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The Canon Collins Trust began as a legal defence fund. Canon John Collins, an Anglican priest at St Paul’s Cathedral in London, raised money through Christian Action and the Defence and Aid Fund to pay for lawyers defending people on trial for opposing apartheid. The Canon Collins Educational and Legal Assistance Trust took on its present educational form in 1981, and the trust has since awarded more than 3 000 scholarships to Southern Africans.
- Registered name
- Canon Collins Educational and Legal Assistance Trust
- Type
- UK-registered educational trust
- Fields funded
- Law (LLB and LLM), journalism and postgraduate study linked to social justice
- Website
- canoncollins.org
One trust, several donor-backed funds
Canon Collins does not pay every scholarship from one pot. Each award has its own donor, its own funding level and its own eligible field. A London law firm, Leigh Day, pays for LLB scholarships. The Joel Joffe scholarships honour the lawyer who defended Nelson Mandela at the Rivonia Trial and fund LLB students at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Western Cape. The University of London partners with the trust on distance-learning LLM places, and the Mail & Guardian newspaper pairs a journalism master’s degree with a year in its newsroom.
The award that alumni pay for
The Canon Collins Trust calls the Scholars’ Scholar Award its most prestigious scholarship. Former scholars launched the award in 2011, fund it with their own contributions, and choose the recipient themselves. The trust invites alumni to give as little as R60 a month, so each new winner is literally supported by the people who came before.
That detail says a lot about what the trust values. Canon Collins selects people who want to use their studies for an open and just society, not only high achievers. Motivation essays count, and applicants who can show community or human rights involvement stand out.
Canon Collins scholarships for 2027
Two awards were open when BursariesAfrica checked: the University of London distance-learning LLM scholarship closes on 30 September 2026 at 17:00 GMT, and the Leigh Day LLB scholarship closes the same day at 16:00 GMT. Both deadlines use UK time, which means 19:00 and 18:00 in South Africa.
Eligible countries differ from fund to fund, and the trust’s website lists them on each scholarship page. Before applying, confirm that your country and qualification appear on the page for the specific award, and apply only through the trust’s online portal at canoncollins.org.
Law students can compare these awards with the funders on our Law Bursaries page.
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