Higher Grades at School

The Foundation team agreed to focus on encouraging pupils from social institutions achieve better at school by offering monthly scholarships to those who achieved grades above 4.5 and 5. 5 (6.0 being the top grade). The project was launched in the second semester of the 2004/2005 academic year with 3 scholarships for the graduates from the P.R. Slaveykov home. In the first semester of the 2005/2006 academic year the range of those eligible for a scholarship was extended to those from years 8 to 13. Five youngsters form the P.R. Slaveykov home and 6 from the Hristo Botev home were awarded scholarships. Half of the scholarship winners were in their final year at secondary school. The scholarships proved to be an excellent motivation – some of the homes’ inhabitants raised their grades by one point.

The total amount spent on 14 scholarships for the year was 1187.5 Bulgarian leva.

2006

The project involved young people from SOS Children’s Villages Bulgaria from Sofia. Twenty-eight scholarships were funded over the two semesters: 12 for 6.0 grades and 16 for 5.0 grades. Scholarships were awarded to students from years 5 to 13.

2008

Eleven scholarships were awarded in the second semester of academic year 2007-2008 г. – 5 for 6.0 grades and 6 for 5.0 grades. Those who achieved well at school were: 3 pupils from SOS Children’s Villages, 4 pupils from the P.R. Slaveykov home, 3 pupils from the Hristo Botev home and one girl from a socially disadvantaged family.

Twelve scholarships were awarded in the first semester of academic year 2008/2009 - 8 for 6.0 and 4 for 5.0 grades. The scholarships were awarded to students from the P.R. Slaveykov home and SOS Children’s Villages in Sofia and three girls from socially disadvantaged families. In the beginning of the year the Board of the Foundation agreed to increase the amount of the monthly scholarships – 35 leva for grades above 4.5 and 25 leva for grades above 5.5.

Additional 80-leva scholarships were awarded to two first-year students who were raised at the Hristo Botev home in Sofia. Asen is a History student and Lachezar studies Geography at the University of Sofia.

2009

Eighteen scholarships were awarded in the second semester of 2008/2009 – 3 for grades higher than 5.5 and 13 for grades higher than 5.5. Those who did well at school were 8 pupils from SOS Children’s villages in Sofia, 5 pupils from the P.R. Slaveykov home in Sofia, and 3 pupils from socially disadvantaged families. Two university students also received scholarships.

New regulations for granting merit scholarships to students from the Sofia homes were introduced in the first semester of the 2009-2010 academic year. Candidates were asked to sit two competitive exams and the scholarship amount was raised to 50 leva (for grades higner than 5.5) and 25 leva (for grades higher than 4.5). Eleven scholarships were awarded – 6 for top grades and 3 for 5.0 grades. Eight students from SOS Children’s Villages in Sofia, 1 student form the P.R. Slaveykov home and 1 orphan girl living with her grandparents were granted scholarships. Two first-year students from the University of Sofia also received scholarships.

The total amount spent on 29 scholarships in 2009 was 5 137,5 Bulgarian leva.

The Blagotvoritel Foundation awarded 20 merit scholarships in the second semester of academic year 2009/2010 г. Those awarded were students from years 8 to 12 from the P.R. Slaveykov home, SOS Children’s Villages, and the Louis Braille school for the visually impaired in Sofia, who do not receive state scholarships. These young people successfully passed the three-stage selection procedure – submission of school papers (grades, attendance record, and a CV), a written essay on one of three topics, and an interview (live or telephone). The total amount spent on scholarships per month was 875 leva. Fifteen of the scholarships were for top grades (50 lv.), and 5 were for 5.0 grades (25 lv.).