Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Policy

Legislative History: Adopted June 13, 2017 (By-law No. CPOL.-17-213); Amended July 24, 2018 (By-law No. CPOL.-17(a)-389); Amended June 3, 2025 (By-law No. CPOL.-17(b)-182); Amended July 21, 2026 (By-law CPOL.-17(c)-208)

Last Review Date: July 21, 2026

Service Area Lead: City Clerk

1.  Policy Statement

1.1 This policy establishes the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to be granted by Council, in each school year, for admission to a post-secondary institution, to the two (2) graduating secondary school students with the highest scholastic achievement.

2. Definitions

2.1 For the purposes of this policy, the following definition(s) shall apply:

Applicable School Board shall mean the Thames Valley District School Board, the London District Catholic School Board, the Conseil Scolaire Viamonde, and the Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence.

3. Applicability

3.1 This policy applies to any graduating secondary school student who meets any one of the following criteria:

a)         has lived in the City of London for at least three (3) years and has attended a secondary school within the City of London for their three (3) final years of secondary school education; or,

b)         has lived in the City of London for at least three (3) years and has attended a secondary school outside the limits of the City of London for their final three (3) years of secondary school education, provided the Applicable School Board has paid for their attendance at such school; or,

c)         has resided outside the limits of the City of London and has attended a secondary school within the City of London for their three (3) final years of secondary school education, provided their parents or guardians either own or rent property within the City of London.

4. The Policy

4.1       Two (2) Queen Elizabeth Scholarships, in the amount of $2,000 each, shall be granted by Council in each school year, for admission to a post-secondary institution, to the two (2) graduating secondary school students with the highest scholastic achievement, subject to the approved budget.

4.2       Achievement shall be based on the average of the student’s best six (6) subjects in their graduating year, carried to two (2) decimal points.

4.3      In the event that more than two (2) graduating secondary school students are tied for their scholastic achievement, the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship may be awarded to more than two (2) graduating secondary school students, budget permitting.

4.4       In the event that more than two (2) graduating secondary school students qualify for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship, but the budget does not permit for more than two (2) graduating secondary school students to receive the Scholarship, then two (2) names shall be drawn from the list of qualifying students to determine the two (2) recipients.

4.5       Applications for the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship shall be completed and returned to the student’s Applicable School Board prior to July in any year.

4.6      The Director of Education, or delegate, for the Applicable School Board shall coordinate submission to the City Clerk’s Office by the first business day in July, the names of the two (2) graduating secondary school students with the highest scholastic achievement, as well as the names of three (3) alternate applicant students, in order of merit. They must confirm that the applicant students meet the terms of the Scholarship.

4.7      Such names are to be submitted to the appropriate Standing Committee of Council for consideration at the first meeting in the first full week of July. The Standing Committee shall recommend the names of the annual recipients of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship to Council for consideration at its first meeting after the successful applicants have been determined by the said Standing Committee.

4.8       The Council-approved recipients shall be invited to the last Council meeting in August to receive a certificate presented by the Mayor, on behalf of Council, stating that they have been awarded a Queen Elizabeth Scholarship in the current year.

4.9       The City Clerk shall arrange for the payment of the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship in a manner which is mutually acceptable to the City and the recipient.