The head of one of London’s leading private schools revealed she applied for the job because the school gives so many bursaries to poor pupils.
Sarah Fletcher, who runs the City of London School for Boys, said she feels strongly about the importance of bursaries because her own grandfather escaped life as a coal miner after being given money to train to be a teacher.
She said her grandfather’s life — and by association her own — was “transformed completely” after he was helped financially by a man who spotted his potential. Mrs Fletcher, who was previously head at Kingston Grammar School, said the City of London school’s bursary scheme is “one of the best things” about the school.
The school, which charges £14,313 per year in fees and is in the heart of the Square Mile, currently has 82 boys on 100 per cent bursaries.
It holds a fundraising dinner at Tate Modern every other year to raise cash, which goes towards bursaries for boys who would not otherwise be able to afford to go to the school.
This year the dinner raised £318,000, with that funding matched by the City of London Corporation to make £636,000 in total.
Speaking of the boys who receive bursaries, Mrs Fletcher said: “They bring with them a genuine appreciation of the power of education to transform lives and an enthusiasm for learning.
“You only have to listen to their stories to understand the impact the scheme has. This is what education should be about; working with benefactors to break down barriers and to give those with talent the opportunity and encouragement to flourish.” She added: “My own grandfather was from a mining family. Claustrophobic like me he refused to work down the mines but took on all the worst jobs in the potteries, educating himself as best he could at night school.
“He found his life transformed completely by the generosity of a local man who recognised his potential and who supported him financially to get a degree and to become a primary school head. His life, and vicariously mine, would have been totally different but for the generosity of one man.”
Mrs Fletcher joined City of London School for Boys in April, taking over from David Levin, who had launched a bursary scheme in 2000. Since then, 200 boys have entered the school on means-tested scholarships.
In addition to the funding from the City of London Corporation, bursary money is also donated by corporate sponsors, alumni, parents, livery companies and benefactors. Mrs Fletcher said: “I am more than grateful to those who help to make them possible.”
