Why I Give to RGS Bursaries

By Christian Gardner (00-07)

From 2000 to 2007 I was given a gift, an education at Newcastle Royal Grammar School. Coming from a single parent family, my mum wanted to give me the best possible education, but couldn’t afford the full school fees.

After successfully passing the entrance examination and interview, and with thanks to the generosity of Sir Peter Ogden (through The Ogden Trust) and The Hospital of St Mary the Virgin Trust, I received a bursary which allowed me to enter RGS.

This may be the first time that many of my peers, reading this, will be aware that I was the beneficiary of a bursary, but I am so grateful and proud that I was able to be educated at RGS. Not only was the quality of education exceptional, I was also given responsibilities, and gained a level of confidence and self-respect, which I do not believe I would have gained elsewhere. This confidence and awareness of my abilities and the opportunities open to me in life have been the foundation of my career to date.

Now, eight years after leaving the school and gaining an Economics degree from Newcastle University, I work for True Potential, a Newcastle-based financial advice network with 420 advisers around the UK, as a compliance officer, one of a team of three staff tasked with assessing the suitability of high risk business to protect both clients and the company. My previous role at another Newcastle-based financial advice firm was as an investment analyst, with oversight of £100 million of client assets and managing a research service with over 10,000 users. Last summer, I was told that I had the most impressive CV the interviewer –a senior manager at a large accountancy firm –had seen from anyone under 30.

RGS instilled in me a work ethic which has been reflected in my career achievements to date. None of this would have been possible without the quality of the education I received at RGS, and RGS would not have been a possibility for me without the offer of a bursary. “ This may be the first time that many of my peers, reading this, will be aware that I was the beneficiary of a bursary, but I am so grateful and proud that I was able to be educated at RGS. ”

Collectively, the Old Novocastrians could make a huge difference to someone’s education and life, and

I sincerely hope that you will join me in making a donation, however large or small, to allow another young person, just like me, to be given the opportunity of a lifetime.

Please contact Jane Medcalf by email at campaign@rgs.newcastle.sch.uk to discuss various ways to join Christian in donating to RGS Bursaries. Bursaries cost nearly £800,000 per annum. Your support is most appreciated.

Leisure time: driving a hired Caterham for my 26th birthday present!