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In which one of the following places might one meet a “sizar”?
At Trinity College, Dublin and the University of Cambridge, a sizar is an undergraduate who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job.
The origin of the word is thought to be "sizes" or "sizings" (a shortened form of "assize"), which were the specified portions of food and drink made available at a fixed price at the college. One of the sizar's duties was, historically, to fetch the "sizes" for his or her colleagues.
At Cambridge, a sizar was originally an undergraduate student who financed his/her studies by undertaking (often) menial tasks within a college. Certain colleges, including St John's and Trinity, distinguished between two categories of sizar. There were specific endowments for specific numbers of sizars who were called "proper sizars"; those who were not so endowed, but who were maintained by fee-paying fellow-commoners and fellows, were called “subsizars”. Sir Isaac Newton matriculated as a subsizar at Trinity College.
Churchill College, Cambridge continues to offer three sizarships per year, with the recipients being expected to promote music, theatre and the visual arts in the life of the college.
Sizarships are still awarded at Dublin, to new entrants of limited means who have shown merit in their school-leaving examinations. They receive their evening meal free of charge, normally for the first two years of an undergraduate course.
More Info:
en.wikipedia.org
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