The Hester Jones Rodrigues Scholarship Fund
A one woman rush of kindness, a wealth of creativity and a love for teaching, Hester Jones Rodrigues was central to our language school from the first moments. Her input, through experience, made it what it is today.
Hester was a joyous individual, filled with love for everyone. She was such a rare being, an inspiration that positively glowed while she loved with her whole heart. And we feel honoured to have known her, truly loved by her and excited that we can carry on with her by our sides.
Hester dedicated her life to reaching out to teach children, skills and language to open their minds and to give opportunity. Her generous spirit ensured that those who didn’t have the means, always had the chance. Have a look here to see Hester and Roni's adventures: @theplanethero
Roni Rodrigues, Hester's husband, is an English Language speaker, but his first language is Portuguese as he is Brazilian. With his language skills, he moved to England and continued to learn, aged 23, with Hester as his teacher. The amazing work Hester did, soon moved out of England to India, Nepal, Philippines and Papua. In India she taught English to kids and inspired them to be anything they want, while fighting social barriers. In Nepal she lived in a small village, helping local kids and taught sustainability. In Papua she developed a beautiful art project with kids called ‘Message me’ teaching arts and marine conservation. In the Philippines she helped kids that came from difficult backgrounds, using theatre and art to help them to overcome their trauma. Back in London, she worked for many years in a charity helping older people and people with dementia. She was an inspiration, selfless and a truly bright soul who impacted the lives of many people across the world through the hands that she reached out, all the while being a professional scuba diver! Her first thought, always, was to help others.
Together, we are delighted to be able to continue Hester's love for teaching and learning through our new scholarship. Through BLISS we are offering one fully funded 2 week place every year, to a student who wouldn’t otherwise apply, with flights included. We are seeking applications from students who are creative and can tell us a story, either in words or through pictures, about a fairy tale from their country.
Hester was a joyous individual, filled with love for everyone. She was such a rare being, an inspiration that positively glowed while she loved with her whole heart. And we feel honoured to have known her, truly loved by her and excited that we can carry on with her by our sides.
Hester dedicated her life to reaching out to teach children, skills and language to open their minds and to give opportunity. Her generous spirit ensured that those who didn’t have the means, always had the chance. Have a look here to see Hester and Roni's adventures: @theplanethero
Roni Rodrigues, Hester's husband, is an English Language speaker, but his first language is Portuguese as he is Brazilian. With his language skills, he moved to England and continued to learn, aged 23, with Hester as his teacher. The amazing work Hester did, soon moved out of England to India, Nepal, Philippines and Papua. In India she taught English to kids and inspired them to be anything they want, while fighting social barriers. In Nepal she lived in a small village, helping local kids and taught sustainability. In Papua she developed a beautiful art project with kids called ‘Message me’ teaching arts and marine conservation. In the Philippines she helped kids that came from difficult backgrounds, using theatre and art to help them to overcome their trauma. Back in London, she worked for many years in a charity helping older people and people with dementia. She was an inspiration, selfless and a truly bright soul who impacted the lives of many people across the world through the hands that she reached out, all the while being a professional scuba diver! Her first thought, always, was to help others.
Together, we are delighted to be able to continue Hester's love for teaching and learning through our new scholarship. Through BLISS we are offering one fully funded 2 week place every year, to a student who wouldn’t otherwise apply, with flights included. We are seeking applications from students who are creative and can tell us a story, either in words or through pictures, about a fairy tale from their country.
Hester loved fairy tales and so here are the rules:
Tell us a fairy story, either in words or in pictures, email it to us before the 1st May when the scholarship closes. Once we receive your fairy story, we will email you the application form to complete. After the closing date, we will send all applications to Roni who will choose the scholar for the year. We will inform the new scholar via email after the winning application has been chosen.
After you receive formal confirmation of your scholarship, and all the booking information, the opportunity is then yours. The flights are sponsored, making this a truly accessible scholarship offer for every student to join us.
The days of stay must fall within the first 3 weeks of our summer school dates and the scholarship is funded for up to 2 weeks stay with us.
Please email us your entries on [email protected] before 1st May
Terms and Conditions
Tell us a fairy story, either in words or in pictures, email it to us before the 1st May when the scholarship closes. Once we receive your fairy story, we will email you the application form to complete. After the closing date, we will send all applications to Roni who will choose the scholar for the year. We will inform the new scholar via email after the winning application has been chosen.
After you receive formal confirmation of your scholarship, and all the booking information, the opportunity is then yours. The flights are sponsored, making this a truly accessible scholarship offer for every student to join us.
The days of stay must fall within the first 3 weeks of our summer school dates and the scholarship is funded for up to 2 weeks stay with us.
Please email us your entries on [email protected] before 1st May
Terms and Conditions
- Entries after 1st of May cannot be considered, but please do apply again in September when the scholarship reopens
- Cannot be swapped for a monetary prize
- Entries are valid for the next session of summer school and cannot carry over
- One scholar will win the place each year
- 2 weeks are fully funded – English lessons plus sightseeing or sports
- Applicants must be between 8-17 years old to enter
- Flights are included
- Insurance is included
- You can win only once, to be fair to everyone - just like Hester
If you can be anything, be kind - Hester Jones Rodrigues
