150 Appeal
Transforming Lives as well as Minds
Bursary Awards for future generations of Wulfrunians
Sir Rupert Kettle, Chair of Governors
Thomas Beach, Headmaster in 1875
Dear WGS Community,
The success and progress of the School to date has been strongly influenced by the dedication and support of our very special WGS family. Wolverhampton Grammar School owes its existence to Sir Stephen Jenyns, who founded the School in 1512 to provide a “good, moral education” for the children of Wolverhampton. From these early beginnings and the first intake of 222 boys, the School has continued to educate several thousands of children from the city of Wolverhampton and beyond.
Over 500 years later, WGS continues its charitable mission and provides bursary places to students who could not otherwise afford to attend the School, ensuring the highest standard of education and transformational opportunities. As we look ahead to the 150th anniversary of our move to Compton Road, our vision is to secure the continuation of bursarial support for future generations of Wulfrunians.
Whether a provision in your Will or a gift that you are able to make now, all gifts to the School are valuable. Whatever the amount you are able to contribute, all gifts will go towards helping our boys and girls to make the most of their WGS education so that they may progress to be meaningful contributors to society.
If WGS holds a special place in your heart and you would like to discuss how you can support us, please contact myself or Caroline Harris, Development and Fundraising Manager, we would be happy to chat with you.
Thank you for your consideration.
Nic Anderson Head
Bursary fundraising is not easy for schools: nor, indeed, for Heads, as I recall, yet how essential is this ask! I always kept asking, and giving myself, because the funding of bursaries goes to the very heart of the School’s purpose. A selective school, WGS chooses boys and girls to join its number who will thrive on, and make the best of, the unique opportunities that such a great school offers: and it must be able to give financial support to those who need it, if it is to fulfil its educational mission.
I dare hope, moreover, that those who have, in the recent or distant past, benefited from a WGS education will, in turn, contribute to this worthiest of causes and support the generations of Wulfrunians who will follow them.
Thank you for your support.
Bernard Trafford Head 1990-2008
Introduction
Back in the 16th century, Wolverhampton Grammar School was only a very small school. Over the years, the number of boys in the school fluctuated, always with a proportion of boarders. The need to move to a bigger site to allow the School to thrive had been recognised for many years and it was Thomas Beach, headmaster from 1865, who became the driving force behind the bold move to a new site on the Compton Road in 1875, where we have been ever since.
In 2025, WGS will celebrate 150 years since the move to Compton Road on 15th October 1875. To mark this special anniversary, WGS is launching a 150 Appeal with the aim of raising much-needed funds for future Bursary Awards.
Our vision is “Transforming Lives as well as Minds” and we would like to offer the opportunity of a WGS education to all, regardless of family income. In launching the 150 Appeal, we hope that this will not only raise a significant sum to be immediately invested in bursaries, but that it will also be a springboard for continued gifts and donations to the School for years to come.
Compton Road circa 1920s
A History of Philanthropy
The possibility of the loss of selective status loomed large in the 1970s and the governors, having made the decision to opt for independence, committed the task of carrying through this major change to a new headmaster, Patrick Hutton, in 1978.
The School began charging fees in 1979 and a £600,000 Independence Appeal to establish a Bursary Fund and to finance improvements to the library and teaching facilities was launched to parents, alumni and friends of the School by the Governors and former headmasters Warren Derry, Ernest Taylor and Tony Stocks. A separate appeal was made to industry and commerce to raise half of the funds.
Thanks to the successful Independence Appeal and the introduction of the Government’s Assisted Places Scheme in 1980, the School was able to continue to offer places to bright students whose parents could not pay full fees. Students arriving in 1997 were the last to benefit from the Government’s Assisted Places Scheme, and the size of the intake fell after this loss.
It has remained important to the Directors and Senior Management Team to continue to offer a WGS education to all. Over the years the WGS community has been extremely generous in giving to the School and various successful appeals have taken place.
Today, the School funds in the region of £665,000 each year in fees assistance. This helps around 55 students at any one time. In addition, the School has received support from the Merchant Taylors’ Foundation and parents, both past and present, towards its facilities and resources.
