Bridewell – Our Living HeritageBridewell Royal Hospital

Our Founder, Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, understood that education can transform lives and in 1553 inspired the young King Edward VI to grant Bridewell Palace in the City of London to the Lord Mayor to house, care and educate girls and boys within The Bridewell Royal Hospital. Significant financial support was offered from the City of London, including from the Lord Mayor and livery companies to establish Bridewell as a place of learning, serving those whose needs meant that they needed an opportunity to learn skills for independence.

In 1860, the School was renamed King Edward’s, as a school of the Bridewell Royal Hospital, and in 1867 moved to our current site in Witley where we are able to take advantage of our station, less than 5 minutes’ walk from our school and with direct links to London Waterloo. We are proud to maintain our royal and City of London connections; HRH Duchess of Gloucester is our President, the Lord Mayor attends our annual Service of Thanksgiving and Admissions Day and many Bridewell events are held in our capital city.

The Court of Bridewell Royal Hospital continues to be our custodians, supporting a number of pupils within through the endowment and the continued generosity of our vibrant Old Witleian community charitable trusts, partners and livery companies as financial support is not drawn from parents’ fee payments.

Within our school, the King Edward’s community continues to enthusiastically demonstrate our compassion in service, and our pupil-led Charities Committee curates a wide range of activities over the school year supported by our Chaplain. We are mindful of our responsibilities to our local, national and international environments and have gained Eco-Schools England accreditation with distinction, as national recognition of our work in this area.

What is the Bridewell Royal Hospital?

Bridewell Royal Hospital, incorporating King Edward’s Witley, Barrow Hills School and Longacre School is a registered Charity, No. 311997. 

The Bridewell Royal Hospital takes its name from Bridewell Palace. In 1553 Nicholas Ridley, Bishop of London, convinced the boy King Edward VI to grant his palace at Bridewell to the Lord Mayor of London as a place for the training and education of poor children.

In 1867 King Edward’s moved out of London to Witley. The City links, that have continued for over four centuries, have guaranteed the vision of Nicholas Ridley and King Edward VI lives on in the provision of a first class, free or supported education to talented young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, who, through no fault of their own, cannot thrive educationally in their home environment. These children can grow and learn in a wonderful school environment of care, challenge and opportunity, one set up so that they can go on to achieve everything in life of which they are capable.  They live and study alongside pupils from all walks of life and corners of the world.

The Bridewell Royal Hospital’s purpose is to raise money to enable our Founder’s vision to continue.

In addition to financing our Foundation pupils – called “Foundationers” – Bridwell Royal Hospital looks to raise money to improve and extend facilities and purchase educational resources that enable the school to deliver a safe and wonderful educational environment for today and the future.

It is immensely grateful to Old Witleians, parents, staff, City Livery Companies, Charitable Trusts and corporations for their ongoing financial support, which enables us to provide bursary places and enhance our facilities and enrich the education our pupils enjoy today and in the future. To find out more about supporting us, please click here.

Our Bridewell Foundation Pupils

King Edward’s Witley changing lives and creating new life opportunities for deserving scholars

King Edward’s Witley has always had, and continues to have, a strong belief in social responsibility. The School was founded in 1553 on compassion and generosity towards the less fortunate. To continue the supporting mission of the School we offer means-tested bursaries to children from challenging backgrounds, and thereby give them an opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.Funding for our bursary support is from the School’s parent Foundation: Bridewell Royal Hospital. At any one time, we may have between 5 and 10 Foundation Bursary pupils in each year group.

Bursaries range from 10% up to a maximum of 50% of boarding or day fees. All bursary awards (boarding and day) are made after assessing the financial circumstances of the family (income and assets), as well as the individual child’s “boarding need” or other reason for coming to the School as a day pupil.

Bursary applications should be started at the same time the child registers to join the School.

Bursaries for Boarding Pupils

The ‘boarding need’ is a measure of illness, disability, or other trauma in the home – where it would be beneficial for the child to be away from home for a few weeks at a time, enabling them to concentrate on their academic studies during the day and to participate in other activities after School or at the weekends.

For a situation where we offer a 50% bursary to a child with a high boarding need, we have strong links with a number of other charities who might be able to provide additional financial support. In such a situation several charities might each be able to grant an award, and these will accumulate to cover some, most or even all of the fees remaining.

