Overview
An exhibition is a type of scholarship award or bursary.
United Kingdom and Ireland
At the universities of Dublin, Oxford, Cambridge and Sheffield, at some public schools, and various other UK educational establishments, an exhibition is a small financial award or grant to an individual student, normally on grounds of merit or demonstrable necessity. At Oxford and Cambridge, for example, it is typical to be awarded an exhibition for near-first-class performance in examinations; the Sheffield's "Petrie Watson Exhibition" is a grant awarded for projects which enhance or complement a current programme of study. The amount is typically less than a scholarship that covers tuition fees and/or maintenance.
In 1873, Annie Rogers came top in Oxford's entrance examinations and she was automatically qualified for an exhibition at Balliol or Worcester College, Oxford. She was denied the place because she was female. As a consolation prize she was given six volumes of Homer and her place was given to the boy who had come sixth in the tests.
The public schools of Westminster, Charterhouse, St Paul's, Winchester, Harrow and Wellington College award exhibitions.
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