The endowment fund ensures bursary provision at MCS in perpetuity, creating opportunities for future generations of pupils. 

Bursaries transform lives and maintain the diversity of background, experience and perspective that makes MCS all it is. Through our bursary programme, we aim to ensure that the brightest pupils can access an MCS education, no matter their circumstance.

The creation of the endowment secures bursary provision in perpetuity. But it is not just about financial security; it is about protecting the ethos of MCS.

Securing the Future

The school was founded in 1480 by William Waynflete, who believed that all pupils of ability should be given the opportunity to learn, flourish, and serve. Today, we honour Waynflete’s vision with our commitment to secure bursary provision in perpetuity.

In 2019, the Governors set out a bold ambition to build a bursary endowment of £15 million by 2030 – the 550th anniversary of the School’s founding. The figure chosen represents the capital sum needed to secure the fee assistance at that time in perpetuity.

It is by being true to the school’s past, we secure the future path. 

Although MCS is an old school, we are not a wealthy one and rely on the MCS community to help provide support for those who most need it. When MCS became independent of Magdalen College in 1987, it was without an endowment that many schools of a similar age and prestige enjoy.  Fees alone would not cover the developments the school needed.

This timeline shows our modern foundation and the philanthropic support that helps build out endowment fund, broadens access, and ensures lasting bursary provision.

Thanks to the generosity of our donors, the endowment has reached £10.6 million. This means 10 pupils each year are being funded on the interest from the endowment alone. Read more about our fundraising ambitions and how donations are used in the latest edition of our Impact Report.

Our bursary fund is managed by Oxford University Endowment Management, renowned for their expertise in endowment management. The aim of the fund is to preserve the real value of the endowment whilst it generates a sustainable return that the school spends on bursaries.

Join us in supporting MCS

We are grateful to all our donors, every gift gets us closer to our target.

Make a gift to support bursaries

Gifts towards our endowment fund are the focus of the 1480 Society which recognises the highest level of regular giving

THE 1480 SOCIETY

Those donors who choose to leave MCS a gift in their will are recognised through the Bob Stanier Legacy Society

Make a gift in your will

Our Bursary Benefactors are those who wish to endow a bursary in perpetuity. Due to inflation over the years, from September 2025 endowing a bursary will require a gift of £550,000.

There has never been a better time than now to pass on the gift of education. Please email Susie Baker, Director of the Waynflete Office to discuss this.

Bursaries are transformative, thank you for your support.

Below you will find more about our bursary programme including the stories of a number of our bursary pupils.

Our Modern Founders

Those donors who make a gift of £1 million to the endowment are honoured as Modern Founders. Marking the way that they have permanently established the provision of pupil places will become part of the school calendar, just as the Benefactors’ Prayer acts as a reminder of past donors at this level each year at Commem.

We will discuss with each Modern Founder how to recognise their transformational generosity through our existing school traditions on Commemoration Day, our new Founders’ Day, and in ways appropriate to MCS in its next 500 years. Each founder will be celebrated in our Endowment Book through an illuminated letter by a commissioned artist.