Photo: The Churchill Oak c. late 1970s, by David White (G78). Returning alumni commented on how it has grown!
This year we welcomed back Thatcher’s children – the classes of 77–81– back to College for their Reunion Dinner. With help from alumni amongst those invited back, we set a target to raise enough funding through donations from these year groups to fund a bursary through endowment.
This initiative was suggested by Peter Hughes (U77), who noted:
“ Our year was lucky to grow up when a university education was cheap and highly valued. Now students graduate with debts of over £50,000 in most cases, the prospect of which can put many off a University education.”
As many will know, Churchill provides bursary funding of £3,500 per year for undergraduates meeting means-tested criteria of having family incomes below £42,000 – those at the upper end of this receive a smaller sum. The years set out to endow a bursary, so that at least £3,500 would be generated every year in perpetuity to fund one student. You can read about students who would be helped by bursary funding, and also watch our videos with various students talking about how receiving a bursary or studentship has helped them.
To date, thanks to generous contributions from over 100 alumni, we’ve raised nearly £90,000, so the 77–81 years are only £10,000 away from their collective goal. If you would like to add your support to reach the target please use our online donation form and select ’77–81 Bursary’ from the drop-down list.
We are still deciding on a name for the bursary and have had suggestions referring to various genres of music or politicians and scientific discoveries of the time.
We’re particularly grateful to Peter Hughes (U77), Anne Morrison (U78) Simon Henry (U79), Niall McLeod(U79), Shaun Parker (U80) and Susie Clements (u81) for championing this cause amongst their years, and to all those who have already contributed.
The Reunion Dinner itself was a fantastic event, with over 300 people dining in Hall, many of whom had not seen each other since they graduated 35 or more years ago! We’re already excited about welcoming our 1988–92 alumni back on Saturday 4 July 2020!
Read more about how your support can open doors and transform lives
