Do you live in Ruddington and have a son or daughter with a birthday between 1st September 2012 and 31st August 2013 who attends a school outside the village? If so, they’re still eligible for some special gifts!
It’s all thanks to James Peacock – who was born in Ruddington in 1585 before leaving for London when he was 14 years old as an apprentice to leather merchant Thomas Smith. James became a very successful businessman but, when he died in 1641, he had no children to leave his fortune to. Consequently, in his will, James left money to help the sick and poor. He also left a farmhouse in Ruddington to be used as a school and house for the schoolmaster and appointed Trustees to manage his legacy.
With an ever increasing population, schooling in our village has changed and evolved to the present day arrangement with a larger Infant and Nursery school being built on land adjacent to Manor Park in 1967 (which has kept James Peacock’s name) and St Peter’s C of E Junior School off Ashworth Avenue to cater for (most of) Ruddington’s 7 to 11 year-olds.
However, centuries later, The James Peacock Educational Foundation continues his legacy as a Charitable Trust. Each child who’s resident in our village is eligible, at the age of 11 years, to receive gifts from the Trust. These days they’re in the form of a book, a geometry set and a scientific calculator.
The Foundation’s secretary Liz Corder explains: “The Trustees of the James Peacock Educational Foundation are aware of the eligible children attending St Peter’s School, but don’t have details of those young people living in the village but attending schools elsewhere. We’d like to ensure that all eligible young people in Ruddington receive their gifts from the Foundation. So, if you know of a child born between these dates (meaning they’re now in Year 6), then please let us know, giving their name, date of birth and and the school they attend.”
The current influx of families to our new-build housing estates – plus a recent shortage of school places within the village – means it’s even more likely a greater number of eleven year-olds resident in Ruddington are being educated elsewhere than was the case here in previous years.
If this is true for your child, you’re invited to apply by emailing jpfoundationrudd@gmail.com or by ‘phoning 07940 915 060.
Please note that all applications must be in by Monday 1st July 2024. The trustees regret that any applications received after this date cannot be considered.
