The Institute was founded in January 2014. Its founders wanted to help more northern state students reach our top universities. They were led by Paul Coupar-Hennessy, who grew up and taught in Chesterfield, north Derbyshire.
The Institute is named after the scholar, teacher and reformer Thomas Linacre. Born around 1460, probably near Chesterfield, Linacre helped shape our modern world. He was tutor to Erasmus, the leading scholar of the age, and founder of the Royal College of Physicians, which set the first international standards in medicine. He sought to create a society in which all citizens were freed from ignorance and suffering.
His epitaph was written by John Caius, second founder of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge:
Fraudes dolosque mire perosus; fidus amicis; omnibus ordinibus juxta carus
The Institute founded in his name works to embody these values.
In 2014, we launched our first programme – supporting approximately 20 students. In 2021, we helped over 90 students to reach some of the best universities in the UK. Over the next 3-4 years, we have ambitions to increase the community of students every year.