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Change 100
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As seen in The Corinthian

29 March 2022

Some of you may have seen the update from the Development Office in the latest edition of The Corinthian. For those who haven't, please read on.

As we dare to look forward with optimism to a life post- pandemic (I write this during the chill of January as we look set, tantalisingly, to move beyond the Government’s ‘Plan B’ measures), it is a pleasure to be reporting on some exciting progress.

Our mission in the Development Office is defined very strongly, of course, by Change 100 and its pioneering goal to raise a transformative endowment; one that will provide the platform for so many children who could never otherwise dream of a Stowe education to benefit from precisely that. I hope very much that you will, by now, have received a copy of our inaugural Change 100 Annual Report. We record therein the gratitude we feel for the quite extraordinary generosity that so many Old Stoics, parents and other friends of the School have shown to us, at every conceivable level, from just a few pounds and upwards.

Those donations and pledges already accumulate, incredibly, to over £10 million and have not only enabled us to start the creation of an endowment fund that will build and sustain our ability to provide lifechanging bursaries, but have also allowed the first ten Change 100 recipients to arrive at Stowe this year. Alongside this, you can read short pen-portraits of five of those children who, having been here only a few months, are already thriving and having a positive impact on all those around them.

We are embarking with gusto now on our mission to raise the second £10 million, towards the ultimate target of £100 million, and would be so thrilled and grateful to hear from you if you would like to join the ever-growing network of supporters – at whatever level that might be. Please do get in touch by emailing or taking a moment to call me using the details below.

There are two other important matters that I must report on. First, we are indebted also to those Old Stoics and others who have continued to support our mission to restore the House to its 18th century glory. We are within sight now of the finishing line! Our goal is to celebrate the completion of the work in our Centenary year and as you will read elsewhere in this magazine, there are just a final few elements of the work to undertake, including the walls and floor of the State Dining Room. Again, if you feel that you might be in a position to help, I would be so pleased to hear from you.

And last, but by no means of any insignificance, is the great news that we finally have the planning permission needed to begin construction of the new Design Technology and Engineering Centre, to lie just beyond the Music School, close to Lyttelton. This new facility, which will replace the old workshops and huts, will transform the educational experience in this crucial area of the academic curriculum – and ensure that Stowe can inspire engineers, designers and technologists of the future. We are profoundly grateful to the many donors who, individually and collectively, will have made this new building possible.

With our best wishes from all of us in the Development team and looking forward to being in further touch with more news during the year ahead.

Colin Dudgeon, Director of Development
cdudgeon@stowe.co.uk
01280 818249

Pen Portraits

  • A boy from London with an astoundingly inquisitive and creative mind and a keen interest in history, politics and world affairs; a prize-winner already for essay writing during his first two months at Stowe.
  • A girl who joins us from a state school in the Midlands. Brought up in a single parent household, she dropped out of school amidst very challenging family circumstances. She is a talented linguist and loves literature, especially books in Spanish and French.
  • A girl from Romania who has joined our Sixth Form, through the support of one particular donor. She is bright, eager to learn and develop her outlook on the world and is sure to find her time at Stowe a transformative experience.
  • An exceptionally bright girl, joining us in the Sixth Form: she has huge potential as a mathematician, a scientist and as an artist too. She is studying Maths, Further Maths and Physics at A-level. She enjoys multiple sports, as well as dance.
  • A boy with a lot of potential from a disadvantaged area of East London and introduced to us by one of our charity partners – the Eastside Young Leaders’ Academy. Alongside his studies, he is keen to take up activities he has never been able to try before, including basketball and drama.