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Sidcot School Education Trust
About the Sidcot School Education Trust (SSET)
Charity number: 1206924
The Sidcot School Education Trust CIO was founded in 2024 with the purpose of advancing education for children at Sidcot School.
It is an amalgamation of the Sidcot Bursary Trust (founded in 1983) and the Sidcot Education Trust (set up in June 1927), which have both supported education at Sidcot (through the provision of means-tested bursaries and educational grants) for many decades.
Impact
The Sidcot School Education Trust will continue to build on the work undertaken by the two previous Trusts.
Over the last 10 years, the Sidcot Bursary Trust has supported 65 students, who went on to work in a range of industries, including the Third Sector, the arts and film creative industries, engineering, medicine and more. Its Watkins Fund, which was bequeathed for use in cases of sudden family emergencies, and the René Isaac fund, for adventurous educational trips, continue to provide vital financial support for families facing financial hardship, or for bursary students looking to travel as part of their education.
Bursaries provide a constant and ongoing focus for philanthropic support at Sidcot, from a range of sources. With inclusion and empathy at the core of our values, the School together with various funds and the Bursary Trust, aims to support 10% of our community with means-tested bursaries, equating to around £400,000 per annum.
In addition to the annual Travel Awards, the Sidcot Education Trust has also purchased and installed essential meteorological equipment at the School, bought musical instruments, a flexible learning pod and photography equipment, and provided a substantial gift towards the new Wellbeing Hub at Rose Cottage. All of this is possible due to generous legators including Michael Garrod (Sidcot 1939-46) and donors including Laurie and David Gardner (Sidcot 1963-68). During 2023 SET made a significant contribution to the Science Lab refurbishment thanks to a generous legacy received from Sidcotian Dorothy Thomson (née Woolley) (S: 1936 - 1943).
“Sidcot has helped me to grow so much in self-confidence. Being educated here has allowed me to find myself, to find a second home, to make incredible relationships with people I’d never have met if I’d gone through the mainstream system. Sidcot has absolutely changed my life for the better. I’m just generally so very grateful.”
-Theo, recipient for bursary Trust, Class of 2022
How do I give to the Sidcot School Education Trust?
If you are interested in donating to the Sidcot School Education Trust, or in finding out more, please contact one of the Trustees listed below, or via the Development Office at Sidcot School on +44 (0)1934 845238.
Trustees:
David Sadler & Sally Harvey Co-Chairs - Ian Harbottle, Treasurer - Philip Davies, Trustee - Judy Reeves, Trustee
The Trustees are supported by an Advisory Committee including Christopher Greenfield (ex-Headmaster) and Angela Cary-Brown (Alumni Ambassador to the School).
Ian Harbottle
“Supporting bursaries within the School matters to me because of my own experience – and that of my family – that at Sidcot, your financial, social or cultural background wasn’t important. Everyone was seen in an equal light. I want to work to ensure that students today have the same experience and opportunities.”
Sally Harvey
"Sidcot holds a special place in my heart. I have been a parent, School Governor, Quaker visitor and previously Chair of the Sidcot Bursary Trust for many years. I am passionate about the Quaker values of the School. Sidcot provided an educational haven for my son Casper and I hope that by being instrumental in supporting the Sidcot School Education Trust we can continue to support current and future students with bursaries who would not otherwise be able to access a Sidcot Education."
David Sadler
“My Sidcot years were formative for me and set the tone for my life. Dad and my two sisters were at Sidcot and although I spent many years away from School, when I returned, I met my wife, Heather Sadler (née Sayce), whom many of you know from Easter Reunions. Sidcot was – and is – a caring environment that allowed us freedom, and I really like that. Maintaining the spirit of this is important to me and hopefully we can support it through the work we do with the Sidcot School Education Trust – most especially by opening up a real range of opportunities that our young people today wouldn’t ordinarily have.”
Philip Davies
“For me, it’s so important to be able to give back to the School that had such an impact on me as a young boy. It’s my way of saying thank you to those teachers who gave me the opportunities that have shaped me – and hopefully to allow future generations to feel the same way about their formative years at Sidcot.”
Judy Reeves
"Sidcot gave me a much needed sense of belonging and stability as a teenager. I made some lifelong friends and it's where I met my husband.
“Our family were recipients of bursary support for a while which enabled my brother and me to stay on and complete our education there. So I am pleased to serve as a trustee of the new Sidcot School Education Trust, to help the School in supporting the pupils of today and tomorrow's pupils in all that the School offers."
Ian Harbottle
“Supporting bursaries within the School matters to me because of my own experience – and that of my family – that at Sidcot, your financial, social or cultural background wasn’t important. Everyone was seen in an equal light. I want to work to ensure that students today have the same experience and opportunities.”
Sally Harvey
"Sidcot holds a special place in my heart. I have been a parent, School Governor, Quaker visitor and previously Chair of the Sidcot Bursary Trust for many years. I am passionate about the Quaker values of the School. Sidcot provided an educational haven for my son Casper and I hope that by being instrumental in supporting the Sidcot School Education Trust we can continue to support current and future students with bursaries who would not otherwise be able to access a Sidcot Education."
David Sadler
“My Sidcot years were formative for me and set the tone for my life. Dad and my two sisters were at Sidcot and although I spent many years away from School, when I returned, I met my wife, Heather Sadler (née Sayce), whom many of you know from Easter Reunions. Sidcot was – and is – a caring environment that allowed us freedom, and I really like that. Maintaining the spirit of this is important to me and hopefully we can support it through the work we do with the Sidcot School Education Trust – most especially by opening up a real range of opportunities that our young people today wouldn’t ordinarily have.”
Philip Davies
“For me, it’s so important to be able to give back to the School that had such an impact on me as a young boy. It’s my way of saying thank you to those teachers who gave me the opportunities that have shaped me – and hopefully to allow future generations to feel the same way about their formative years at Sidcot.”
Judy Reeves
"Sidcot gave me a much needed sense of belonging and stability as a teenager. I made some lifelong friends and it's where I met my husband.
“Our family were recipients of bursary support for a while which enabled my brother and me to stay on and complete our education there. So I am pleased to serve as a trustee of the new Sidcot School Education Trust, to help the School in supporting the pupils of today and tomorrow's pupils in all that the School offers."
How do I give to the SSET?
Charity number: 1206924
If you are interested in giving to the Sidcot Bursary Trust, or in finding out more,
please contact one of the Trustees listed below or get in touch via the Development
Office on +44 (0)1934 845238.
Trustees:
Sally Harvey (Chair)
Ian Harbottle (Treasurer)
Judy Reeves
David Sadler (Co-Chair)
Philip Davies
SET Annual Report 2024
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Sidcot Bursary Trust Annual Report
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