The Dorothy Lester Travel Scholarship

Dorothy Lester

Miss Dorothy Lester was headmistress of the Girls School in 1954 until retiring in 1979. Miss Lester was much loved by her ‘girls' and the Old Girls Association wanted to create a fitting and lasting memorial to her; Miss Lester loved to travel and so it was decided in 2002 that a travel scholarship was to be set up in her name.

The Dorothy Lester Travel Scholarship is open to all girls in the Upper and Lower VI. The girls have to submit, as part of their application a detailed travel plan which shows initiative, enterprise and the educational value of the trip. The girl can be travelling alone or part of a group either abroad or here in the UK; the expedition should be in the main organised by the girl concerned and not part of a ‘package holiday' or other such standard trips organised by a travel firm.

The selection is made by the Old Girls Association Committee and asks that the chosen girl produce a report of her travel experiences.

The 2011 Scholarship was awarded to Stephanie Barnes who plans to spend time with a host family in Denmark, whilst working on an organic self-sufficient farm. Already cultivating her own allotment, she feels that her visit will both inform her own lifestyle and provide a source of material for her creative writing. We look forward to reading her report.

Previous recipients and their travel reports:

* 2010 - Anna Burlace
* 2009 - Alexandra Welsby, Madrid
* 2008 - Dorothy McCarthy, Berlin
* 2007 - Sarah Ross, India
* 2006 - Charlotte Buckley, USA
* 2005 - Georgina Bolton, Australia
* 2004 - Sophie Livsey, USA