 Education in Wales had been stimulated by the foundation of grammar schools during the reigns of Henry VIII and Edward VI : King Henry VIII Grammar School in Abergavenny and Christ College , Brecon were established in the 1540s , and Friars School , Bangor dates from 1557 . However , despite the numbers of Welsh students coming to Oxford University as a result , there was no special provision for Welshmen before 1571 . Despite the links with Wales that Hugh Price and many of the founding Fellows had , neither the 1571 charter nor any of the later charters limited entry to the college to Welshmen . Nevertheless , the college students were predominantly Welsh from the outset , and the college became " the pinnacle of the academic ambition of the young men of Wales " . Many of the fellows in the past were Welsh , since when new fellowships were created by benefactions ( often by people of Welsh descent ) there was frequently a stipulation that the recipients would be related to the donor or come from a specified part of Wales . These specific limitations were removed as part of reforms of Oxford University during the 19th century . Between 1571 and 1915 , only one Principal ( Francis Howell , 1657 – 1660 ) was not from Wales or of Welsh descent . 
