The Founders’ Award is a bursary scholarship awarded for all-round excellence, service to the community and leadership. It was introduced in 2016 with the express intention of being able to go beyond the usual cap of 40% on fee remission. We are now fundraising for 100%  and 110% Founders’ Awards which will provide fully-funded places, and in the case of 110% funding, will allow for assistance towards equipment, uniform, devices, trips etc. Our aim is to raise £2m by 2025 through single gifts, regular giving and legacy pledges. 

Lara Maylor-Wrout, recipient in 2017, talks to us about what she's been up to since leaving MSJ. 

Upon leaving MSJ, I joined the MBBCh course in Cardiff University School of Medicine in September 2019.  My first and second year was impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic, though I still tried to make the most of my time at university.  I received recognition for outstanding professionalism and was nominated for the Dean’s Special Award at the Cardiff Medical School Surgam awards 2020-2021. At the same ceremony I received a certificate of merit for being in the top 20% of my cohort for my Student Selected Component Project, which encompassed work in inherited tumour syndromes and reproductive psychiatry. In my third year, I scored highly in two essay-based longitudinal projects undertaken throughout the year, an Oncology Project (80%) which included a series of interviews with a patient undergoing breast cancer treatment, and a Patient Pathway Project (92%) evaluating a patient’s journey from admission to hospital to discharge home.  

I am very much enjoying my range of placements, having completed blocks in Psychiatry, Neurology, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Paediatrics this academic year so far. I recently received an award for outstanding enthusiasm and professionalism during my neurology placement. I was directly nominated for this award by my neurology consultant, which was amazing positive reinforcement during what has been very challenging blocks of placements.  

It has been a great experience to engage in other extra-curricular activities alongside my medical studies. In third year, I volunteered to be a tutor on a scheme where I mentored year 2 medical students through 8 weeks of clinical examination preparation which I found extremely rewarding. In summer 2022, after an independent application, I was successful in securing a place on a Psychiatry Summer School that was hosted by Kings College London and accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I was able to meet with medical students from several different universities in different stages of training and attend lectures from a variety of experts in the field, alongside a visit to Bethlem Museum of the Mind which featured thought provoking exhibits of art created by patients through the years alongside historic artifacts retained throughout the hospital’s history. 

I still love to spend my spare time singing, I am a current choral scholar for the Cardiff University Anglican Chaplaincy Choir and have been a member of the BBC National Chorus of Wales. Last year, I undertook a CD recording with the Cardiff University Chamber Choir recording for the first time a variety of works by Maria Rosa Coccia. It was an honour to record two solo songs for the album, a project that was three years in the making and unfortunately disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Though I lost the ability to sing in choirs during the pandemic, I was able to work on the ‘front line’ as a COVID-19 immuniser for Cardiff and Vale Health board and helped to vaccinate over 800 people including the MP for Cardiff North! This was a brilliant practical experience of working on the front line alongside the RAF and nursing/midwifery/dental and medical colleagues who had all completed additional training to work as immunisers.  It was an amazing team effort. 

I am now preparing for my final clinical examination, the summative ISCE, which will take place in mid-May alongside written examinations in April and June. I have applied for an intercalated degree programme at both Edinburgh University and University College London to study a Medical Humanities degree which would be a brilliant opportunity to merge two of my passions, I am hopeful that I will be able to gain a place for next year. I am amazed by how quickly the time has passed since leaving MSJ, and that I am approaching my final stages of medical training. I have loved being involved with the Jenny Lind singers and very much enjoyed singing at our annual Christmas Concert under the direction of the amazing Lynne Lindner. It is always lovely to see former and current MSJ pupils and teachers at the event, and I look forward to continuing this tradition in the future.