London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Top schools defend rejecting bursary for white boys

Two top English private schools have defended their decision not to accept a benefactor's offer of scholarships for disadvantaged white boys.

Winchester and Dulwich colleges have declined the offer - reported to be worth over £1m - by a former pupil from both, Professor Sir Bryan Thwaites.

The schools say they do not want to put ethnic restrictions on who can benefit from financial help.

Sir Bryan says he is now looking for state schools to accept his offer.

The philanthropist, who is 96 and plans to leave the funds in his will, attended Dulwich until the start of the Second World War, and then went on to Winchester.

His parents could not have afforded the fees for him and his brother without the aid of scholarships.

Sir Bryan says he wants to help white boys from disadvantaged backgrounds because they perform worse at school than their counterparts from other ethnic groups.

Stormzy sending black students to Cambridge
Private schools propose 10,000 free places
Private schools 'should help children in care'
Sir Bryan told the Times newspaper that this was why he wanted to make a leading education available to others and believed the institutions were wrong to reject his offer on the basis that it was based on race.

He told the Times: "I have done a lot for both schools over the years and have been closely involved in them.

"All the more, therefore, do I feel that both schools have made a strategic mistake in their interpretation of legislation."

Trevor Phillips, the former chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, said the Equality Act of 2010 was not designed to favour people of colour, but to ensure equality.

He told the Times that Sir Bryan's proposal simply showed he "wanted to do the right thing by families who need support".

In August last year, the rapper Stormzy announced he would fund two black British students to go to the University of Cambridge.

The star said there was "a whole bunch of academically brilliant, excellent students" who needed an incentive to aim for top universities.

In his single, Crown, Stormzy addressed some of the negative reaction to his decision to offer the scholarships, rapping that it is not "anti-white, it's pro-black".


Fees of over 40k

Winchester, a boarding school which charges £13,903 per term, and Dulwich, which charges £7,082 a term for day boys and £14,782 for a term of full boarding, are among the most exclusive schools in England.

At Dulwich, there are currently 191 pupils from Year 3 to Year 13 who are in receipt of a means-tested bursary, the school said.

"The college's ambition is for 50% of pupils at Dulwich to be in receipt of fee relief through scholarships and, increasingly, means-tested bursaries. This figure is currently 30%," it said in a statement.

A spokesman for Winchester College said: "The school, in common with many universities, has outreach schemes aimed at carefully selected and under-represented communities. These schemes operate successfully and are regularly reviewed.

"The school will continue to discuss with benefactors the effective delivery of their intentions.

"But the trustees are clear, having consulted widely, that acceptance of a bequest of this nature would neither be in the interests of the school as a charity, nor the specific interests of those it aims to support through its work.

"Notwithstanding legal exceptions to the relevant legislation, the school does not see how discrimination on grounds of a boy's colour could ever be compatible with its values."

Master of Dulwich College, Dr Joe Spence, said: "We are extremely grateful to the many benefactors who support the College's bursary fund. Their generosity means we are able to offer academically able boys a place at Dulwich College.

"I am, however, resistant to awards made with any ethnic or religious criteria. Bursaries are an engine of social mobility, and they should be available to all who pass our entrance examinations, irrespective of their background."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
Declassified Annex Links Soros‑Affiliated Officials and Clinton Campaign to ‘Russiagate’ Narrative
×