PRINCESS Anne has agreed to become patron of a new UK educational bursary charity, after the merger of The Royal National Children’s Foundation (RNCF), based in King Edward’s School Witley and Reed’s School, Cobham, and The SpringBoard Bursary Foundation.

Princess Anne, a former RNCF patron, will act as patron of the new charity, which will legally launch on July 1. As a result of the merger, more than 600 disadvantaged children will be able to attend UK boarding schools from September 2017. The move unites two charities dedicated to transforming children’s lives.

Kevin Parry, chairman of the new charity and current chairman of the RNCF, said: “The merger will create the UK’s biggest charity provider of boarding school bursaries and will enable more children than ever before to access the life-changing opportunities provided by boarding. “The creation of the new charity will allow us to increase awareness and support for our work with children who have been deeply disadvantaged, either by a lack of good fortune or by extremely difficult home environments.

The merger also provides scope to streamline the charities’ existing processes, to maximise the efficiency and impact of our charitable spending.”

The new charity will continue to support the nearly 400 vulnerable children previously supported by the RNCF and the nearly 200 disadvantaged children previously supported by SpringBoard.

The charity’s board of trustees will comprise six former trustees of the RNCF and six former trustees of SpringBoard. Tim Bunting, the former chairman of SpringBoard, will be the new charity’s deputy chairman.