Oxford announces Thatcher scholarship trust

The Huffington Post UK 18 May 2013

Oxford University has announced the creation of a Margaret Thatcher Scholarship Trust, which will give young people who succeed "against the odds" the opportunity to study at the institution, reports The Huffington Post UK.

Somerville College famously refused to honour its former student in 1985, after dons voted to snub the prime minister in protest against her cuts in education funding. At the time, then-Somerville principal Daphne Park told the Oxford Mail: “You don’t stop someone becoming a fellow of an academic body because you dislike them.” On the college's Margaret Thatcher Fund website page, it states: "Somerville has always taken pride in the warm relationship it continues to enjoy with Lady Thatcher."

Several high-profile figures have already stepped forward to back the scholarship and act as patrons, including George Bush senior, Nancy Reagan, Sir John Major and Tony Blair.
Thatcher was the recipient of a scholarship and bursary during her time at Somerville, and, when she was PM, wrote to the college's then-principal to express her gratitude. Dr Alice Prochaska, Somerville's principal, said she hoped the scholarship fund would help "redress the balance" after Thatcher was snubbed.
Full report on The Huffington Post UK site

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