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University of Bath

Mrs Margaret White Patron for the Gold Scholarship Programme

In her role, Margaret will be an advocate for the Programme which provides students from disadvantaged backgrounds with opportunities for personal development.

Photograph of Margaret White
Mrs Margaret White

Role

The Gold Scholarship Programme provides students from disadvantaged backgrounds with opportunities for personal development through networking, volunteering and mentoring, as well as financial support. In her role as Patron, Margaret will be an advocate for the Programme. This will include:

  • providing encouragement and support to Gold Scholars during elements of the programme, for example at networking events
  • meeting with current and future donors, to share the programme’s success and how it might contribute to individuals’ and organisations' philanthropic goals
  • carrying out ceremonial duties at functions and awards events

Career

Margaret White studied Natural Sciences and Education at the University of Cambridge and has over 20 years’ experience of teaching and school leadership. She has developed extensive material on curriculum and policy matters, publishing articles on various aspects of teaching. In 2018 Routledge published her book ‘A Good Education’ which outlines a new model of education to enrich every child.

Until recently, Margaret worked as Deputy Head Academic at St Faith's Cambridge, before relocating to Bath when her husband Ian became University Vice-Chancellor.

Margaret and Ian lived in Bath in the 1990s, during which time she was a Governor at St Stephen’s School, led the children’s work at All Saint’s Weston and wrote a musical performed by children from churches across the city to mark the turn of the Millennium. She is enjoying being back in Bath and continues her work as a freelance consultant and writer on educational matters.

Regarding her new role, Margaret says:

"I am delighted to be Patron of the Gold Scholarship Programme at the University of Bath. I believe the Programme to be one of the most innovative and comprehensive schemes of its kind in the UK in enabling young people to connect with an excellent university education who might otherwise not be able to do so. Such an opportunity is life changing.

"Students awarded one of these prestigious scholarships should feel tremendous pride in their achievement, and the Gold Scholars whom I have had the privilege of meeting have been exceptional and inspirational young people.

"The mentoring, peer support, volunteering and training opportunities the Scholarships give enable these students to excel while at the University. In turn, they can develop a great sense of confidence and optimism about what they will achieve going forwards, knowing that they have the expertise needed to make a significant contribution to their communities and wider society in the future."