The Robbo Bursary Fund

18 April 2024

Crispin Robinson – or simply ‘Robbo’ – was a greatly admired teacher, tutor, mentor and friend to the many Old Stoics who knew him over the 27 years he spent at Stowe.

There are many who acknowledge what Robbo did for them – not just for his teaching, but for nurturing and guiding them through their years at Stowe. They may not all have thanked him, nor even seen eye-to-eye with him all of the time, but these Old Stoics now appreciate and are grateful for the impact he had on their education and the people they have become.

The Robbo Bursary Fund aims to create a legacy in memory of his remarkable contribution to the lives of so many. The plans outlined below were discussed in detail with Robbo over the last few months; he took a keen interest in shaping them and was overjoyed and honoured to know that Stowe and Old Stoics will remember him in this way.

How the Robbo Bursary Fund will work

The ‘RBF’ will be an endowed Fund that will provide, in perpetuity, financial support and the life-changing chance of a Stowe education to talented and deserving children who would otherwise not have that opportunity. Robbo was particularly keen that, assuming there are sufficiantly strong candidates each year, the RBF will support those with a flair for Art and/or with a keen interest in History of Art.

Contributions given to the Robbo Bursary Fund will be ringfenced within Stowe School Foundation (a UK registered charity) and administered by its Trustees. It will be a seperate fund, distinct from all others held by the Foundation. The annual income generated by the RBF every year will be used to support deserving children and will be disbursed by trustees solely for this purpose, as an 'endowment fund', the capital sum will not be eroded and the benefit of the fund will exist in perpetuity. 

Whilst it is possible that the beneficiaries will need 100% support with their fees (thus being recipients of support through the Change 100 programme) this will not be prescriptive, and lower levels of support will be available. In every case, the support disbursed by the Fund will be essential in enabling the recipient children to come to our remain at Stowe.

We will be delighted to keep all our donors informed of the children who benefit directly from the Fund in the years ahead.

Our Goal

Our ultimate goal is to raise £1,400,000

At this level the fund would provide the annual income to support one child with a fully-funded place at Stowe,every year in perpetuity.  If there is no such deserving recipient in any given year, the income will be distributed to a number of deserving children at lower levels, according to their financial needs.

Our progress so far

We are thrilled to have already raised, the last few weeks, in the last few weeks, donations and pledges of over £330,000.

These funds have been donated by our initial Patrons of the Robbo Bursary Fund listed below and other founding donors, to whom we are indebted for their leadership and example. 

We want now to invite all Old Stoics who were there during the Robbo years ( 1993 to 2020), their families and former colleages who will remember Robbo, to help us achieve something remarkable in his honour and memory.  Every donation, no matter how large or more modest, will help us towards our target. 

If you would like to speak to someone personally and privately about the Fund, or perhaps about becoming a Patron, please do get in contact with Colin Dudgeon (Development Director) on cdudgeon@stowe.co.uk or 01280 818249. Alternatively, you can make an immediate donate via the button below

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