Michael Gove’s old school battles trust’s bid to slash bursaries
Robert Gordon’s College is taking legal action to challenge plans by Aberdeen Endowments Trust to reduce the share of its funds supporting the school. The dispute matters because the trust’s bursaries provide free places for pupils who might otherwise be unable to attend the fee-paying school.
The 300-year-old college, attended by former Cabinet minister Michael Gove, charges fees of up to £21,000 a year. The trust currently funds more than 30 pupils from families earning under £80,000; its proposal would reduce the college’s share of funding to 70 per cent within five years and at least 49 per cent thereafter. The trust says the reorganisation would widen educational support across north-east Scotland, while the college says it is seeking to protect its ability to offer bursaries.
In short
- Robert Gordon’s College is challenging proposed cuts to its trust funding.
- The bursaries support more than 30 pupils from lower-income families.
- The trust plans to redirect more funding across north-east Scotland.
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The case for
The trust can argue that its charitable funds should benefit a wider range of pupils and communities across north-east Scotland, rather than remain concentrated in one fee-paying school. Gradually reducing the college’s share could make support more broadly accessible while still leaving substantial funding for bursaries there.
The case against
The college can argue that reducing its funding share risks limiting free places for pupils whose families could not otherwise afford its fees. Protecting the existing support would preserve a proven route into the school for lower-income pupils, and the college may contend that the trust should not weaken that opportunity without clear evidence that the wider reorganisation will deliver greater benefit.
Explained simply
Robert Gordon’s College is a fee-paying school in Aberdeen, founded around 300 years ago. Its fees can reach £21,000 a year, and the school has a bursary scheme funded in part by Aberdeen Endowments Trust.
The trust supports more than 30 pupils whose families earn under £80,000, helping them attend the school without paying fees. Its funds also support education elsewhere in north-east Scotland, so decisions about how the money is shared affect both the college and other potential recipients.
The dispute centres on how much of the trust’s funding should go to the college over the coming years. The trust says changing the arrangement would broaden educational support across the region; the college says bursaries are important to keeping places accessible to pupils from lower-income families.
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