The trust was set up by her children following her death in 1964 and has been used to support the higher education aspirations of Plymouth citizens ever since. The current trustees are pleased to be working in partnership with the University of Plymouth and wish to encourage and support students wanting to work as professionals within the early years.
Nancy Langhorne Astor entered politics in 1919 and was the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the House of Commons serving as MP for Plymouth Sutton until her retirement from politics in 1945. In 1939 her husband Waldorf was elected Lord Mayor of Plymouth and supported by Nancy they served the city for five years during the second world war.
During Nancy’s parliamentary career she gained attention as someone who championed temperance, women's rights and benefits for children. Nancy supported the development of nursery schools for London's poor children, a project organised by Margaret McMillan. In addition to her usual philanthropic fundraising, she led ministerial delegations for the Nursery School Association, made speeches in parliament and in 1934 published a memorandum calling for the universal provision of nursery schools.
At the heart of her ‘women’s’ politics was a concern with poor households, a subject on which she was far more radical than most in her party at the time. She was passionate about housing and with Waldorf’s capital, built model homes for the poor of Plymouth (Mount Gould). She was also preoccupied with the education of the poor, sharing the McMillan sisters’ vision of nursery schools as a route out of ill-health and poverty. As well as founding some nurseries, she helped the McMillan sisters to establish a training college for nursery school teachers.On 28 November 1919 Nancy Astor was elected as MP for Plymouth Sutton.
Alexandra Perrin
“I used the Nancy Astor Bursary to enroll in a Level 3 Beach School Leader training course.
This course provided me with a deeper understanding of Beach Schools, which I had been increasingly interested in since doing my placement last semester.
I look forward to completing my portfolio and getting my certificate and I hope to find my footing in the world of outdoor education. I would not have been able to complete this without the help of this bursary and I am thrilled to have reached one of my dreams of becoming a Beach School Leader.
It seemed like an unreachable pipe dream of mine and I feel incredibly grateful to have been helped by the bursary in this way. Because of this, I would highly encourage anyone who is on an education-related course to apply for the Nancy Astor Bursary if they have a dream they hope to achieve that feels impossible due to finances.”
Kayleigh Royle
“The bursary enabled me to go on a trip to The Gambia where I visited schools, nurseries, and a women’s refuge. The children were friendly and able to play with us. We sang and taught them English songs as they taught us Gambian ones.
In some schools the buildings were falling apart, and the ‘football field’ was some sand around the back but the pupils were happy and the faculty were grateful with the little that we were able to give.
The woman’s cooperative started as a refuge for women who were leaving their husbands and had become a community of women working together on the land to grow and harvest crops to sell to restaurants and at the markets.
It was amazing, so welcoming and joyous and we were able to look around before participating in a song and dance with them.”
Should you have any questions about applying for the Nancy Langhorne Astor scholarships trust bursary, please contact nancyastorscholarship@plymouth.ac.uk.
