Bishop Fox’s Educational Foundation

The Bishop Fox’s Educational Foundation is closely linked to Bishop Fox’s School, which dates back to 1522. 

The school moved to new premises in 1940, and the old school buildings were sold. The money from this sale was invested by the Foundation, and the income from these investments is now used to provide grants. 

We can only support people with connections to the former Borough of Taunton Deane. The Borough hasn’t existed since 2019, but we still use this to decide who can and cannot apply.

You should only apply for money from this Fund if you:

• are aged 11 to 24
• in financial need and need funding to help you achieve your goal in life
• live in or go to a state funded school or college in the former Borough of Taunton Deane (the area shown in red on this map) or
• still have a family home in the former Borough of Taunton Deane but now attend university somewhere else. 

Anyone who meets the above criteria can apply. However, we prioritise applications from people who currently live and attend a state funded school or college in the former Borough of Taunton Deane. When we have lots of applications and some are similar, we’ll usually prioritise grants for people who attend or have previously attended Bishop Fox’s School. 

Ask us if you’re not sure if you’re eligible.

You can apply whenever you like, but we only make decisions 4 times a year. This is usually in January, March, June and September.

Please note: It can take up to 10 weeks from the application deadline all the way through to payment, so you should plan in advance and submit your application well ahead of when you’ll need the money. 

You’ll need to provide details for a Sponsor who can support your application. Your sponsor should know you well and fully understand your application, including what you want to achieve. They should be able to comment on the reasons why you would be suitable for a grant, and if you have a special talent, they should be able tell us about it. 

We have a limited amount of money to give out, which is usually around £100,000 a year. 

What you ask for should therefore: 

• be reasonable – it should clearly link to achieving your goal
• be proportionate – it should reflect what you ‘need’ to achieve your goal rather than just what you would ‘like’
• reflect your financial situation – you should ask for an amount that relates directly to your financial circumstances. For example, if you already have some of the money you need, then you should only ask for the remainder.  

We also consider what other things you have done to try and raise the money you need. For example, whether you have applied for any scholarships or bursary funds that you could be eligible for.  

Grant amounts vary depending on the purpose they will be used for, and we aim to support as many young people as possible. We won’t usually award single grants of over £2,500, and most grants awarded are for much less than this. The average amount awarded to successful applicants this year has been around £600. 

You can apply more than once, however, we expect 12 months to have passed since your last grant award before you make another application. We also won’t usually make more than 3 grant awards to one individual or household.

Your application will be assessed by one of our team. They’ll read through what you’ve written and we may contact you if we have any questions.

A recommendation will usually then be made, and the Trustees of the Bishop Fox’s Educational Foundation will make the final decision.

The next step is to fill in our online application form using the ‘Apply Now’ button below. This opens an application form, and you will receive an email link that allows you to return to the form before submitting it.

Please contact us if you are unable to use the online form and we can support you to make your application in another way.