The Nicholas Knatchbull Memorial Bursaries and the Dragon School Bursary Scheme
The Dragon School, with 850 pupils, is one of the largest boarding/day prep schools in the country. Since the School’s foundation in 1877, young Dragons have been encouraged to pursue their interests within a structured environment and their talents and skills emerge gradually. The School has long enjoyed a reputation for providing children from wide ranging backgrounds and with differing abilities, a broad-based education. The development of character has been coupled with first class academic teaching and remains very much a part of the Dragon ethos today.
The Governors are committed to an admissions policy which encourages applications from those who seek this broad-based education. 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 the arts, music, drama or sport and who would benefit academically.
Bursary Awards
Bursaries provide between 50% and 95% of the day fees and are awarded to suitable candidates on financial need rather than academic selection. A boarding bursary may be offered where it is felt it would be in the child’s best interests to board. 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 2009-10 the amount required to fund a bursary at 95% for a day pupil is £14,900 equating to £74,500 for five new children entering the school. To ensure the programme’s long-term success, we aspire to raise a substantial endowed fund in support the Dragon School Bursary programme.
The Nicholas Knatchbull Memorial Bursaries
There are currently two fully endowed NKMB among the twenty five bursaries at the Dragon. Funds are continuing to come in and we are on the way to endowing a third. In this way the memory of Nicholas will remain at the Dragon for ever. He would be thrilled to know that others are able to benefit from a place at which he was happy and fulfilled.
Fundraising for The Nicholas Knatchbull Bursaries started in 2003 led by Jennifer Lewis and OD’s Nick Wheeler, Uday Khemka, James Serjeant, John Marsh, Mark Esiri and Tim Knatchbull.