Membership
Build your network. Find your place in the City. Become part of something lasting.
The Guild brings together former pupils of the Mercers’ Cluster schools and colleges, creating a lifelong community built around professional development, fellowship, service and the traditions of the City of London.
The Guild of Mercers’ Scholars
A community to grow into
For students and recent leavers, the Guild offers a distinctive opportunity to establish roots in London, build a professional network and gain support during the first important stages of their careers. Through mentoring, introductions and City events, members can meet people from different professions, broaden their understanding of the working world and develop the confidence to pursue their ambitions.
It is also something more enduring: a continuing connection to the Mercers’ community and a pathway into the civic life and historic institutions of the City.
Membership benefits
Why join?
The Guild offers former pupils something difficult to build alone: a trusted network, a route into the life of the City and a community that can remain valuable throughout their lives.
- Build a professional and social network across industries and generations
- Receive personal guidance from an experienced Apprentice Master
- Meet people who can broaden your understanding of careers and professional life
- Gain confidence in formal, social and business settings
- Attend events in the City of London and its historic Livery Halls
- Take part in charitable, educational and civic activities
- Become a Freeman of the City of London
- Open the door to future membership of a Livery Company
For students and recent leavers, membership provides early access to people, places and experiences that might otherwise take years to encounter. It is a chance to gain informed advice, understand different professions and begin building relationships beyond school, university and a first workplace.
The greatest advantage is not any single event or introduction. It is becoming part of a community whose members are willing to share their experience, support those at the beginning of their careers and create opportunities for others.
The Guild can help you establish roots in London, take your first professional steps with greater confidence and become part of traditions that have shaped the City for centuries.
In time, members are encouraged to give back: mentoring younger people, supporting charitable work, taking on leadership roles and strengthening the network for the next generation.
This is not simply a society to join. It is a community to grow into.
Who can join
Our schools and colleges
The Court welcomes membership applications from former pupils of the Mercers’ School and schools and colleges within the Mercers’ Cluster.
- Abingdon School
- The College of Richard Collyer
- Dauntsey’s School
- Hammersmith Academy
- Madeley Academy
- The Royal Ballet School
- St Paul’s School
- St Paul’s Girls’ School
- Sandwell Academy
- Peter Symonds College
- Thomas Telford School
- Walsall Academy
Students interested in the apprenticeship should speak to their School Liaison Officer. Former pupils can contact the Membership Clerk about direct entry.
Membership FAQsThe apprenticeship
Mentoring and the first steps in your career
For many members, the journey begins through the Guild’s four-year apprenticeship.
Apprentices are paired with an experienced Apprentice Master who can offer guidance on education, career choices, applications, interviews and wider professional development. They can provide perspective, share experience and, where appropriate, introduce apprentices to useful contacts.
Alongside mentoring, apprentices are invited to attend Guild events, meet other members and gain early exposure to the professional and civic life of London.
The scheme is designed to complement university, further education, professional training or the first years of employment. The more actively an apprentice participates, the more valuable the experience becomes.
A lasting progression
The journey through the Guild
Membership opens a supported route from apprenticeship to the Freedom of the City and, for those who wish, into the Livery movement.
- 01
Apprentice
Join the four-year apprenticeship, take part in Guild life and receive guidance from an Apprentice Master.
- 02
Freeman and Guildman
On completing the apprenticeship, gain the Freedom of the City of London and become a full Guildman.
- 03
Livery Company
The Freedom provides the usual foundation for joining a Livery Company and taking a deeper role in the professional and civic life of the City.
City life
Establishing your place in the City
The City of London is more than a business and financial centre. It is a longstanding civic community shaped by professional fellowship, charitable activity, public service and traditions stretching back centuries.
For someone starting out, that world can seem difficult to access. The Guild provides a welcoming route into it. Through mentoring, events, ceremonies and connections with the Livery movement, members can understand how the City works, meet people established in their fields and begin to play a part in its professional and civic life.
This is particularly valuable for those who do not already have family or professional connections in London. The Guild helps ensure that access to the City is built through participation, commitment and shared membership—not simply through who you already know.
A civic distinction
The Freedom of the City of London
At the end of the apprenticeship, members can qualify for the Freedom of the City of London and become full members of the Guild.
The Freedom is one of the City’s oldest surviving traditions. Historically, it allowed an individual to trade within the City. Today, it remains an important civic distinction and a formal connection to the City, its institutions and its traditions.
It marks both a personal achievement and the beginning of a deeper relationship with City life. It also provides the essential foundation for anyone wishing to become a Liveryman.
Its value lies not simply in the ceremony, but in what follows: the relationships you build, the contribution you make and the role you choose to play.
Tradition and service
Becoming part of the Livery movement
The Livery Companies developed from London’s medieval trade and craft guilds. Today, they represent historic crafts alongside modern professions including finance, law, engineering, construction, technology, medicine, education, maritime activity and the arts.
They remain active communities centred on professional excellence, education, charity, mentoring, fellowship and civic service.
Joining a Livery Company allows a Freeman to deepen their involvement in the City. A Liveryman can build relationships across generations, support younger people, contribute to charitable and educational work and take part in the traditions and civic life of London.
It is more than membership of a professional association or attendance at formal dinners. It means becoming part of a community with a lasting commitment to fellowship, service and contribution.
Your next step