Industry News
Chess champion wins £65,000 Millfield scholarship
Posted on 22nd May 2007
A 13-year-old chess champion has won a £65,000 scholarship at Millfield School in Somerset , it has been revealed.
Ryan Cummings will have 50 per cent of his fees at the school paid for the next five years after he won the new scholarship, designed to help demonstrate the benefit the school can provide to the public.
This commitment is a key part of the new Charities Act, which sees schools having to justify their status as charitable institutions for the first time.
"When assessing candidates for the award, I'm looking for a very logical approach and I want to observe how they solve puzzles," said Millfield head of chess Matthew Turner.
"It has helped my concentration because games can be very long, up to four hours sometimes. You also have to learn a lot of moves in chess, so I've become good at memorising things,” added Ryan.
Around four million people in the UK are currently estimated to play chess.