Growing up on an inner-city council estate does not give you many prospects. From a single parent family with benefits as our only source of income, it is hard to switch your focus from carefully planning the household meals to future academic and professional plans for the kids. Were it not for a chance conversation at the school gates with another parent who had heard about Hymers and the assistance they can offer, I am certain my life would have continued on the inevitable path I felt it was already treading. The assistance offered meant I was able to attend Hymers and gain an educational advantage that has lasted. Over and above the levels of teaching Hymers offered, the environment of being around other pupils with an equally inquisitive nature was a vast difference to what I was used to. While education alone is no silver bullet (I still had some very close calls to a very different life path), the opportunity value is immeasurably great and has been instrumental in my career to date.

I was lucky enough to get a bursary position at Hymers many years ago now. My time at the school really set me up for a great future and really taught me how to push myself and perform at the best of my ability. From sports and music all the way through to academic studies I wouldn't of been able to receive such a fantastic education at any other school in Hull. The excellent teaching staff would always inspire me and help me with any issues in personal or school life and I will never forget some of the wise words Mr Thompson (Physics, retired 2017) taught me! After school my Hymers education helped me secure places in study programs and career opportunities just by having the name on my CV. People are even more impressed when they learn I was a scholarship student! I couldn't recommend applying for the bursary scheme anymore as it will be the best school years of your life.

A Hymers bursary in the 1990s helped me stay at the institution during a difficult time in my family's life - something 2020 has taught us can happen to anyone. This continuity helped me succeed in my studies and go on to a career in Education myself. If my time teaching in Hull, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangkok and Frankfurt has taught me anything - it is that talent is widely distributed but opportunity is not. Hymers was founded on the mission of "...the training of intelligence in whatever social rank of life it may be found among the vast and varied population of the town and port of Hull". Bursaries are a key mechanism for Hymers College to realise this mission.

Receiving a bursary to attend Hymers from Junior School through to Sixth form is something that I am incredibly grateful for. Coming from a proudly working class household and being immersed in a private school environment for the majority of my childhood was admittedly multifaceted. However, Hymers provided me with opportunities that would have been significantly harder to access otherwise and with friends that I am still close to. Since leaving Hymers in 2016 I became the first person in my family to attend university, achieving a first class law degree and have worked at a top global law firm. I am currently studying for a master's degree, a path I don't think my life would have taken without the doors that Hymers opened to me. The provision of means-tested bursaries are vital in improving access to private education, they have the potential to be transformative.

"Having spent three years in the Junior School at Hymers, the time came for me to sit the Eleven Plus as the secondary school selection exam was known in the 1960s. Not only did I pass this but was also awarded both a local authority scholarship and a Hymers' College Governors' Scholarship, the precursor to the modern bursary scheme. As a result of this, I enjoyed seven years at Hymers, including two years in the Sixth Form, leading to success in my 'A' Level exams. Rather than going to university, I decided to go straight into full-time employment and joined Midland Bank in Hull. I spent the rest of my working life in Finance, moving on from banking to school finance in the mid-1990s.

Having experienced first hand the benefits of a bursary scheme, I thought that the least I could do was to help other students who would benefit from a bursary and for this reason I am pleased to support the College's latest initiative and hope that many former pupils will feel the same way."

"I would just like to let you know how the Hymers Bursary I received made such a massive difference to my life. I lived at home with just my Mother and brother on the outskirts of Hull. Mother worked hard as a secretary in an insurance firm in Hull to bring us up as best she could, on her own. She managed to get my elder brother into Hymers and paid for him. When it was my turn, she couldn't afford two lots of school fees on her wages, so applied for the bursary, which because of our circumstances, we got. I started in the Junior School in 1958 and went through until 5th form in 1965. I have to say I didn't appreciate being there at the time; I tried every trick in the book to avoid any kind of sport at every opportunity. However, the education and life skills training I received carried me well into local & national business and also into my personal life.

I would not be in the fortunate position I am today if it had not been for the Bursary we received. I am so pleased to still be in touch with the school's alumni and also many of my peers from 55 years ago. Long may it continue. 

I received an Assisted Place but think I also received some funding during my time at Hymers (1991-3) for example for school trips. My parents were low-income (my father a joiner and my mother a cleaner and waitress) so I would not have been able to study at Hymers without financial assistance. I am now an Associate Professor at Deakin Business School in Melbourne.

I attended Hymers under the Government’s Direct Grant Scheme. Albeit the highly competitive entrance exam put us in the top 10% or so, exam results from Hymers exceeded greatly those from the city’s grammar schools. I doubt I would have got to university from any other school in Hull.

For a boy from a working-class background to become a healthcare professional (dentist, proudly NHS) meant considerable social advancement. It’s not so much that it enabled a lifestyle that my parents could only dream about: it meant a fulfilling career where you could really make a difference to other people’s lives.

The difference it made to me, made me feel the need to ‘Give Back’ so that in the future, Hymers will continue to equip young people to achieve fulfillment and make a difference to other people’s lives too.

I always looks back at my time at Hymers very fondly and am very grateful for the opportunity to have studied there. I grew up on a council estate in Hull owing to my father’s profession. In addition to the natural sense of “not fitting in” that is customary in adolescence, my upbringing created an additional feeling of being out of place and I had difficulty making friends during primary school. Hymers was an excellent school which enabled me to challenge my weaknesses, find friends and expand my horizons. I was a little nervous that I might be seen as ‘the bursary kid’ but I quickly found my feet and in fact being on a bursary was never really mentioned.

I went on to study Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Since then, education and social mobility has remained an important part of my working life. I am now Head of Local Accountability and Performance for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities at the Department for Education. I am glad Hymers continues to offer a bursary scheme. I would really encourage others to make the most of the opportunities that Hymers affords them.

As a proud Hymerian, I've experienced firsthand the transformative power of education. Growing up, my family faced financial challenges that nearly cut my academic journey at Hymers short. Thankfully, the bursary scheme stepped in, allowing me to complete my education in an environment that nurtured my potential and opened doors to untold opportunities in the world of finance. The support I received has been pivotal in shaping my adult life, leading me to where I am today. Despite these opportunities taking me to the Far East where I have lived for the last 20 years, the distance from home has not allowed me to forget the importance of giving back. As a donor to the bursary scheme, I am honored to support the program that offered me so much. I encourage others to join me in supporting this wonderful initiative. Together, we can ensure that financial barriers do not prevent the next generation of students from accessing the high-quality education they deserve, fostering their growth and helping them achieve their dreams.

Receiving a bursary to attend Hymers from Year 7 through to Year 13 was something I am greatly appreciative for. My time at Hymers was something I will never forget; from lifelong friends to the amount of opportunities I was presented with at the school, Hymers has set me up for life. 

Currently I am studying medicine at university and a lot of credit goes towards the support that I received from the school as an applicant. After experiencing first-hand the benefits of attending Hymers College (the teaching support, pastoral support, as well as the opportunities to express yourself as an individual via sport and academics), I believe that bursaries are vital in bridging the gap between those fortunate enough to access private education and its benefits, and those unable to.