It has been a few years since we have approached the WGS community for support. As the number of pupils applying for bursaries continues to increase, we now look to the WGS family to help us. In addition, we welcome any unrestricted gifts to the School. These will be ring-fenced and wisely invested for the benefit of future generations of Wulfrunians.
Our People
At Wolverhampton Grammar School, we believe that our people are what make us truly special. Over the last 150 years, WGS has seen many changes – from the end of boarding to the introduction of girls, from the start of Big 6 to the opening of a full junior and infant school. One thing has always remained constant: our sense of community and belonging.
We are committed to creating a nurturing and supportive environment where every student can thrive. We are proud of our diverse community of students, staff, and parents, and we are grateful for the dedication and passion that they bring to WGS every day.
Just one example of the many inspiring people who make up the WGS community is JJ (Mr John Johnson) who enters retirement after 50 years of service to the School. As a former Director of Sport during the all-boys’ era, WGS enjoyed a national reputation for football (and also Eton Fives). JJ led by example through his tireless coaching, which inspired all his students, and leading the First XI to many notable victories. Later as girls joined the School, JJ offered unstinting promotion of girls’ sport, helping to ensure the success of co-education as a whole.
JJ has been inspirational in several extra-curricular activities including field trips, ski trips, sports festivals and the WGS institution that is Coast 2 Coast. These have had an impact, not just on our students themselves, but have also benefitted local and national charities spanning several decades. As we celebrate 150 years on Compton Road we look forward to sharing many similar stories of our WGS community.
There must be hundreds if not thousands of kids from WGS whose lives will be better for having known JJ.
Andy Walford (OW 1997)
25th Anniversary of Coast 2 Coast
Celebrating 50 years of friendship with the 1984/5 First XI
1962 – Visit of HRH Queen Elizabeth II
2014 – Art A Level success
1962 – Choral society Messiah, Big School
2004 – School production
1942 – CCF
2023 – Reception
1902-03 – First XI Football Team
1950s – Field Trip
1970s – Richard Mynors, Head of Music
1984 – First girls to join Sixth Form
1927 – School House
1917 – Athletics Team
1999 – First Coast2-Coast Team
1896 – First XI Cricket Team
–
WGS Today
Wolverhampton Grammar School welcomes 780 students through its doors. The Junior School is thriving further since the addition of infants in 2021, meaning a WGS education can now start from the age of 4 years, laying the all-important early foundations for learning.
The WGS student body is diverse and vibrant: “An inclusive and inspiring community built on individuality, respect, equity and kindness;” and our highly skilled staff help our students go on to achieve great things.
Part of our mission is to create a sense of social responsibility. We want every student to believe they can make a difference in contributing to society and the world beyond the school gates.
Students are encouraged to think of others and every year we ensure we give back to the local community. Recent initiatives have included House Charity projects in support of Children in Need, the British Red Cross, Eyecan and Compton Care. The annual Coast 2 Coast Challenge raises significant money for charity. Now in its 26th year, the challenge has raised in excess of £100,000 since its inception. Junior School children also support a local, national and international charity each year. The 2024 causes are Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Ronald McDonald House and Tigers Forever.
We have invested heavily in the wellbeing of our students and staff and continue to make improvements to our site to ensure that the best resources and facilities are available for our students. “We believe that education is about transforming lives as well as minds”.
The Need
In the past, Government support has enabled us to accept students on free places. Currently, WGS provides a small number of Bursary Awards for students from Years 7 to Year 13, but every year demand for Bursary Awards far outstrips the resources available.
David Osamudiamen (OW 2024)
In Year 7, I was a quiet, shy kid who had so much to say but mumbled and stuttered whenever he tried to say it but then I auditioned for the middle school play. That year it was the adapted-for-the-stage version of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies and Mr Benfield and Mr Payne cast me in the role of Maurice, a loud, brash and unapologetic character who loved nothing more than to be the centre of attention; this was about as far out of my comfort zone as possible. It brought my confidence on leaps and bounds, to the point where now I feel no problem in volunteering myself up for public speaking tasks, and in fact now readily enjoy any opportunity to perform, to entertain and be the centre of attention!
As we know from speaking to previous beneficiaries, the opportunity to attend WGS through a bursary has fulfilled our vision to change lives.
