Shaping Our Future

Sweet Jar-a-thon

Shaping Our Future Campaign

Following the completion of the rebuilding of the Senior School, we launched our ambitious Shaping Our Future fundraising campaign. A target of £20m to be raised by 2023 was set by our Governing Body so this sees us now in our fourth year. The aims of the campaign are: to widen access to St Paul’s through our bursaries programme; to increase our profile within the local community through our partnerships work and voluntary service; and to continue with our rebuilding project, turning our attention to our sporting and hospitality provision.

Our fundraising efforts have not been without challenge, particularly a world-wide pandemic, but with tremendous support from our community we have raised £15.8m to date, with the vast majority going towards our partnerships and bursary appeals – helping St Paul’s to fulfil its goal of having 153 bursary pupils by 2023, representing 10% of pupils. Such achievements are only made possible through the support of our community and external supporters, to whom we owe a huge debt of gratitude.

One area of pupil fundraising worth highlighting has been the Thomas Gresham Bursary Award. A wholly pupil-led appeal which aims to provide a 100% bursary for the highest performing boy at 11+ in need of financial support. This award was founded in 2017 by four of our Upper Eighth pupils, and named after Old Pauline Sir Thomas Gresham (15311537) who founded the London Royal Exchange and was Financier to King Edward VI, Queen Mary I and Queen Elizabeth I. This year’s committee of Will Shackleton, Louis Wilson, Charlie Hunt, and Matt Smith have used their year in post to raise awareness amongst their fellow pupils about their goal to help provide ‘a quality education, no matter the walk of life’, by financially supporting the two Thomas Gresham bursary award recipients currently attending St Paul’s. They have raised £18,561 through a lot of hard work, entrepreneurial spirit, and unwavering enthusiasm – all in their hectic final year. This brings current total donations to the Thomas Gresham Bursary Award to £164,376.

Highlights of the year include the Annual Quiz, the Junior School Readathon, the Sweet Jar-a-thon, and the Thomas Gresham Mufti Day. ❚