Walter Bigg died in 1659 and in his will he bequeathed £10 each year for the education of six boys (sorry, it was so in those times) at a school in Wallingford. Walter had left the town as a young man to seek his fortune in London and did so as a taylor, eventually becoming the Master of the Merchant Taylors’ Company and the High Sheriff of London in 1654. From that £10 in 1659, a rich and valued connection between Wallingford School and the Merchant Taylors’ Company was born which endures to this day.

I had the pleasure of attending an event at the Drapers’ Hall in the City of London on Wednesday and was asked about how the connection between the Company and the School works today and I reflected on its many layers.

The School is, of course, part of a multi-academy trust which carries the name – The Merchant Taylors’ Oxfordshire Academy Trust – and the mention of the county emphasises the importance of the locality, the town and the villages to the Company. There are representatives from the Company on the Trust Board and the School’s Governing Body and they make an invaluable contribution. Members of the Company attend school events including concerts, productions and, of course, Founder’s Day.

What is wonderful is that the Company is benevolent and interested and wants to see our young people thrive. This can be through grants for activities: before Christmas, we received confirmation of a grant supporting the removal of a shipping container blocking our old biodiversity area, which Ms Ladbrook has plans to revive; we have had support for a GCSE Dance trip; and all of Year 8 will remember the Merry Wanderers in their first year! It can be through activities themselves, such as: the always excellent Livery Academy Awards and the relatively new Inter-Livery Entrepreneur Competition for our Sixth Form students; the always competitive Year 8 inter-school quiz; visits to the Hall itself (where Henry VIII once dined) to discover the history of the Company; opportunities for visits to the London School of Fashion and the Slade School of Art; and an upcoming visit to Westminster Abbey for the medal winners in the Commonwealth Essay Competition.

All of these bring enormous value to Wallingford School and have been, and continue to be, greatly appreciated by generations of our students. Our connection with the Merchant Taylors’ Company is strong and valued and we think that this is what Walter Bigg would have wanted.

Photograph copyright Kris Piotrowski