Supporting the College

The Dover College Trust is a registered charity (no. 1057184) which exists for the purpose of furthering the provision of education at Dover College, by financing improvements of a permanent nature to College property or by scholarships for our pupils.

In recent years, Trust donations have been used to fund significant capital improvements around the College, including the resurfaced astroturf, new Sports Hall floor, replacement boilers and the new roof on the Gatehouse. The Trust’s generous support also enabled the extension of the Kent Block (now known as The Leo Wright Building), to incorporate a Creative Digital Media suite and a bespoke Individual Needs hub. This investment has been vital in creating the College that you see today.

The Trust also makes a significant contribution annually towards bursaries and scholarships, enabling the very high level of bursaries awarded by the College each year to support and assist our pupils and parents.

The present Trustees are James Gatehouse (Chairman) Nathan Harris and James Ryeland; all Old Dovorians who are independent of the College, so all requests for grants are carefully scrutinised. Their policy is to make regular payments to the College for specific projects, as funds become available, but their ability to support us is limited by the funds they manage and have available. Therefore, the Trustees would be delighted to discuss ways in which individuals can donate to the Trust for the future, long-term benefit of both the College and our pupils. All donations and legacies are welcome, irrespective of size – they will all contribute towards improving the lived experience of pupils at Dover College. They are contactable through the Director of Finance and Operations (bursar@dovercollege.org.uk).

The Dover College Trust was established on 17th March 1944 by the Hon. John Jacob Astor MP, Henry Thomas Hawksfield JP, Rowland Heathcote Hacker and Brigadier Henry Neville Grylls Watson, DSO, OBE. It has benefited from generous donations and bequests over the years and, at present, all of the capital administered by the Trustees derives from six bequests: Mrs Ethelwyn Duckworth, Brigadier Henry Neville Grylls Watson, Mr Alban Millar Ross-Smith, Mr Geoffrey Leonard Eames, Mr George Linney Eccleshall and Mr Charles Manning Hunt, together with a gift from Mr Amoret Clear Fleury.