The School, or a third-party supporting charity, may require a home visit to take place.

Bursaries for Day Pupils

Bursary applications for day pupils, still need to demonstrate a strong reason for coming to the School, what we might call the ‘potential to benefit’ from coming to King Edward’s. Assessing the financial circumstances of the family (income and assets), will still be required in this application.

Again, bursaries for day pupils might reach 50% of the school fees, but in these applications there will not be additional third-party charity support, so it is more relevant for the family to have some regular income to cover the remaining School fees.

If you would like more information on our Foundation Bursaries, please contact Mr Dan Rogers, on bursaries@kesw.org or telephone 01428 686700. The deadline for all bursary applications is November 1st.

Why Make a Gift?

By giving so generously you enable us to provide life-changing opportunities to disadvantaged young people in need of a boarding style of education.  All monies donated will support Foundation pupils (known as Foundationers), the improvement of our facilities or will be put towards educational resources. If you have a preference for how your gift is used, please specify when making your donation.

If you have any questions, contact the school on alumni@kesw.org or+44 1428 686700.

Donation Options

We offer a number of ways to make a gift to The Bridewell Foundation. Recurring gifts are always welcome as they enable the school to be proactive with our support for Foundation pupils and future improvement plans. We would request that UK taxpayers consider opting in to Gift Aid as doing so allows the School to reclaim 25% on your gift.

  • Complete our gift form which allows you to make a single gift or to set up recurring direct debit donations. Download the  Gift Form 2023
  • Set up a bank transfer to Bridewell Royal Hospital t/a King Edward’s Witley – please reference ‘Bridewell Foundation’ and your full name on the transfer
    Sort Code: 20-17-27
    Account Number: 23025519
  • Cheque or CAF vouchers, payable to ‘King Edward’s School Witley’ and posted to:
    Development c/o Alumni Relations
    King Edward’s Witley
    Petworth Road
    Godalming, Surrey GU8 5SG

With apologies, the electronic direct debit service is currently unavailable, please download and complete our gift form instead. Thank you for your donation and our apologies for any inconvenience.

Legacy Gifts

Legacies can be either unrestricted or restricted.  Unrestricted legacies to The Bridewell Foundation allow us to support the areas of greatest need in the school – now, and in the future.  A restricted legacy enables you to specify where you would like your legacy to be directed to, such as bursaries or capital projects. If you would like to discuss a restricted legacy please do get in touch and we will ensure your wishes can be met.

Legacies can take many forms, with the two most common being residual and pecuniary. A residual legacy would leave all, or a percentage of your estate (after specific bequests and costs have been deducted) to the school. Such a legacy is unaffected by inflation. A pecuniary legacy is a gift of a specific sum of money. Such a gift could be affected by inflation.

As a registered charity, a legacy to The Bridewell Foundation is, in most instances, tax free and you may you qualify for a reduced rate of inheritance tax.

To make a legacy, we recommend that you seek qualified legal advice when drafting or amending your Will. A bequest should request money go to Bridewell Royal Hospital Foundation, incorporating King Edward’s Witley, and quote the Registered Charity number 311997.

Leave a Legacy

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The 1553 Guild

We would like to recognise and thank every person who pledges a legacy gift to the School and, if you inform us of your intentions, you will be invited to join our prestigious 1553 Guild. We publish the names of Guild members annually, and invite Guild members to exclusive events.

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Matched Giving

Donating through your payroll is one of the most effective ways to donate to charity and gives your employer a chance to match fund your donation. Please contact the school for more information: alumni@kesw.org.

Donating from America

United States based donors may donate to ‘King Edward’s Witley’ through the British Schools and Universities Foundation Inc at www.bsuf.org.

The Bridewell Royal Hospital Foundation, incorporating King Edward’s Witley, is a registered Charity – No. 311997

“Giving is for me – and I suspect for many, if not all of us – a very personal decision.  However, it is one that gives me so much pleasure, in reading and hearing about the children whose lives we can help transform.  Thank you for your gifts, past, present and future.” Alderman Sir Peter Estlin, ex-King Edward’s bursary pupil, Head Boy, current Governor and Bridewell Charter Patron, Lord Mayor City of London 2018-2019
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