The Nicholas Knatchbull Memorial Bursary and the Dragon School Bursary Scheme
The Dragon School, with 850 pupils, is the largest boarding/day prep school in the country. Since the School's foundation in 1877, young Dragons have been encouraged to pursue their interests within a structured environment so that they develop naturally and their talents and skills emerge gradually. The School has long enjoyed a reputation for providing children of wide ranging backgrounds and with differing abilities a broad-based education. They are encouraged not to accept the unreasoned, to question without fear, to consider themselves responsible for their own actions, and to participate and feel that their contributions are valuable. This development of character has been coupled with first class academic teaching and remains very much a part of the Dragon ethos today.
The School is a leader in most academic fields - indeed, is a centre of prep school excellence for several academic disciplines and PSHCE (pastoral, social, health, and citizenship education); the range of curriculum subjects and the breadth of activities outside the classroom contribute significantly to the Dragon's distinction and distinctiveness.
The Governors (who are the School's Trustees) are committed to an admissions policy which encourages applications from those who seek the broad-based education for which the School has always been renowned. They also recognise that there are many children who would benefit from a Dragon education but whose parents cannot afford to send them here. Amongst their objectives is a desire to provide an excellent education for children who are good 'all-rounders' with potential in music and/or art and/or drama and/or sport, and would benefit academically. In this way, the School would continue to support a broad social mix, for which it has long been known.
The Governors have agreed to begin a Bursary programme from September 2003 for, in the first instance, up to five candidates per year. Successful candidates will be accepted into E block (age 8), and, in exceptional circumstances, higher up the School.
Bursary Awards
Bursaries of between 30% and 80% will be awarded to suitable candidates based on financial need rather than academic selection. An application form has been developed to determine financial eligibility, and, once satisfied, candidates are interviewed in the same manner as any other Dragon candidate.
Funding Bursaries
Despite its reputation and history, the Dragon has no endowment or other assets which could be unlocked for the provision of bursaries. Therefore, the Development Programme is now focusing on raising the money required to provide the necessary financial support for those children who would benefit from a Dragon education, but who could not otherwise afford to take up a place.
In 2003--04 the amount required to fund a bursary at 80% is £9,100, or £45,500 for five children. Over the next five years, we intend to increase the numbers of bursary awards to five children in each year (25 in total). If an endowed fund were set aside for this purpose, some £6,000,000 would be required./p>
Given the current financial climate, the Governors have elected that, in the short-term, we will seek year-on-year funding to support the scheme. However, to ensure the programme's long-term success, an endowed fund consisting of a number of 'named' bursaries would be desirable. The Nicholas Knatchbull Memorial Bursary will be the first of what we hope will become a number of such named bursaries endowed in support of the Dragon School Bursary programme.