Manchester grammar school is one of the country’s biggest providers of means-tested bursaries.

A bursary foundation at the private school, alma mater of actors Ben Kingsley and Robert Powell, and former England cricket captain Mike Atherton, has raised pound;10 million in recent years.

More than 200 of the 1,400 pupils receive help with the pound;7,239-a-year fees on a sliding scale. Parents with a total income of less than pound;12,000 get full fee remission and those earning over pound;32,000 get no help.

Martin Stephen, former high master of the school, was a vocal campaigner for means-tested bursaries and launched the foundation.

Christopher Ray, current high master, said: “These 200 or so boys would not have been able to take up their place without this assistance. Wide social access has been part of the ethos of this school since its foundation.”