One of Bradford Grammar School’s (BGS) major benefactors has been honoured with an OBE in this year’s New Year Honours list.
Lyn Shears joins her late husband and Old Bradfordian, Trevor, in receiving an OBE for setting up The Shears Foundation and for her services to charity.
The Shears Foundation has sponsored schools and bursaries at BGS for more than 12 years, enabling 20 students from low and middle-income families to receive an outstanding education, nine of whom are still in school.
One student at BGS to excel thanks to the foundation is Daniel McNab, who left school in 2019 with three A*s and one A grade in his A Levels. He is now studying for a degree in Computer Science at the University of Leeds, as part of a degree apprenticeship sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The foundation was set up by the Shears in 1996 and has distributed grants of almost £13m to a wide range of charities, most of them in the North of England. Lyn was also honoured by the Prince of Wales when she was awarded the Prince of Wales Medal for Arts Philanthropy in 2014.
Said Lyn: “I was very humbled to receive this unexpected and exciting news and it feels amazing to join Trevor in this honour.
“When Trevor and I set up The Shears Foundation we didn’t expect to receive awards and honours, we did it because we found ourselves in a very fortunate position and wanted to give something back.
“Soon after starting the foundation, we quickly discovered that giving is good for you. I’ve often said that we get as much out of giving the grants as the groups that receive them. Over the years we have met some incredible, dedicated and selfless people who give their hearts and souls to the charities they work for.”
Since losing her husband in 2014, Lyn said her son in law Bruce Warnes had been instrumental in keeping the foundation going.
“My particular thanks go to him,” she added. “The Shears Foundation is very much a family affair and I’m delighted that new generations of the family are getting involved. It’s so rewarding to pass on our ideas of philanthropy to our family and know that they also want our foundation to go on into perpetuity.”
Dr Simon Hinchliffe, BGS Headmaster, said of Lyn’s honour: “I am very proud of BGS’s association with the foundation and congratulate Lyn on her well-deserved accolade. I see every day the impact of the foundation’s support and have no doubt that the young people who benefit from such remarkable generosity will pay it forward throughout their own lives. One can ask for no greater legacy.”
(Top photo: Lyn and Trevor Shears. Bottom photo: Daniel McNab celebrating his A Level results with his parents in 2019).
“Soon after starting the foundation, we quickly discovered that giving is good for you. I’ve often said that we get as much out of giving the grants as the groups that receive them. Over the years we have met some incredible, dedicated and selfless people who give their hearts and souls to the charities they work for.”
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