In March this year, a group of 12 enthusiastic students spent the first two weeks of the Easter vacation on the phone to Old Members – talking about their time at Worcester, hearing about their careers, and asking them to consider supporting the College financially.

The Telephone Campaign was hugely positive; our callers reached 450 Old Members and had some fascinating conversations with alumni from all around the world. We are immensely grateful to our Old Member community for taking part and raising an incredible £204,000.

It has been heart-warming to hear how the callers bonded with Old Members and had conversations that crossed the years. Our students gain a huge amount through talking to you, and we are always truly grateful that so many of you take the time to pick up the phone and have a chat.

Lola explains why she applied to be part of the Telethon Team this year:

Over £170,000 of the money raised in this year’s Telethon was directed towards The Worcester Fund. Gifts to The Worcester Fund help where the need is greatest in College life and, amongst other things, help to make up the funding gap between teaching costs and tuition fee income. Each year, the College subsidises every undergraduate student by over £5,000, so your gifts will go a long way towards helping us bridge that gap and protect the tutorial system.

During the Telethon, you also raised an impressive £24,000 for the Access & Outreach Fund. Your generous gifts will enable us to restart and substantially expand our outbound outreach programme which was badly affected by Covid. This will allow us to engage with and support schools who are unable to visit Worcester due to geographical or financial restrictions, giving more prospective students the chance to maximise their potential than ever before. Particular thanks to those of you who made regular gifts, as your loyalty means the Access & Outreach team can plan their activities over the coming years with more certainty.

Lily Morris, Worcester’s Admissions & Outreach Officer, says:

We are also extremely grateful to those of you who chose to support other Worcester projects during the Telethon. These included repairing the lake, the thriving music programme, graduate scholarships and hardship support for students. Work on the lake is due to take place over the summer, and the Choir will shortly be heading off on tour. Meanwhile, scholarships and the Hardship Fund remain of paramount importance. Your gifts really are a lifeline to our students.

Once again, we are truly grateful to those of you who took the time to speak to our student callers and extended your support to Worcester during this year’s Telephone Campaign. From all of us here at Worcester, thank you so much.