“I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities BGS gave me,” Chris says. “The teachers that taught me and friends I met there opened my eyes to another world and gave me an approach that transcended my local environment.

I would never have dreamt or done half of what I’ve achieved were it not for the springboard BGS gave me. Now I’m in my 50s, I’m at a time in my life where you start to think about giving back.

There are many things you can do with your money, but I think it’s important to give back. When I look at when I went to university, I had a full grant and my tuition fees were paid. You don’t have that now; kids are coming out with £50k of debt. That is a disaster for social mobility. But giving back is something I can do. I can make a difference; and if just one kid is able to follow their dreams and be successful through an Assisted Place the sense of social justice I learnt at BGS will have come full circle.