The Keep Girls in School programme was established by the McConnell International Foundation in late 2020, in response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Girls in Malawi – one of the world’s poorest countries - were dropping out of secondary school in larger numbers than ever before, because of pregnancy or poverty.

There are now 200 girls in the programme and each one receives a scholarship which cover all her school fees, national exam fees (in years 2 and 4) as well as uniforms, stationery and other costs. The cost per student is £120 a year.

In Malawi the child marriage rate for girls is 50 per cent and the teen pregnancy rate is 29 per cent, one of the highest in Southern Africa. Of the girls lucky enough to get to secondary school, 9.5 per cent will drop out because of pregnancy.

In 2024 the drop-out rate for the Keep Girls in School programme was 1 per cent with only one girl leaving school because of pregnancy, and we hope she will return for next year.