St Anne’s gave me three fantastic years living and studying in a unique environment, and left me with life-long friendships. A recent reunion at College for rowers of my era some twenty years after going down underlined how special this friendly and relaxed environment is, and how fortunate I was to enjoy such an exceptional preparation for the wider world. Leaving a legacy to College is a small way in which I can repay this experience for others to benefit in the same way I have.

Andrew Daymond (1981)

I was one of the 'baby boomer' generation who benefited from a virtually free education at St Anne's in the late 1960s. I sometimes wonder how on earth young people manage today. When I started out on my professional career as an 'articled clerk' with a City firm of solicitors I earned £10 per week of which £5 paid the rent leaving £5 over for everything else - so I would certainly have been very concerned to have the repayment of a substantial student loan hanging over my head.

Happily my remuneration improved over time, which is why I am now making arrangements to transfer a fairly substantial sum of money from a self-employed retirement annuity contract to a SIPP (Self Invested Personal Pension) when I reach my 60th birthday. This will provide unsecured pension benefits, subject to government limitations, during my lifetime but as I have no spouse or other dependants the residual capital would be taxed quite heavily on my death - unless donated to a charity.

By directing that whatever capital is left over in the pension fund at my death be given to St Anne's for the provision of undergraduate bursaries, I hope I will be able to help some young people in the future benefit from the same opportunities that I enjoyed. Maybe there are others in similar circumstances to myself who would like to consider this route as another possible way of making a tax efficient gift to St Anne's.

Catherine Hilton (1965)

Does your list of financial priorities sound like mine: young children, large mortgage, saving to re-plumb the bathroom and for the children’s college funds, with maybe a little left over for retirement? Yet I also want to support St Anne’s. Well, we are at the stage of life when we need to ensure we’ve made a Will, and it is an easy matter to include a bequest to the College. This is one very practical way in which we can demonstrate now our commitment to St Anne's.

Susan Finegold (Greenwood, 1974)

I had attended a single-sex county grammar school, and have never really got over my astonishment at being accepted by Miss Plumer to read Law at St Anne’s. I recall standing in Radcliffe Square and thinking, 'This is Oxford, and I actually belong here!' St Anne’s enabled me to develop from a very immature school-girl into, I hope, a well-balanced young adult, with some knowledge of life outside north Wales.

Dilys Glynne (1948)

St Anne’s gave a lot to me so I would like to give something back.

Margaret Hardcastle (1954)

St Anne’s gave me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity when I was 18, and changed my life absolutely. It gave me choices my parents never had open to them, and I will always be grateful to my tutors for having faith in me. That’s why I'm going to ensure future generations continue to enjoy the opportunities I had by remembering St Anne’s in my Will. (Though hopefully the College won’t be getting this money for some time.)

Richard Jarman (1989)

I have made it a life-long principle, when I find an organization doing an excellent job on a comparatively small scale, to try to strengthen its elbow. The attraction of making a bequest to St Anne’s is that it is more likely to keep serving the rising generation than any other charity I know. Most universities teach you what to think; Oxford is one of the few which show you how to think, and encourage you to develop thought processes.

June Knowles (Watkins, 1946)

Looking back over the four decades since I went up to St Anne's, I can see how much the College did for me in the few short years I was there. I acquired the foundations for a lifetime’s learning but, above all, I learned the value of clear and independent thinking, and of debate and discussion between able people. I want to see St Anne’s culture and philosophy perpetuated, so I am providing financial support for it. And as an economist I am glad that it’s also tax efficient to do so!

Rosemary Radcliffe (1963)

St Anne’s opened my mind to intellectual challenge through its teaching; the college provided me with opportunities (through the encouragement of my tutors and its travel scholarships). It also provided me with a circle of very close friends who are still in touch with each other. In a very small but heartfelt way I am re-paying the support that my college gave to me many years ago. I am, and shall remain, very grateful to St Anne’s.

Crispin Robinson (1979)

As an American I have seen first hand how colleges and universities can thrive thanks to the generous contributions and legacies of their graduates: I believe this should become the case in the UK as well. I wish also to thank St Anne’s for the brilliant teaching I received from my tutors, Miss Griffiths and Mrs Bednarowska, which, coupled with Lady Ogilvie’s vigilant care, enabled me to pursue an academic career.

Tamie Watters (Swett, 1957)