1940s: The College had been in decline through the 1930s and had huge debts, in part on account of war damage. The then Master of the College, Christopher Gilkes, took advantage of the stipulation in the Education Act 1944 that any child who passed the newly implemented common entrance exam qualified for a free place at a secondary school with the fees paid for by the local authorities. This was the start of the Dulwich Experiment, the term adopted to describe the system by which great numbers of boys came to Dulwich College on free places. 1619: Edward Alleyn founded the ‘College of God’s Gift’ to provide ‘good learning’ to ‘twelve poor scholars’. Recognising that education should be for all, regardless of financial circumstance or background, this visionary act of philanthropy has defined the College throughout our history.
1950-60s: Gilkes' initial vision for the Dulwich Experiment was to reserve 50% of places for London County Council entrants, but by 1957 as many as 85% of boys were in receipt of full fee awards from local authorities in and beyond London .
1980-97: Local authority funding was replaced by the central government’s Assisted Places Scheme. Approximately 280 boys were on a means-tested place through this scheme.
1997: Since the Assisted Places Scheme was abolished in 1997, the College has relied on philanthropic support and its own financial resources to fund bursary places. In 1990, our Bursary Appeal Fund was established, consisting mainly of a ring-fenced endowment. Since its inception, the Bursary Appeal Fund has contributed a total of £4,553,000 towards bursaries at the College.
2014 - today: Since 2014, over £7 million has been added to the Bursary Appeal Fund thanks to the incredible generosity of our benefactors. Today, the fund stands at £16 million (including some non- endowment donations) and is currently able to support approximately 16% of the bursaries we offer. With your help, we can continue our mission to grow the fund so that many more talented and deserving boys can access a Dulwich education with the help of financial support.
DULWICH COLLEGE Dulwich Common, London, SE21 7LD Telephone: +44 (0)20 8299 5335 Email: development@dulwich.org.uk Web: www.dulwich.org.uk Registered in England and Wales Charity No 1150064 Company No 8208764
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