Three students awarded The Sir Roger Bannister Scholarship at event marking one year since Sir Roger's passing

The Sir Roger Bannister Scholarship has been jointly awarded to three students at a special event held on Monday 4th March - one year on from the passing of former Pembroke Master, Sir Roger Bannister.

The Bannister Scholarship is an annual prize available to students in any subject who have shown excellent all round performance in both academic and sporting activities, much as Sir Roger demonstrated during his Undergraduate years at Oxford.

The three winning students were: Jessica Forsyth, who is studying Medicine and is Captain of Oxford University Seconds Squash Team; Gabrielle Russo, student in Oriental Studies and member of Oxford University Contemporary Dance Team; and Rebecca Bell, who reads English Language and Literature and represents Great Britain at Dressage. Each student was presented with a certificate by Lady Moyra Bannister and will receive a share of the £1,100 award.

The winning students shared their thoughts on recieving the scholarship:

"It is an honour to be recognised for an award that so deeply resonates with Pembroke's core values, and a privilege to receive it in the name of a man as distinguished as Sir Roger Bannister. He left a powerful legacy in his wake; we celebrate him as a Pembrokian, both in honour of his achievement but also in respect for his character. It was very special to receive the award from Lady Bannister, and her kind words were touching. Thank you very much to all involved, it was a truly special afternoon." - Jessica Forsyth 

"I am very honoured to co-receive the Sir Roger Bannister scholarship this year, and it is especially rewarding to share it with two other deserving students. It was so nice to see such a variety of sports and academic subjects represented as well! I would like to thank Pembroke college and the Bannister family for this award and continuously supporting Pembroke students in sports, as well as in academic pursuits. I would especially like to thank Lady Bannister for her kind words about dancing at Oxford!" - Gabrielle Russo

"I am incredibly grateful to be a recipient of the Sir Roger Bannister scholarship, especially alongside my fellow sportswomen, as 2019 sees 40 years of women studying at Pembroke. It was an honour to meet Lady Bannister and I look forward to putting this generous award towards training hard this season in the hopes of having a successful year." - Rebecca Bell

Lady Bannister said her husband would be 'overjoyed' to hear about the students' successes.

She added: "With all athletes, he thought they needed to have other strings to their bows and always encouraged them."

The intimate event brought together the Bannister Family, Pembroke Students, Fellows and Staff to also mark the one year anniversary of Sir Roger’s passing. At Pembroke, Sir Roger will particularly be remembered for the great contribution he made during his time as Master between 1985 and 1993. His name lives on in College with the Bannister Building being a permanent memorial, as is his portrait and many of his sporting trophies and awards which are on display in the College Hall. His legacy will continue to inspire new generations of students and visitors alike to achieve great things.

The celebrations follow on from the memorial ceremony which took place at the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford on 14 November 2018, which brought together the City, the County and University to celebrate Sir Roger’s contributions to sport, medicine, academia and the City of Oxford.