Off the stage, there have been many other extra-curricular opportunities that have also played their part in fashioning the present me. In the world of sports, I was always up for a challenge, never limiting myself to my favoured sport,
football. Over the last 7 years I have competed for the School, learning the importance of teamwork, resilience and perseverance. My first ever experience of skiing came last year on the School trip to Austria. It was one of the most incredible weeks of my life. School trips like these are such a luxury, one I am so grateful to have been afforded the ability to indulge in, having also been on a football tour to Villarreal and a culture trip to Berlin during my time at School.
Naturally WGS has shaped me academically as well. I have been the beneficiary of nothing short of the highest quality of teaching that made GCSEs – dare I say – easy, and A Levels and university application a lot less daunting than may have otherwise been the case. I certainly wouldn’t be sat here today as a Cambridge offer holder without the inspiration, tutelage and support of my teachers.
I would thank every teacher and member of staff I have interacted with in my 7 years here. All have left what I’m sure will be a lasting impression on me and have made WGS feel like a home to me.
Christopher Fellows (Current student)
Attending WGS was monumental for my development as a person, it was only possible thanks to the bursary scheme at WGS. My time at WGS has given me the opportunity to focus on my academic life in a greater way than I ever could have done in any other school. I plan to use the education and skills acquired to pursue a degree apprenticeship in Technology so that I can gain experience within the technology industry, while earning a salary.
Gillian Scott – Parent of Connor (OW 2012)
Our family were extremely proud and very grateful when my son was offered a bursary at Wolverhampton Grammar School. Like every other parent, I wanted the best education possible for him, but it was beyond my means financially for him to attend a fee paying school without the bursary.
Jane Keene – parent of Callum (OW 2014)
As an only child, attending WGS was the making of Callum, as I knew it would be… gently increasing his confidence through the secondary years and developing his potential in both the academic and sporting fields. The School’s small size and pastoral care gave him a wider sense of a supportive family that was crucial in his teenage years. The extra-curricular activities offered, including music, were also important for both his physical, mental and social development.
WGS enabled Callum to make friends for life before moving on to experience the wider world via Birmingham University where he gained a first class degree in Political Science, followed by a Masters in Strategic Management. This allowed him to move to London to work in his chosen field, widen his circle of friends, enabling him to have new experiences and fun, despite the pandemic, helped no doubt by the resilience and maturity of thought gained initially at WGS.
As parents, we both appreciated the School’s inclusivity and focus on equality of opportunity.
Throughout his time at Wolverhampton Grammar School, he was never made to feel different from any other student and made friendships and connections for life. Nurtured by the Wolverhampton Grammar School team, my son’s GCSE and A level results easily secured him a place at a Russell Group University where he gained a first class honours degree in Physics.
I truly believe that because he attended your outstanding school, the world is his oyster. He is currently living and working in New Zealand.
Connor Scott (OW 2012)
WGS and its staff nurtured and instilled a love of learning which could easily have been lost had the bursary scheme not given me the opportunity to attend. I really enjoyed the time I spent at WGS and made lifelong friends.
Susan Gough (OW 2002)
I really believe if I hadn’t had the opportunity to attend on an assisted place I would have been ‘swallowed up’ in the local comprehensive.
There were so many opportunities scholastically, sporting and ‘other’.
I really got to dip my toe in the ocean, work out what I was interested in and what I was good at.
This hugely developed my confidence which has helped me throughout life, particularly when under the spotlight giving speeches to 200+ apprentices or rolling out a new project!
I have had 16 very enjoyable years working for Lloyds Banking Group; starting in the Call Centre and promoted to roles including Project Management, Risk SME & Vetting Policy Expert. I was proud to win the LBG Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year Award and become the Midland’s Regional Winner in the National Apprenticeship Services Apprenticeship Champion of the Year Award in 2018 and 2019.
I was honoured to speak at the House of Commons to discuss apprenticeships, LGBT issues in the workplace and Higher Education in 2019.
I left the bank to move into Local Government, spending two years as a Data Manager and have now returned to a bespoke role as Projects and Policy Manager.
Liz Barry – parent of Robert (OW 2009)
As a single parent of a very bright child I would not have been able to afford to send Robert to WGS under normal circumstances. Thankfully through the bursary scheme
Robert was welcomed with open arms into this warm, caring, nurturing environment.
My son was afforded the same as everyone else attending Wolverhampton Grammar School.
