Opening doors for students whose path might otherwise close.
Every student matters
Sometimes the most important grant is not a building, a laboratory, or a programme. It is support for a single student.
Scholarships and bursaries help students take up opportunities that would otherwise be financially difficult or impossible. They also express something at the heart of the Benedictine tradition: education should form people for service, not simply reward those who already have advantage.
The St Benet’s Scholarship
The St Benet’s Scholarship was created in memory of St Benet’s Hall, founded in 1897 and formerly the only Benedictine institution of higher education in the UK.
A constituent part of the University of Oxford, St Benet’s Hall closed in 2022. The scholarship honours that legacy by supporting pupils from selected state sixth forms who receive conditional offers from the University of Oxford.
The award is not restricted to any particular denomination. It is open to eligible pupils who have received offers from Oxford.
The successful candidate receives £1,000 per year for three years as a maintenance grant, or for the first three years of longer courses such as Medicine or Modern Languages.
For a student already facing the cost of university, £1,000 a year can mean books, travel, food, or the confidence to take up a place they have earned.
Remembering St Benet’s Hall
St Benet’s Hall had a distinctive place in British higher education. It brought Benedictine life into the University of Oxford and offered a small, personal academic community shaped by the values of the monastic tradition.
The scholarship keeps part of that legacy alive: widening access, supporting promise, and helping students make the most of an Oxford education.
In the coming years, there will also be an annual lecture at Oxford named in honour of St Benet’s Hall.
What your gift can fund
Give to scholarships
A gift to scholarship support helps open a door for a student who has earned the opportunity but may need help to walk through it.