ORIGINS OF THE BURSARY CAMPAIGN JAMES MILLER

ORIGINS OF THE BURSARY CAMPAIGN

BY JAMES MILLER (94-08)

As Lord Eldon (Lord Chancellor at the beginning of the nineteenth century) said: “[Admiral Lord Collingwood] and I were class fellows at Newcastle. We were placed at that school because neither his father nor mine could afford to place us elsewhere.”

Breadth of access has always been

integral to what the RGS is about, and, in the past, thousands have benefited from a free or highly subsidised RGS education. I am sure that I speak for all four of us living Headmasters when I say that the school community, region, and indeed the country have all benefitted from the rich social mix of generations of supported RGS students.

The Direct Grant system ensured very wide access to hundreds of RGS boys each year, until it was phased out in the mid-70s. The Thatcher government introduced the Assisted Places Scheme in 1981 and I recall that the RGS at one stage had more than 300 boys on the scheme. One of the first decisions of the 1997 Blair government was to phase out the scheme, and so the RGS was faced with becoming the preserve only of parents who could afford the fees.

An immediate response was to create a bursary scheme dependent on existing school funds. There was a reluctance amongst Governors to increase fees in order to pay for bursaries beyond this; we knew that a lot of parents found the pressure of fees a real burden, and requiring them to subsidise other parents did not seem fair. To this day the RGS does not fund any bursaries from fee income; it has remained an important value of the school. As such, the initial bursary scheme was very limited; more clearly needed to be done. Independent schools have, of course, been running appeals for ever, but almost all had been to pay for new buildings; almost uniquely (I was aware of only one other school doing the same) the RGS Governors agreed to eschew any further appeal for building funds, and to focus solely on appealing for bursary funds.

As remains the case today, we saw RGS bursaries as being very important in three ways:

It would enable talented boys and girls, irrespective of their backgrounds, to benefit from what the RGS had and has to offer;

The diverse social mix of the school had always been a major asset to the culture of the school and must be fiercely protected;

We also felt a strong obligation to the North East, where secondary school attainment and standards were, at the time, well below national averages. Too much talent was going to waste and at least some of that could be obviated by giving able young people the chance of realising their potential at the RGS.

The Headmasters of the RGS spanning the last half-century left to right; Bernard Trafford (08-17), John Fern (17-present), James Miller (94-08) and Alister Cox (72-94)

“In my time as Head, the success of the Bursary Campaign was down to the hard work and dedication of a large number of people.”

There was some debate on what the target should be. I thought that raising more than £1.5 million was very unlikely; Louis Taylor (75-85), our Chair of Governors, with his normal drive and enthusiasm insisted that the initial target should be £3 million – and mentioned £5 million as a possible target. I thought he was wildly ambitious; I am delighted that I have been proved comprehensively wrong: the Bursary Campaign has now raised over £7.3 million.

In my time as Head, the success of the Bursary Campaign was down to the hard work and dedication of a large number of people. It is perhaps invidious but particular credit and thanks must go to Louis Taylor, the first two chairmen – the late and much missed Ashley Winter (64-74) and Crispian Strachan – and the then Bursar, Richard Metcalfe (retired Bursar, 99-16).

The real thanks, however, must go to the donors - the trusts and foundations and the very many parents, ONs and friends of the RGS whose generosity over the last 17 years has enabled an outstanding 375 talented girls and boys to make the most of their potential and then contribute so positively to society.

An appeal for buildings can have a fixed target and, if it is met, a school can celebrate that, put up the building and forget about it – until the next building appeal is launched (very soon after!). Bursaries are different; the demand is essentially unlimited and continuing, while the available funds are necessarily finite. The RGS must continue to strive for yet more and more funds to meet its passionate commitment to its community as a whole. And so the financial support of the RGS community for the Bursary Campaign remains undiminished.

There is an increasing emphasis at national level on widening access to elite places of learning, particularly Oxford and Cambridge universities. A critical problem they have is that the necessary action cannot, in general, be taken by them; it is too late. Things have to happen at school age. Perhaps Oxford and Cambridge ought to support the RGS Bursary Campaign as a much more effective way of broadening access.