Bursaries Today

A Charterhouse education is a transformative experience, and increasing the number of bursaries for highly gifted pupils who would not otherwise be able to come to Charterhouse is a key objective. 

Bursaries provide life-changing opportunities, help to raise standards across the School through an infusion of bright young talent, and ensure all of our pupils benefit from studying and living in a diverse and dynamic community.

When Thomas Sutton founded the School in 1611, he made provision for forty scholars to receive a free education funded by the endowment he created. Today, the School is committed to extending its bursary provision to provide more places for the brightest and best children from diverse backgrounds.

The number of Bursaries awarded by the School has doubled over the past decade, but Charterhouse’s rising academic status means that demand far outstrips our capacity to support highly deserving candidates. In 2021/2022, 55 pupils (approx. 7% of the pupil body) received meaningful bursary support during the 2021/2022 academic year (an increase from 47 pupils the previous year). Bursary expenditure for the year totalled £1.37m, the funding for which was drawn from donation income, the profits from our commercial activities, the historic Moiety, earned income from our endowment, and income from School fees.

The School has long been committed to increasing the impact of the bursaries it can offer, and one of the key aims of our current fundraising campaign is to continue to meaningfully increase and target the number of Carthusians receiving transformational bursaries during the coming years. 

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Bursary Stories

Hear from some of our OCs about how they they felt when they successfully received a bursary or scholarship, and the impact these gifts have had on them.

Every year we have to turn away pupils who would benefit hugely from all that Charterhouse has to offer and who would make an immeasurable contribution to School life.

It is important to note that we distinguish between Bursaries awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need, and Scholarships which are awarded solely on merit. We will spend almost £1.3 million on Bursaries this year, representing 5% of the School's turnover. But there is more to be done. With the support of OCs, parents and friends we hope to be able to support many more pupils to experience all that Charterhouse has to offer during the coming years.