In her words

Around one in 10 GDST students receives support from a bursary, which has enabled them to join one of our schools.

One such student is Phoebe, who was brought to the attention of Croydon High School by the Rowdown Foundation. This organisation works within disadvantaged areas around Croydon, helping to prepare top students from local primary schools for grammar and independent school entry.

Staff at Croydon High quickly spotted Phoebe’s potential, and since joining Year 7 in September 2020, she’s gotten off to a flying start.

Phoebe said

“When I found out I was going to Croydon High School, I was overwhelmed. I was really surprised to be accepted, and am so grateful to my family who helped me get where I am today.

I’ve had an amazing time since joining September 2020 – I’ve loved all of the varieties of lessons. One of the best things is there’s so many extra-curricular activities to choose from. I’ve signed up for Entreprise Technology and coding.

I don’t know what I want to do when I leave school yet, but I enjoy singing, sports and hope to be able to travel the world.

I would like to say to those who give money to bursaries, thank you so much for providing such a great opportunity for me. I will make the very most of it.”

Phoebe’s mother said:

“When Phoebe received her acceptance letter she was so excited, but we couldn’t afford the fees. The fact that she’s able to go thanks to the financial support of donors is amazing, we thought it was totally out of reach.

She is absolutely thriving there. Her enjoyment of school is wonderful to see – I firmly believe she would sleep there if she could. Thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts for giving her this opportunity, you have made our girl’s dreams come true.”