Ryder Systems funds bursary
Andrew Johnson - Headmaster
Paul Haworth - Ryder Systems
John Cowdall - Chairman
Paul Haworth - Ryder Systems
John Cowdall - Chairman
A generous Blackburn couple are funding a bursary which will enable a child to attend Stonyhurst College, the Jesuit day and boarding school in the Ribble Valley, from the age of 11 to 18. Paul and Susan Haworth, who now live in Australia, wanted to ‘give something back’ to their home county and chose education as the most valuable gift they could make. They contacted Stonyhurst College, offering to pay 50% of the fees for one pupil in perpetuity. Stonyhurst will meet the remaining 50%, creating the provision of a free place.
Paul founded Ryder Systems in Blackburn in 1988 – a business analysis company – and in 2004 set up Ryder Systems Australia in Melbourne, where he emigrated with his wife and two children, selling the UK operation in 2006. The Haworths’ generous gift will be known as the Ryder Systems Stonyhurst Award and will be a non-denominational award for a boy or girl from Lancashire. The search now begins for the successful candidate, who will join Stonyhurst in Year 7 in September 2012. Mr and Mrs Haworth chose Stonyhurst because they knew of its excellent reputation, and its emphasis on the value of contributing to the greater good of society. They visited for the first time in March this year, when they met staff, pupils and had a tour of the school.
The Headmaster of Stonyhurst, Mr Andrew Johnson, said: “It is tremendous to receive this generous donation, which will enable us to broaden further the access to a Stonyhurst education. We are very grateful to the Haworths and will now set about finding the right young person for this prestigious award.”
Mr Haworth said: "We felt that any charitable donation should be made in the area where the business was originally based. It is not our intention to give hand outs but to give the gift of education in order that a child may be helped to make the most of their potential".