Education

• The Leathersellers' Federation of Schools. Further information is available on this website.
   
• Colfe's School is one of the oldest in London. Originally established by John Glyn in 1574, the school was re-founded in 1652 by the Reverend Abraham Colfe, vicar of Lewisham. Colfe was a friend of William Manby, then Clerk to the Leathersellers' Company, and through this connection the Company became Trustee of Colfe's substantial charitable foundation. A well-loved local landmark, Colfe's School stood on Lewisham Hill until 1944 when it was heavily bombed. The pupils were evacuated to schools in Tunbridge Wells and Somerset and spent many years in temporary accommodation before Colfe's School re-opened in 1964 in new buildings in Lee, south-east London. Originally a grammar school for boys, Colfe's became independent in 1977, and has been co-educational since 1999. Extended in recent years to include a nursery, pre-preparatory and preparatory schools, Colfe's School now has over 1000 pupils on the roll, aged between 3 and 18. As trustees of Abraham Colfe's will, the Leathersellers' Company has been associated with the running of Colfe's School for some 350 years. As well as providing school governors, the Master, Wardens and Court make a formal visitation to the School each year, attending lessons and inspecting the premises to ensure the School's high standards are maintained. In addition, the Company offers substantial financial support in the form of scholarships and bursaries, one-off grants and funding for capital building projects. For further information click here.
   
• City University was formed from the former Northampton Institute (which despite its name, was in London) which had existed since 1894. The Leathersellers' Company has supported it continuously since its elevation to University status in 1966. The Charitable Fund currently award four Leathersellers' Prizes a year to exceptional students of Engineering and Science. For further information click here.
   
• Fitzwilliam College Cambridge and its predecessor, Fitzwilliam House, has been supported by The Leathersellers' Company since 1894. In that year four Leathersellers' Exhibitions of £25 p.a. were established specifically for non-Collegiate students at Cambridge. This was in order to help students who were unable to pay College fees to study at the University. It was a logical extension of our longstanding awards of Exhibitions for Collegiate students at Cambridge, which go back to 1603 - when the first of many charitable trusts to help poor scholars' at Oxford and Cambridge was set up, thanks to the generosity of Company benefactors. Today, the Leathersellers' Company provides funding for a Tutorial Fellowship in Mathematics and four Graduate Scholarships for excellence in the fields of Engineering and Science. For further information click here.
   
• Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Leathersellers' Company has been supporting this City institution for well over a century. Our first regular grants were in the form of annual scholarships, awarded from 1903 onwards - originally 10 guineas per annum. Today, the Company funds scholarships for exceptional musicians, actors and composers. For further information click here.
   
• Institute for Creative Leather Technologies (ICLT) at the University of Northampton is a world-leader in the provision of leather technical education. The Company's historical interest in the School dates back to 1909, when it established the Leathersellers' Technical College on Tower Bridge Road, London. The College was amalgamated with the leather department at Nene College in 1976 and a new centre for leather education was created with a grant of £500,000 from the Leathersellers' Company. Opened in 1978, the National Leathersellers' Centre was immediately popular with overseas students, and with its growing international reputation in mind, its name was changed to the British School of Leather Technology in 1991. Facilities at the ICLT include a tannery and extensive laboratories, all equipped with state-of-the-art machinery. Courses on offer range from BTEC certificates to postgraduate research degrees, and there are short courses in specialised areas tailored to individual requirements. The Leathersellers' Company provides on-going support in the form of grants and scholarships, and each year students are invited to attend an awards ceremony at the Leathersellers' Hall. For further information click here.
   
• St Catherine's College Oxford and its predecessor, the St Catherine's Society has been supported by The Company for well over a century, beginning in 1894 with the establishment of four Exhibitions of £25 p.a each for non-Collegiate students at Oxford. As with the establishment of similar Exhibitions at Cambridge, the idea was to help students who were unable to pay College fees, it represented a widening of our support for students at Oxford University which dates back to 1603, when the Leathersellers' Company made its first awards to poor scholars' at both Oxford and Cambridge. Today, the Leathersellers' Company provides funding for a Tutorial Fellowship in Mathematics and four Graduate Scholarships for excellence in the fields of Engineering and Science. For further information click here.