Expanding access to Rhodes Scholarships in SA an urgent moral imperative

In the will of Cecil John Rhodes, the founder of the Rhodes Trust and the namesake of the globally prestigious Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, he designated four separate annual scholarships specifically for alumni of four fee-paying, all-male secondary schools (the “Named Schools”), in what was then the Cape Colony in South Africa. Two of these schools are in Cape Town (South African College Schools [SACS] and Diocesan College [often called “Bishops”]), one in Makhanda (St Andrew’s College) and one in Stellenbosch (Paul Roos Gymnasium).

Over the years, this unique allocation (known as the “Schools Scholarships”) — which is different from other Rhodes Scholarships globally that are distributed by country or region — has been a flashpoint of contention because of its ties to elite schooling in South Africa, as our country continues to grapple with the legacies of racial and educational inequality. The four Named Schools are fee-paying and single-sex (male), and were barred from admitting non-white students for most of the apartheid era. 

It should be noted that the Named Schools have since made much progress in diversifying their student intake. Additionally, they have informally partnered with a group of other local schools to include those local schools in each of their Rhodes Scholarship eligibility pools. This partner school system has brought about some progress towards gender diversification of the School Scholarship winners.

Nonetheless, the winners of the Schools Scholarships continue to be predominantly white, more than three decades since the end of apartheid. This, of course, is not reflective of South Africa’s student population. And that’s to say nothing of the class inequality that continues to be evident from the demographic of the Schools Scholarships winners. Moreover, the pool of applicants for the Schools Scholarships continues to be extremely small compared with the South Africa-at-Large Rhodes Scholarships.

In short, winners of the Schools Scholarships face less competition than the national scholarships, tend to be from well-off backgrounds, and continue to be predominantly white.

Welcome news

It was thus welcome news when, in May 2024, the Rhodes Trustees unanimously decided to approach the Charity Commission of England and Wales to request permission to reallocate the Schools Scholarships to the South Africa-at-Large pool (open to any student in South Africa). The Rhodes Trust’s counsel concluded that the Schools Scholarships were indirectly discriminatory on the grounds of race under the UK’s Equality Act.

The trustees resolved simultaneously to suspend selection of new Schools Scholarships until the resolution of the matter. Instead, for the past two rounds of selection, the scholarships were made available in the South Africa-at-Large pool. This offered opportunities for an additional eight of our very brightest and socially contributory students, selected from across the country, to pursue postgraduate studies at Oxford University. 

The reallocation of the Schools Scholarships is long overdue and essential on moral grounds. As we address the structural inequalities that have remained to this day, expanding educational opportunity to all South Africans is of the essence. This is particularly true for organisations like the Rhodes Trust that have a legacy of perpetuating historical injustices, and thus a present-day obligation to remedy those injustices.

Unfortunately, instead of embracing a graceful transition and recognising this moral imperative, the Named Schools spent extraordinary amounts of money — more than R1.6m each — on legal representation, submitting legal contestations to the Charity Commission. The commission’s subsequent response was that it could not consider the Rhodes Trust’s application until a court decided two matters, one of which relates to the question of whether there is indirect discrimination. The case is under appeal as we speak.

To avoid a drawn-out, expensive legal dispute, the Rhodes Trust and the Named Schools have drafted proposed settlements, which broaden the applicant pools for the Schools Scholarships, either by partnering with a nearby university, or allowing applications from a larger geographic region. The Named Schools’ governing bodies are currently consulting with their respective communities regarding these proposed settlements.

The proposed settlements represent more incremental progress than we would have preferred. Many of us are of the view that all of the Schools Scholarships should be awarded through the national selection process. However, the proposed settlements are a step in the right direction and offer opportunities to avoid further legal fees paid towards uncertain legal outcomes.

A more just educational landscape

If the Named Schools wish to continue contributing towards a more just educational landscape in South Africa, we believe the appropriate course of action is to accept the proposed settlements. Conversely, any further usage of resources on legal costs to contest the expansion of the Schools Scholarships is tantamount to continuing to protect privilege inherited from colonial legacies.

We urge all members of the Named Schools’ communities to respond to their respective consultations and weigh in on this important matter. It is crucial that a wide variety of voices participates in these consultations, particularly as the more conservative echelons of the communities push back, using their resources and connections to defend a scholarship model that has long passed its expiry date. 

As alumni of the Named Schools (or their partner schools), who have been recipients of the Rhodes Scholarships, we are overwhelmingly grateful for that privilege, yet it is simultaneously possible to recognise that it is unjust that so few people have had access to such life-changing opportunities. In the face of the Rhodes Trust’s complex legacy associated with imperialism, colonialism, and extraction, the expansion of access to the Schools Scholarships is an important step of redress, and indeed, a powerful shift towards Rhodes Scholarships that are more equitable and inclusive. DM

Signed by (with Schools Scholarship cluster and Oxford arrival year in brackets):

Daniel Tate (Diocesan College, 2021)

Joseph Raimondo (Diocesan College, 2007)

Christopher Trisos (South Africa-at-Large, 2008) 

Nicola Palmer (St Andrew's College, 2007)

Hugh Corder (Diocesan College, 1979) 

Julia Hampton (Diocesan College, 2019)

Daniel Robert Erasmus (St Andrew’s College, 2024)

Philip Southey (St Andrew’s College, 2006)

Leila Strelitz (St Andrew’s College, 2019)

Simon Lolliot (Paul Roos Gymnasium, 2008)

Ruan Spies (Paul Roos Gymnasium, 2022)

Chris Kenyon (St Andrews College, 1997)

Jonathan Folb (South African College Schools, 1993)

Andrew Craig (St Andrew’s College, 2008)

DJ Betts (Diocesan College, 2006)

Simon Franklin (Diocesan College, 2009)

Christian Raubenheimer (Diocesan College, 2002)

Ashley Pople (Diocesan College, 2015)

Kaitlyn Sparks (Paul Roos Gymnasium, 2023)

Galen Sher (South African College Schools, 2010)

Beth Vale (St Andrew’s College, 2012)

Thomas Brennan (Diocesan College, 2004)

Tessa Malan (Paul Roos Gymnasium, 2024)

Sophia Rabie (Diocesan College, 2023)

Neil Kruger (South African College Schools, 2005)

Emily van Heerden (Diocesan College, 2017)