Saint David's

Education policy director at University of Wales Trinity Saint David's, Gareth Evans, said concessions had been made to ensure youngsters were not disadvantaged.

"The stock market has been beneficial for our endowment," said Jack Sproule, director of finance at Saint David's.

Saint David's School, an all-boys school on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, saw its endowment grow to more than $60 million in 2014, according to the school's 990 form, compared with 2002, when it was just $11 million.

The endowment is invested 70 percent in stocks and 30 percent in fixed income securities; in 2014, Saint David's endowment returned nearly 18 percent, according to Reuters calculations confirmed by the school.

The leek remains as a symbol of Saint David's dietary tastes, but a pint of Brains seems to have replaced his traditional glass of water at the celebrations that take place across Wales, as well as at London Welsh Centre.