Winchester College launches Founder’s Scholarships to celebrate academic excellence and original thinking

Key details:

• At 13+: Candidates will sit the existing academic scholarship exams, known as Election. Successful recipients of a Founder’s Scholarship (25% fee remission) will enter College, the school’s original boarding house and home to our academic scholars. Candidates who succeed but choose a different boarding house will be awarded a Major Scholarship (10% fee remission).
• At 16+: In addition to the normal Sixth Form application process, successful candidates will have A Founder’s Interview and take an essay-style paper assessing ‘original thinking, intellectual curiosity, analytical rigour and flexibility of mind.’ Both a Founder’s Scholarship (25%) and Major Scholarship (10%) will be available to day pupils and boarders, with boarding house allocation following the usual process.
• Bursary options: Candidates may apply for both a Founder’s Scholarship and a means-tested bursary, which can be combined up to a maximum of 100%. For example, a pupil awarded a 25% Founder’s Scholarship alongside a 25% bursary will receive a total of 50% fee remission. A pupil awarded a 10% Major Scholarship alongside a 25% bursary will receive a total of 35% fee remission.

The introduction of Founder’s Scholarships reflects Winchester’s commitment to fostering academic rigour, curiosity, and leadership in the next generation.

Ms Stone commented,

“Our means-tested bursary programme is among the most generous in the country, supporting more than 140 pupils each year and providing additional assistance for school trips and extra-curricular activities. It is wholly funded through the school’s endowment and ongoing fundraising, and this commitment remains unchanged.”

“We will continue to maintain and grow our bursary provision further, widening access and supporting affordability for even more families. The Founder’s Scholarships will be funded through a combination of the school’s endowment and fundraising, and will not affect our existing bursary programme.”