The History of the Bradfield Foundation

Thomas Stevens founded the College in 1850 but at this time he was not in a position to provide for the future security of the school. In fact, his endowment to the school consisted of the land and buildings where the school lived, worked and played and the operating costs had to be met from fee income. Fast forward to the 90s, educational economics and expectations had radically changed, and something needed to be done to ensure the long term future of the school.

Ahead of the game in many respects, the Bradfield Foundation was created in 1990, a step subsequently mirrored by many other schools who did not benefit from the financial security provided by an endowment. The Foundation project was the brainchild of John Bodie (C 44-48) amongst others and Michael Stone (E 49-54) would become the first Chairman and a generous supporter of the Foundation initiative.

DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY HAS HELPED TO TRANSFORM BRADFIELD, ITS CAMPUS AND ALUMNI, AND CERTAINLY UNDERPINS THE COLLEGE’S CURRENT STRONG POSITION.

DR CHRIS STEVENS, HEADMASTER

Since its inception in 1990 the Foundation has raised a total just shy of £12 million by 2017, from 12% of Alumni and 19% of parents and former parents, with gifts ranging from £1 to £1.5 million. All the money raised has been in support of our strategic development priorities which have remained constant; securing a Bright Future for Bradfield through the provision of bursaries and enhancement of the College campus.

Details of the transformational campus projects undertaken since the formation of the Foundation – highlighted in red in the image below – can be found here.

The History of the Bradfield Foundation

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