University awarded Frank Buttle Quality Mark for care-leaver efforts

The Frank Buttle Trust is a charity founded in 1937, which provides financial support to children and young people in need throughout the UK. Through its research activities, the Trust found young people who’ve experienced care face unique challenges when applying to Higher Education Institutions, and set up the Quality Mark scheme to try to redress the balance.

The University of Cambridge has introduced measures to support both children in care who are thinking of applying to Cambridge, and care leavers who already study at the University.

These include a programme of events and activities specifically tailored to the needs of young people in care, such as free subject-themed day visits to Cambridge, for students in years 9 to 12 , e-mentoring for between current care leaver students and prospective applicants in care, and the provision of an Open Day Travel Fund to help young people in, or who have been in care with the cost of travelling to any of the Cambridge Open Days that take place through the year.

Jenny Mackay who leads the programme of events at Cambridge says:

“Young people who have experienced care can encounter challenges and hurdles  when it comes to applying to HE – things like financial support, advice, and in many cases confidence issues. We hope the events and support we are now offering can help smooth the path for them to ensure that going to University, and indeed applying to Cambridge isn’t a daunting prospect.”

Gerri McAndrew, Chief Executive of the Frank Buttle Trust says:

“We’re delighted that Cambridge University has made this commitment and been awarded the Quality Mark. It’s an extremely positive step that universities are supporting care leavers to, and through, the Higher Education system, where these individuals have been so under-represented. Our aim is that all Universities across the UK will make the developments necessary to do the same.”

It’s particularly fitting that Cambridge has achieved Quality Mark status as the Trust’s Founder, Frank Buttle himself, was an alumnus of Downing College Cambridge.

A man of great vision and determination and by all accounts a very colourful character, William Francis Buttle – always ‘Frank’ to his family – was born in Brixton on 19th October 1878. Having first trained as a solicitor, his real ambition was to become a clergyman, and he went first to the University of Durham and then to Downing College, Cambridge. He was ordained in 1906 and was vicar of St Chad’s, Haggerston, from 1937 to 1953, when he died.

In December 1950, the Sunday Dispatch newspaper wrote of him:

"People who do not know the Reverend William Francis Buttle feel sorry for him as he trundles his ancient bicycle through London’s East End or shuffles along the grey streets in shoes several sizes too big for him and clothes from which the linings hang in ribbons. They do not know that he has amassed a fortune of £700,000, that he dreams of making a million, and that he will never touch a penny of it for himself. Canon Buttle, at 72, is the Church of England’s most fantastic Parson – solicitor, real estate operator and shrewd share speculator – a legendary figure who some call a saint, and some a miser. In 30 years he has built up two fabulous trusts which he claims will one day educate, maintain and send out to life 1,000 children a year who are either illegitimate or from broken homes."

Having set about raising £1 million to establish the Trust, he was only £80,000 short of his objective when he died in 1953. Later that year, the full amount was raised, and the projects Frank Buttle had already been working on were amalgamated into the existing Trust. Today it helps thousands of children, young people and families annually.