Apply now for the Tom Watts Travel Award

The Ashford School Association (ASA) is pleased to announce the continuation of the annual Tom Watts Travel Award, and invites applications from our alumni.

About the Tom Watts Travel Award

The Tom Watts Travel Award was introduced in 2016 in honour of the School’s former bursar and benefactor Mr Tom Watts. Mr Watts exemplified a strongly held belief that those who receive the benefit of an excellent education should work to help others less fortunate than themselves.

The award provides financial assistance, up to £1,000, to leavers and recent past pupils who are considering undertaking challenging journeys or expeditions during their gap year, university vacation or similar period. Where two or more applicants’ cases for support are meritorious, the award may be divided between them in such proportions as decided by the ASA Committee.

Application Criteria:

• Applicants must be between the ages of 18 and 22 years.
• The planned expedition or journey should embody the spirit of Adventurous Learning. Examples of such journeys would include fundraising treks, volunteering in the developing world, and charitable work with children, the vulnerable or dispossessed.

Application Process

To apply you will need to write a letter of application, which should contain the following information about your trip:

• Proposed dates of travel and countries visited
• Name of expedition or charity/community to be supported
• Description of nature of travel, and critical dates (e.g. sign-up dates, application dates, etc.)
• A brief analysis of costs of travel and how these will be funded
• The merits of the travel to be undertaken
• The contact details of the applicant and website details of any organisation involved.
• Please submit your letter via this Microsoft Form

Deadline for applications: Wednesday 20 April 2022

The successful applicant(s) will learn of the Committee’s decision by Friday 27 May. The Award will be formally announced at Prizegiving in the Summer Term on Thursday 7 July 2022.

The Committee reserves the right to contact applicants and the School to satisfy itself as to any aspect of the application which is unclear or incomplete.

The decision of the Committee will be final. Successful applicants will be expected to submit an article for the alumni magazine and return to School after their travels to talk about their experiences and to encourage other pupils to apply in subsequent years. Should a trip be cancelled or altered in a way in which the original purpose or scope of the trip be frustrated the Committee reserves the right to demand partial or full repayment of an award.

Further Information

If you have any queries regarding the Award, please contact the Alumni & Development Manager, Hannah Pinney on behalf of the ASA at alumni@ashfordschool.co.uk