If you are interested in applying for funding, please read the information here carefully before completing the application form at the bottom of the page.
What are the Awards? Henry Morris had the idea to build Village Colleges around Cambridgeshire. When he died in 1961, his friends wanted a way to remember him so they set up these awards. You can apply for money to go on a trip, which you plan yourself, or you can do a project at home. It must be something that will help your learning or improve your confidence. Afterwards you will have to make a report to show us what you have done. Your report could be a film, a sketchbook or a PowerPoint, for example.
Who can apply? You have to be aged 13-19, and studying at a Cambridgeshire school or College, or you used to do so. You can apply on your own or in a small group.
If you are applying as part of a group, each of you has to do some of the work. Each of you must complete a separate application form. You all have to be able to come to talk to us in Cambridge on Saturday, 13th March 2027, unless there is a very good reason why you can’t.
If travel to Cambridge is a problem, we can assist with travel expenses. Please contact us for more information.
How much can you apply for? Awards are usually between £30 and £400 per person. You need to tell us how you might raise some more money in other ways. We hardly ever pay the full cost of what you want to do.
What we cannot fund: You cannot get money for something that has started before you apply. Projects have to be completed between April and September. We only support travel or projects that you have planned yourself. Adults must not help you with the planning. An adult can come with you, for safety, but we would not pay their costs.
Things we don’t pay for:
- Gap years
- Foreign Exchanges
- School course work, like EPQs
- Holidays
- Trips organised by school, scouts, religious institutions, or sports clubs, etc.
- Expensive equipment that you will keep after the project, for example, cameras, laptops.
Examples of Projects:
Travel in the UK:
- Spend a day at Adrenaline Alley in Corby
- Go to the New Forest to photograph the ponies
- Visit the Globe Theatre in London
- Complete the Three Peaks Challenge
- Visit Imperial War Museum in London
Travel Abroad:
- Visit the Anne Frank Museum in Amsterdam
- Visit France to see World War battlefield sites
- Visit the San Siro stadium in Milan
- Go to a cookery school in Italy
- Investigate the architecture of Gaudi in Barcelona,
At Home:
- Record a music album
- Write a children’s book and get it printed
- Create a wildlife pond
- Design an enclosure for ferrets
How applying to the Trust works
| Timeline | |
| November – December | Work on your idea and plan your project. You can lots of good information here on our website. |
| January |
Fill in the Application Form online (you can find it below) and submit it in by 31st January. We will be in touch after that, so please check your emails regularly and reply to them. |
| March |
If we like what you have told us, we will ask you to meet us in Cambridge on the morning of Saturday,13th March 2027. Following this, if you are successful, we send the money straight to your bank. |
| April – September | You do your project. |
| September |
You send us your project report by 30th September. You can see examples of past reports on our website, under ‘Previous Reports’. When you make your report, please use widely available software that doesn’t need a password. |
Interview Travel Bursaries
If getting into Cambridge for the interview may present a problem for you because of the distance you have to travel and the cost of this, then you can apply for a travel bursary to support you to get to the interview. You can find out more about this and how to apply here. If, for any reason, travel to Cambridge for the interview is impossible for you, then please contact the Trust to discuss the matter.
Applicants who can demonstrate the strength of their interest, and evidence of planning, stand the best chances of securing funding. Watch the film below to hear about the project ideas from the 2018 applicants.