Scholarships to CH -- and beyond
Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 1:05 pm
What has happened to the various old "scholarships" that existed as means of entry to CH in my time (1950s)? Maybe somebody who visits this forum has an understanding of how these old arrangements have evolved.
I got to CH in 1953 at age 11 because I won one of the two places offered that year to the Borough of Ilford, Essex under what I understand was called the Country Parishes Scholarship scheme. I believe that there were a number of towns on the fringes of London that enjoyed this privilege -- providing parents of would-be pupils with an alternative to seeking out a willing Governor of CH to 'nominate' their child for a CH place. In Ilford the education authorities facilitated this scholarship arrangement by inviting local schools to submit candidates who then sat a competitive examination (set and adjudicated by CH itself) to determine the winners for that year. Did these scholarships simply disappear? If so, what happened to any endowments that might have been funding them?
Parents of children winning one of these places to CH were still subject to the usual means-testing and parental contributions. These scholarships in fact simply offered an additional way to get accepted at CH, so maybe they were not in fact really scholarships in the usual sense.
Any insights from anyone?
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I also have a similar question relating to life beyond CH: the open scholarships to Oxford and Cambridge that Grecians were expected to aim at. I remember in my year that the CH 'haul' of these was around 20. These were competitive Oxford/Cambridge college scholarships that, as well as the college/university entry that they bestowed, also provided considerable prestige to the winners and the school as well as various financial and fee-waiver benefits to the individual. What happened to these scholarships as an entry route to Oxford or Cambridge? I remember that a number of them were clearly labelled with name of a benefactor or an endowment. I don't see any reference to these scholarships' these days.
Again, any insights from anyone?
I got to CH in 1953 at age 11 because I won one of the two places offered that year to the Borough of Ilford, Essex under what I understand was called the Country Parishes Scholarship scheme. I believe that there were a number of towns on the fringes of London that enjoyed this privilege -- providing parents of would-be pupils with an alternative to seeking out a willing Governor of CH to 'nominate' their child for a CH place. In Ilford the education authorities facilitated this scholarship arrangement by inviting local schools to submit candidates who then sat a competitive examination (set and adjudicated by CH itself) to determine the winners for that year. Did these scholarships simply disappear? If so, what happened to any endowments that might have been funding them?
Parents of children winning one of these places to CH were still subject to the usual means-testing and parental contributions. These scholarships in fact simply offered an additional way to get accepted at CH, so maybe they were not in fact really scholarships in the usual sense.
Any insights from anyone?
--------------------------------
I also have a similar question relating to life beyond CH: the open scholarships to Oxford and Cambridge that Grecians were expected to aim at. I remember in my year that the CH 'haul' of these was around 20. These were competitive Oxford/Cambridge college scholarships that, as well as the college/university entry that they bestowed, also provided considerable prestige to the winners and the school as well as various financial and fee-waiver benefits to the individual. What happened to these scholarships as an entry route to Oxford or Cambridge? I remember that a number of them were clearly labelled with name of a benefactor or an endowment. I don't see any reference to these scholarships' these days.
Again, any insights from anyone?