Impact report 2025
Head’s report Graham Bone
No school is an island. We believe that to give pupils the strongest education, we must connect outward. We work hard to build partnerships with local primary schools, and with the city of Exeter. Our pupils should not be “apart from” Exeter; they should be deeply involved with this wonderful historic city, one we were founded to serve
This school has the power to change lives - to open doors for pupils in our local area who are eager to learn and ready to excel, but who cannot join us without a degree of financial support.
Throughout our history, Exeter School has provided free or subsidised places for pupils who otherwise could not attend It is a tradition we are rightly proud of, and one we are committed to continuing.
Our bursary award holders enrich our school community; they bring perspectives and experiences that benefit every child here. It’s our strong contention that education is most effective in diverse environments, and that such diversity also prepares pupils for the complexity of life beyond school.
I speak with personal conviction. My grandparents lived in a council flat, and I was the first from my family to study beyond the age of 16; I know first-hand the transformational opportunities that education can provide. I am a teacher today precisely because I want to pass on those transformative experiences (and, perhaps, some knowledge and excitement about physics, too).
In my time here at the school I have seen how life-changing an Exeter School education can be to those who have been awarded a bursary. I am proud of the school’s current bursary provision, but if we want more children to benefit then members of our community will need to support us.
I personally support the bursary fund. It is a great privilege to do so when I consider the opportunities that such support enables - opportunities that can alter the course of a young person ’ s life forever If your means allow, please consider joining me and support the next generation of Exonians.
Make a gift and change a life.
Exeter School bursaries change lives
Opportunity
An Exeter School education, and all the opportunities we offer, should be accessible to bright pupils from our local area irrespective of their financial background We offer excellence in education, both inside and outside the classroom; our excellent teaching and academic support puts us in the top ten independent schools in the region; and our co-curricular opportunities broaden our pupils’ horizons, whether that’s through sport, music, art, drama, outdoor education, or the many different clubs and societies we offer - over 50 at last count. We also offer the highest quality pupil care, identifying and supporting each child’s individual needs.
Community
Bursaries are life-changing for our award holders, but their impact at school goes further – all our pupils benefit from the opportunity to learn and build friendships within a diverse community. Children who have different backgrounds and life experiences bring different perspectives and approaches to problem-solving, teamwork and academic study. A school environment that reflects the world pupils will go on to study and work in is the best way to equip them for the future.
Identity
For nearly 400 years, Exeter School has been educating pupils from many different socioeconomic backgrounds In the twentieth century the direct grant and assisted places schemes meant that, at times, up to a third of pupils attended Exeter School on a funded place. The equivalent figure today is just under 2%. Our school was founded 392 years ago to improve access to education in Exeter. We still stand by our founding mandate and believe we have to do more to help bright and talented children from our local area access the opportunities we provide. Accessibility is part of our identity.
Bursariesat ExeterScho
In 2024/25, we had 61 bursary award holders at the school. This is just under 8% of the senior school pupil body.
We provide fully-funded places as well as financial support at other levels By offering these different levels of support we are able to include pupils with a mix of backgrounds and experiences at the school. The majority of our award holders receive bursaries covering 50% of fees, and none would be at the school without bursary support.
49% <25%
In 2024/25 five pupils had to turn down their place at Exeter School. Their families could not afford the fees, and the school was unable to fund this number of bursary places.
The bursary fund is important to me because it promotes diversity in our pupil community which can only be a good thing for all of our pupils. It also clearly emphasises our commitment to Exeter as a city, and to being as accessible as possible to local young people.
I am very proud of the education we provide here (both inside and outside of the classroom) and if the bursary fund means that more pupils can benefit from this then I think that makes it a hugely worthwhile thing to support.
Bethan Rose, Deputy Head (Enrichment, Character and Community)
Funds raised in 2024/25
Donor numbers
£159,000
Rafferty Piggott Gill (2011-2021)
Exeter School give me opportunities that I simply would not have had access to in another school. The school provided a supportive environment, and pupils were nurtured throughout their journey here.
I made very good friends, lots of whom I still see regularly. And I’ve also taken away many valuable memories, particularly of my time in the cricket team.
I am now studying for a degree in Music Performance at BIMM University
Bristol, which I never thought I would be able to do. This probably would not have been possible for me without my many valuable experiences at Exeter School
Being able to give someone like me the opportunity to have the best start in life is so special.
