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The History of Bursary Fundraising at MGS

Funding from the Direct Grant Scheme and Assisted Places Scheme has helped MGS to be accessible for poorer families at different times in our history. Our objective in embarking upon the first Bursary Appeal in 1998, in the context of the withdrawal of the Assisted Places Scheme, was to establish a fund that would directly subsidise the fees of suitably able boys from families of modest means.

Since 1998, thanks to donations from Old Mancunians, parents and supporters, the bursary funds managed by the MGS Trust have grown to over £29m. One sixth of the pupils in the School receive means-tested financial help, with the average support being 94% of the school fee. This is a remarkable achievement but in spite of the success that we have achieved, we regret that each year we are disappointing about 40 deserving boys for whom we have insufficient funds.

In January 2017 the MGS Trust set up a dedicated Bursary Endowment Fund to accommodate gifts from donors who prefer to support the School in this way. For more information about the General Bursary Fund and Bursary Endowment Fund, please contact the Development Office at the School.

We are enormously grateful to all Old Mancunians and supporters of the School who have contributed to our fundraising success. Our bursary fundraising will continue for years to come until the MGS Trust has sufficient resources to support all deserving boys. We believe that we need to build bursary funds worth over £100m to achieve our ultimate aim of having a needs-blind admissions where boys are admitted to the school based on their academic potential rather than their economic background.

We hope that our supporters will include the MGS Trust amongst their chosen charities in the coming years and give according to their means. Read more about the MGS Trust below.

The MGS Trust was formed in 1966 and is registered with the Charity Commission (charity number 526564). It is independent of The Manchester Grammar School.

The Trust was established for the advancement of education, by appropriate management of funds, principally for the benefit of The Manchester Grammar School.  The Manchester Grammar School’s main aim is to offer a first-class education to any boy in the North of England who qualifies by nature of his ability, regardless of his family circumstances. This is achieved by providing means-tested fee assistance where necessary, subject to available funds. Around £2 million of this fee assistance each year is currently funded by The MGS Trust. Over £20 million has been provided by the MGS Trust since 1998, helping to support over 600 bursary recipients through the School.

Funds for the MGS Trust are raised both directly from individual donors and through appeals organised by the Development Office at The Manchester Grammar School. The MGS Trust manages two funds: the General Bursary Fund (which provides the Trustees with greater flexibility) and the more recently formed Bursary Endowment Fund, which suits those who prefer their donations to be treated as permanently endowed capital.

All funds raised for bursaries are passed to The MGS Trust for investment by the Trustees based on the donor’s wishes, with the intention that income generated from those investments, supplemented where appropriate by capital from the General Bursary Fund or donations in a particular year, should be used to pay an annual bursary grant to The Manchester Grammar School.

For more information about The MGS Trust please contact the Development Office.