When Robert first attended WGS he was a quiet, rather shy individual. Robert was able to flourish and come out a thoughtful inquisitive young man at the other end, which enabled him to further his studies at Cambridge.
Attending WGS was transformative. I am extremely grateful for the invaluable life skills I have gained. The driving force behind all of this was the opportunities that WGS gave me as an individual. Whether that was leading the Hockey team or being Head Boy, various roles of responsibility and leadership enhanced my interpersonal skills and elevated my public speaking. WGS provided a holistic educational experience, whilst also fostering my personal growth and building lasting connections that have already and will continue to benefit me in many aspects of my life.
I am currently studying a degree in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. I am fuelled by a passionate ambition to pursue a career in the world of motorsports. To that end, I am an active member of the Oxford University Racing Formula Student Team. Reflecting on my journey so far, I am proud to say that WGS has equipped me for this with the necessary skills and mindset.
Vishwas Kumar (OW 2023)
Making a Gift
There are many ways in which you can support us:
• A single gift
• Regular giving e.g. monthly
• Leaving a legacy in your Will
You could help fund a bursary place for one year if:
8 people donate a regular gift of £150 per month OR
23 people donate a regular gift of £50 per month
Donors are always extended an open invitation to visit the School and attend school events. We will share with you how your gift is to be used and update you on the latest school news and developments. Anonymity will be given if preferred.
£140,000 funds one student throughout their senior school years
£16,800 funds a full bursary for one student for a year
Donate here
Our Supporters
We would love you to join our current supporters to help WGS transform the lives of more students.
Anonymous OW Donor
When I first walked through the gates of WGS I could never have imagined how the following 7 years would have a lasting impact on my life.
I was not by any means a model pupil! I collected more than my fair share of detentions but somehow managed to scrape together some O Levels and A Levels. However, education is about more than academic results. What WGS taught me was to challenge and to analyse and not to accept conventional thinking.
There were no fees when I joined WGS. Had there been, my parents could not have afforded them. There must be many families in that position today with children who would benefit from what WGS has to offer but are unable to pay the fees. So, I am happy to pay the fees of one of those children, to give them the opportunity WGS afforded me and to hopefully enable them to reach their full potential.
I hope my support will help the student to achieve the maximum he can; both academically and non-academically. Equally, I hope he remembers in the future the opportunity my support gave and, if financially possible, that he in turn provide support for WGS.
Dr Robin Cooper (OW 1956)
A change in family circumstances, demonstrating a severe need, was the motivation for me to support a bursary place for a WGS student. It was wonderful to hear of the student’s progress whilst at WGS, and I am happy to say I am still in touch with him and his family periodically. The appreciation of the family should not be underestimated in supporting a child to be educated at WGS. Now an OW himself and studying Dentistry at university, I hope he will be a benefit to society; and when he reaches the stage in life where he can afford to do so, he should then support a future OW student to receive a WGS education.
Mr John Appleby (OW 1962)
I joined WGS in September 1955 at the age of 11. I came from a happy but modest family background. My parents would not have been able to afford school fees. Fortunately, in that period, the school had Voluntary Aided Status and there were no fees.
With the help of a succession of inspirational teachers, I did well at O Level, A Level and university entrance exams and secured a place at St John’s College, Oxford to read History. This opened up a whole new world to me.
The wonderful thing about the Bursary Scheme is that WGS can claim Gift Aid on donations: a £1,000 gift is worth £1,250 to the School. Old Wulfrunians paying the higher 40% or 45% tax rate get substantial relief on their tax bills.
I strongly support the Gift Aid/Bursary Scheme mainly out of gratitude for all the School did for me, but also to help gifted young children who would otherwise be unable to go to WGS.
John 1959
Be part of someone’s story
Help us transform the lives of children and offer them a WGS education.
Wolverhampton Grammar School is a registered charity (no. 1125268) which allows supporters to increase the value of their donations to the School by 25% through the Gift Aid Scheme.
Regular Giving
Single donations also attract the same tax and Gift Aid benefits.
To find out more about the 150 Appeal please contact the Development Office:
E: development@wgs-sch.net
T: 01902 421326 Ext. 251/252
Wolverhampton Grammar School, Compton Road, Wolverhampton, WV3 9RB