Dame Allan’s Schools have a long history of providing support to pupils who would not otherwise be able to access the excellent opportunities the Schools offer. Indeed this support was a founding principle of the Schools in 1705, when Dame Eleanor Allan’s endowment provided an education for 20 poor girls and 40 poor boys from the parishes of St Nicholas and St John in Newcastle upon Tyne. 

Now, over three hundred years later, we draw strength from this heritage and though the Schools have changed greatly in the intervening years, that sense of charity and of providing an excellent education remains central to our ethos. We believe that bursaries enrich school life, enhancing academic standards, promoting inclusivity and contributing to social mobility.

“I started my time at Dame Allan’s in Year 7 aged 11, in 2004-2005, which was the year the school celebrated its Tercentenary. I still remember the exciting day that the Queen came to open the Queen’s Building. 

I received a 100 per cent bursary which meant I was able to attend Dame Allan’s. There is no way I would have been able to go to Dame Allan’s without this bursary. I am very grateful to the Schools – I really do feel that I received a first class education which meant I was able to go on to do many other things I dreamt of doing.

I have very fond memories of many of the subjects I studied at Dame Allan’s. I have particularly good memories of studying Gothic Literature as part of my A Level English Literature course, modern world history A Level studies and history lessons in the lower Girls’ School. I enjoyed a huge variety of opportunities at Dame Allan’s that I really don’t think I would have had otherwise. I represented the school in netball, hockey and athletics. A personal highlight of my time at the school was a choir trip to Paris organised by the music department; we had a fantastic tour, we sang at Disneyland Paris and at several impressive venues in Paris. 

Since leaving Dame Allan’s I have graduated from the University of Manchester with a BA (Hons) in Classical Studies. I now work for a top UK law firm and I am working towards qualifying as a solicitor in the near future. I am very grateful for the bursary I received as I feel that I received an excellent education, made some of my best friends and became part of the wider Dame Allan’s family, of which I still feel a part today. I feel very privileged to have had these opportunities afforded to me by my bursary.”

 Laura Jane Robinson (Class of 2011)

“The excellent education that I received at Dame Allan's has been a firm foundation throughout my life and career and the Access Fund seems an ideal way to get involved and give something back. Boosted by gift aid and my employer's matched giving scheme, I'm delighted that my contributions will help offer the benefits of Dame Allan's to future generations”. 

Sandie Deane (1975-1983)