Eka Barker-Privalova (2012-2017)
When I joined Exeter School, I was amazed at all the different activities you could take part in; every term was exciting, and brought something new. I tried things I would never have considered before and discovered new interests and talents that stay with me now. I gave sport a go, and ended up loving hockey. I also had the opportunity to travel to South Africa and Valencia.
Exeter School has helped me to achieve and instilled a strong work ethic that I know will stay with me forever. It has been an incredibly important part of my life. I would not be where I am now without Exeter School and the bursary support has been a huge help to me and my family.
Eka went on to study Human, Social and Political Science at the University of Cambridge, and now works at an infrastructure investment firm.
Farbod Babolhavaeji (1994-2001)
Farbod is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine in Wales, and an Honorary Lecturer at Cardiff University
David Scott (1957-1968)
Why I give Paul Beckett (1973-1980)
I was fortunate to win a ‘free place’ scholarship paid by Exeter City Council to attend Exeter School in the 1970s; a place that I would not have attended otherwise. That gave me access to an excellent secondary education and a wider social world which provided a sound foundation for later life.
Upon leaving school I attended university at Durham and Cardiff and then had a career as a chartered town planner, eventually retiring as Planning Policy Director at the City of London Corporation
I donate to the bursary fund today because I want to give promising local children from modest backgrounds the same opportunity to learn and grow that I was given.
The bursary fund enables a wider range of local children to benefit from, and contribute to, the life of Exeter School. It also benefits other children at the school, as they will mix with children from a wider range of backgrounds. Such mixing will prepare all children to play a positive role in the more diverse society they will encounter in adult life.
A small but regular gift to the bursary fund makes a real difference when combined with similar gifts from likeminded former pupils.
I donate to the bursary fund today because I want to give promising local children from modest backgrounds the same opportunity to learn and grow that I was given.
Legacies
Testimonials
Exeter School owes its existence to gifts in Wills, and legacies continue to have a significant impact at the school today. We are grateful to all those who think of the school in this way.
Exeter School is a registered charity
One OE who did just that was David Hough (1956-1959). David joined his brother, Tony, at the school in the early 1950s He travelled to Exeter each morning on the 8.04 steam train from Newton Abbot, as one of the school’s “Train Boys”.
This experience fostered a long-standing interest in railways, whilst his membership of the school’s CCF prompted a similarly long-lived involvement with all things military. David left school after taking his O-Levels and trained as an architect at Portsmouth University He returned to Devon to join an architectural practice in Exeter
It was whilst working in Exeter that he joined the Territorial Army. He remained a member when he moved to London, and went on to gain a commission. He finally retired with the rank of Major, and filled his retirement with the rallying of classic cars and morris dancing. He was an enthusiastic supporter of OE events
David passed away in 2024, and left a gift to the school’s bursary fund in his Will. His generosity will enable future generations of Exonians to join the school he loved, and benefit from the education as he did
David Hough - 1938-2024
With thanks to David’s family, and particularly his brother Tony Hough (1949-1955).
Makeagifta changealife
Talk to us about making a donation to the bursary fund, remembering the school in your Will or funding, either in part or in full, a bursary at the school.
Every gift we receive will change a life, no gift is too small. Collectively, gifts of all sizes have an impact.
A full bursary in the 2025/26 academic year is £20,994 - this figure can be reached, with Gift Aid, by...
93 people giving £15 a month
28 people giving £50 a month
17 people giving £1,000 a year
You can make a regular or one-off gift to the bursary fund at bit.ly/MakeAGiftAndChangeALife (also accessed via the QR code below).
We are always keen to discuss recognition opportunities.
If you have any questions, or would like to fund a bursary, either in part or in full, we would be delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch with Alice Holohan, using the contact details on the opposite page.
Some children would really benefit from a place at the school, so why not help them to access one. I have no doubt my path would have been quite different had I not been able to come here.
I arrived in the sixth form with average grades and left with a place to study medicine at the University of Manchester. I owe where I am now, and where I will be in the future, to my experience at Exeter School and I’m grateful to everyone who made my dream possible.
We always recommend talking to a solicitor regarding matters concerning your Will
If you would like to discuss any aspect of giving to the school, please contact
Alice Holohan, Director of Development and Alumni Relations
at asah@exeterschool.org.uk or +44 (0)1392 458 940.
