TWO top York schools have celebrated a generous donation.
Staff, pupils and invited guests gathered at The Mount and then Bootham schools to plant trees to mark 'lifechanging bursaries' provided by the late Christine and Michael Johnson and, before them, The Stacey Sisters’ legacy created by T. Stacey Wilson in honour of his Quaker mother and aunts.
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They were gifted to both schools by the late Christine Johnson when went to The Mount from 1949-1954 and her twin brother Michael Johnson, a pupil at Bootham during the same period through their charitable Trust The Stacey Sisters’ Bursary.
The twins had benefitted from the original Stacey Sisters’ Bursary themselves as children.
Head of The Mount School, Anna Wilby, said: “This shared act of remembrance for Christine and Michael Johnson and their original benefactors, The Stacey Sisters’ Legacy, across both schools today has been very moving.
"It has been wonderful to celebrate these lifechanging legacies and look forward towards all the amazing things future recipients can achieve as a result of this generosity. The trees at both schools will keep this bursary award in all our sights and minds, and each time they blossom in Spring will call to mind fresh opportunities ahead.”
Bootham School head, Deneal Smith, said: “There is a beautiful symmetry in the planting of the two trees at Bootham and The Mount on the same day memorialising the Johnson twins. In leaving their own legacy to our schools they are paying back the generosity shown to them through the original Stacey Sisters' bequest.
"Generosity such as this allows us to work with the SpringBoard charity and others to bring children who are care-experienced or otherwise from humble backgrounds to a caring and nurturing boarding environment. In our schools, they can thrive personally, enjoy opportunities otherwise closed to them, and aspire to success in academic and other pursuits. We hope the example of Michael and Christine Johnson's gift inspires others to support the work we are doing for those who have experienced the most difficult start to their young lives.”
T. Stacey Wilson created The Stacey Sisters’ bursary in the name of his female relatives in 1949 to fund places for a boy and a girl at York Quaker Schools. The Johnson siblings were so grateful for the opportunities presented to them as children that they wanted to pay it forward for future generations of pupils. The bursary was reinstated in January 2025 at both schools. At The Mount, The Mount School York Foundation administers the fund.
The moving remembrance day started with morning meeting at The Mount where The Stacey Sisters’ legacy and the Johnson’s bursary were outlined before a respectful silence. At break time (known as Choc Lunch) a tree planting ceremony took place with one of our youngest and oldest students at The Mount alongside Ms Wilby.
The parties then travelled across the city centre to Bootham School and, after lunch, a second tree planting ceremony took place with Bootham students, Old Scholars and Mr Smith.
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