Ken Cockrell (LGS 1960) made the decision to give something back and today he is remembered, not just for the life he had, but the lives he is helping even after he’s gone.
Born as the Second World War was ending, Ken came with his family from Lowestoft to live on the Shelthorpe council estate. He was bright and ambitious, so in 1955 he joined his brother at Loughborough Grammar School. The education he received stayed with him for life, providing the strong foundation upon which he built a successful career in business.
Years later a newspaper article in the Telegraph caught Ken’s eye. The article described the benefits of bursary donations, which encouraged Ken to get back in touch with the school that helped shape the life he had made for himself. In his Will, Ken bequeathed a lasting endowment for the provision of academic bursaries, which gives bright and talented children the benefit of a Loughborough Schools Foundation education.
Ken wished to give a child from the Shelthorpe estate the same chance in life from which he benefitted. To this day, the Ken Cockrell Bursary is helping bright and ambitious children from Shelthorpe, whose family circumstances would normally place an independent education out of reach.
