Bursary Fund

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Bursary Fund

8% of children in Year 7 and above receive a bursary, and of these, more than half receive a 100% award.

MR DAMIAN KING, HEAD

"Chigwell School helped me to identify my path and then gave me the tools to forge it."

I will always be grateful to Chigwell, and I hope that current students will, when they are ready, reflect on their good fortune and find ways to help others thrive, as many generations of Old Chigwellians have done before them. As I remember Chigwell, I recall the wonderful people who made every day really special: the inspiring headmaster and the superb, hard-working teachers. I am inspired by the dedication and willingness with which Chigwell alumni carry forth their education to help others in the world.”

Gurminder K. Bhogal is the Catherine Mills Davis Chair in Music at Wellesley College near Boston, U.S.A. Bursary recipient, Class of 1990-1992

"It was a genuine privilege and honour to be there."

I am eternally grateful for what Chigwell offered me and I cherished every moment I was there. I hope that there will be more students, from backgrounds similar to mine, who will be sitting in the classrooms at Chigwell School feeling the way I did and getting the most out of the brilliant education the school offers. Chigwell was founded in 1629 by Samuel Harsnett to help 16 students from disadvantaged backgrounds. That is what this school has always been about. It is entrenched in the history of the school and it should always continue to do exactly that.

I was really fortunate to have a high-quality education at Chigwell which was then followed up by amazing opportunities at university and now a career in media. I know I have been very lucky and now have a significant platform to express my views and opinions.

It is now my responsibility to do what I can to make sure that others get the opportunities that I was so lucky to get. There are so many bright children from disadvantaged backgrounds who won’t get the same opportunities as those who study at Chigwell and although the school can’t help every single one of them, every single student that it does help, it literally changes their lives.

Shehab Khan, Political Journalist and Political Reporter, ITV News. Bursary recipient, Class of 2012.

"Attending Chigwell School had many benefits, benefits that represented true differences from alternate paths that were available to me at 11, ultimately shaping my life trajectory.”

One of the key benefits was the supportive learning environment. The small class sizes, attentive nature of the teachers and the all-round caring environment meant that I was not allowed to fall behind. Most importantly, no doors of opportunity were closed.

It was only heading into sixth form that I truly began to narrow down on subject matter that I was passionate about – this process being aided by the number of extra-curricular activities available at Chigwell. For me, the William’s Project and the Geography Society gave me a clear indication of my passions, which led me to attend the London School of Economics. Firstly as an undergraduate, studying Geography with Economics and later as a postgraduate, studying Local Economic Development, after being awarded a full scholarship.

Zach Bacon, Consultant at Quod. Bursary recipient, Class of 2014.