DEDICATIONS AND DONATIONS

Our warmest thanks go to all those who donated items to the Archive and the Library this past year. We were also delighted to welcome David Nash Williams (OW 1949) back to School and receive a plaque dedicated to his father and three uncles, all of whom attended WGS. Similarly generous, Imtiaz Munir (OW 1989) has recently donated a bench by way of thanks to ‘a transformational school and my parents’.

Throughout the year OWs have responded to requests for help, volunteering their time in all manner of ways: from mentoring Sixth Form students to helping with Covidtesting, virtual events to classroom talks and more. The value of your collective support is incalculable. Our students benefit immensely, and we so appreciate it.

Donations received during the year to 31st August 2021, from single or regular gifts and legacies, amounted to a little over £228,000. This included £33,850 specifically for the Emergency Appeal Fund (EAF). Since it was launched in May 2020, support for the EAF has exceeded £252,000 in total, enabling 28 students to remain at WGS during a financially desperate time for their families, specifically due to Covid-19. The response to this emergency appeal was not only amazing but literally lifechanging for those it has helped; thank you to everyone who donated. In order that we may return to our primary focus of raising funds for bursaries, the EAF is now closed to donations.

Dr Robin Cooper (OW 1956, a Trustee of the Independence Appeals Fund and President of the OWs in the USA) continues his longstanding and transformational support for his old School. During the past year Robin has indicated his intention to include a gift in his will, specifically for the creation of a science bursary endowment, to support local, talented students of modest means, intent on studying science subjects at both A Level and university, and with a determination to pursue a career in a science-related field.

Robin's generosity continued with a recent donation of £42,000 as seed funding to assist with plans for a science outreach project. Robin asks if other OWs might come together to match his gift: "As a Research Chemist, I am motivated to help the School to be a scientific centre of excellence and to develop its teaching to benefit other surrounding schools, as well as our own students. Today, practical laboratory experience is required by the top science universities but equipment is expensive. I challenge all OWs to help WGS acquire the right type of instrumentation. We have already upgraded the laboratories and collected some equipment, but more is required.’'

Please contact Tina Erskine, Development Director, for further information by email: ter@wgs-sch.net

New for 2022, the Zeps Natural Sciences Scholarship has been made possible following a generous annual commitment by former Head Boy Professor Nik Zeps (OW 1988). Nik studied Biology at King’s College London, completed a PhD in surgery/ pathology at the University of Western Australia and became a cancer biologist. After 20 years of experience working in senior leadership and healthcare research, Nik is a Partner at Chrysalis, a health-care focused management consulting firm. Nik lives with his family in Melbourne, Australia. He remains a biologist at heart and is keen to support his old school, which he believes gave him so much.

The Scholarship is open to students studying Biology, Chemistry or Geography to full A Level, based on an application and interview. The successful recipient will receive £1,000 to help support their study of Natural Sciences (or a related discipline) at university.

Nik’s twin brother Rob Zeps generously created the Graham Lewis Maths Scholarship in 2015. Read about the recipients of the 2021 Graham Lewis Maths Scholarship on page 76.

We are inspired by and grateful to them both