until the late 1990s, the government-funded Direct Grant and Assisted Places schemes provided support for up to one third of King’s pupils. Such schemes are no longer available, so we need your help to ensure bright and able children, from less privileged backgrounds, can continue to benefit from a King’s education.
ksw.org.uk/open-the-door
From King’s to the Royal Academy of Arts Tamzin Simpson 2003–2005 I joined King’s in the Sixth Form. At sixteen, it’s easy to underestimate how your surroundings can so dramatically shape your sense of what ‘people like me’ might do. It was revelatory, and it took a little time to sink in. By the time university applications came around, I remember my House Mistress and my English teacher seeking me out to ask why on earth I hadn’t been at the Oxbridge interview preparation class. I hadn’t realised it was an option (for me). A few years later, I graduated from Oxford University with a First Class degree in English Literature. I then spent three years in management consulting at OC&C Strategy Consultants (one of those jobs I didn’t think ‘people like me’ did), went on to lead strategy at the Royal Academy of Arts, and now find myself working daily with the philosopher Alain de Botton at The School of Life. I loved my time at King’s but I don’t yearn to go back; I’m enjoying where it got me far too much.
From the classroom to international litigation Jacob Capleton 2001–2006 A King’s education is an asset to any career path. It offers exposure to a new world of ideas (more than one guest speaker left me amazed at life’s possibilities) and a huge variety of extra-curricular activities. More than ten years later, I still play the piano almost daily, with King’s teaching me the importance of maintaining passions alongside academia, or now, a career. I went to the University of Warwick to read Philosophy with Psychology and eventually converted to Law. I now manage international litigation and regulatory investigations projects for a leading international law firm. I am also an independent advisor for Thomson Reuters, exploring how the introduction of new technologies – such as Artificial Intelligence – might disrupt the legal sector. You leave King’s with a lively sense of self-worth and the tenacity to remain always curious. The values that King’s instilled have remained with me to this day. I would urge anyone considering donating to the Bursary Appeal to do so.
ksw.org.uk/open-the-door
From chorister to the Royal Academy of Music Jolyon Loy 2002–2008 Aside from being able to sing well, a young opera singer requires ample stamina, confidence, optimism, conscientiousness and a determination to carry on even in the face of adversity. My time at King’s was an invaluable part of my growth and it was there that I started to develop these traits that now serve me so well. The rich musical experience at King’s and at Worcester Cathedral undoubtedly contributed to me being awarded a choral scholarship to Oxford University. In turn, that helped me to win a place at the Royal Academy of Music to study Voice/Opera as a Master’s student and thereafter to pursue a career in opera. None of this would have been possible without the financial assistance given to me at King’s. My family would not have been able to afford to send me to private school and so the rich musical life I was a beneficiary of, and which has woven itself into the tapestry of my musical development, would have remained out of my reach.
From start-up to international award winning company Neil Lonergan 1991–2002 At King’s I always felt included in, integrated into, and supported by a community. A community of friends, teachers, advisors and people that really cared. A community that instilled a confidence in me to believe in myself, push myself and try new things that I might not have otherwise done. I had always been relatively technically minded and liked technology. After having tried to set up a company (unsuccessfully) aged 20, I began working in Telecommunications & IT – something I had learned about and enjoyed at school. After working in the industry with BT for 8 years, I decided to start another company of my own in 2012. We have now grown the company to become the largest in our part of the Telecommunications industry in the UK, delivering our services to businesses in more than 28 countries across four continents and winning multiple industry awards on the way. King’s gave me an educational foundation, coupled with the confidence and belief in myself to dream bigger, which I have found invaluable in my professional and personal life. ksw.org.uk/open-the-door
Our goal The Bursary Fund is managed on behalf of the school by The King’s School Worcester Development Trust. Our aim is to grow this fund from £2 million to £5 million by 2025, with the ultimate goal of reaching £18 million by 2041. By the 500th anniversary of King’s, our objective is to provide funding in perpetuity for forty bursary scholars, a fitting tribute to the educational values of our royal founder, Henry VIII. This is an ambitious goal but it can be achieved with the generous support of you, the family of King’s. Every gift makes a difference. All donations to the Bursary Fund will directly benefit future generations of King’s students.
£5
MILLION by
2025
£18
MILLION by
2041
We cannot do this alone. Our goal can only be achieved with the generous support of you, the family of King’s.
Open the door to King’s by donating to our Bursary Appeal ksw.org.uk/open-the-door
How to donate. Together we can change lives King’s is a special place and many generations of Old Vigornians have passed through its doors, benefiting from inspirational teaching and having made friends for life. Please consider supporting us and giving to the Bursary Appeal in whatever way you can. A gift from you, no matter what size, will help open the door to King’s.
REGULAR DONATIONS Giving on a regular basis is an affordable way of donating to the Bursary Fund. Regular gifts quickly add up and your contribution will join those of others to fund a bursary place. A bursary place at King’s is the equivalent to receiving:
£10
£25
£50
per month from
per month from
per month from
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
PEOPLE
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45
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Giving £25 per month is the equivalent to 2 cups of coffee a week.
SINGLE GIFTS We always welcome single donations and all gifts will be gratefully received into the Bursary Fund. GIFT AID If you make a regular donation or a one-off gift, you can help King’s further by gift-aiding your donation, which allows us to claim 25% tax from HM Revenue and Customs for every £1 donated by a UK taxpayer. Furthermore, higher rate taxpayers can claim additional relief via their SelfAssessment tax return. LEGACIES We realise that not everyone will be able to donate to the Bursary Fund in their lifetime. Legacy donations are a meaningful and enduring gift. All bequests, whatever their size, will help open the door to King’s for future generations. Donating in this way could reduce the taxable value of your assets, lowering inheritance tax on your estate.
OTHER FORMS OF GIVING If you would like to discuss tax-efficient giving, gifts of shares or property, giving via CAF, gifts from overseas, company-matching schemes or any other area of giving, please contact the Development Team.
ksw.org.uk/open-the-door
Ways to donate Online – you can set up a regular donation or give a one-off gift by visiting www.ksw.org.uk/donate
By post – if you would prefer to set up a regular donation, or send your gift by post, please complete the form at the back of this brochure and return it to the Development Team.
By phone – if you would like to discuss your giving with us, please call the Development Team on 01905 721737.
Thank you Thank you, from the King’s bursary pupils of the future, for making a difference. A full list of supporters who are helping us to open the door to King’s can be found on our website, ksw.org.uk/our-supporters
ksw.org.uk/open-the-door