London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 17, 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
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
×