Augusta Preparatory Day School will receive a $2 million endowment to provide scholarships, it announced Wednesday.

The Malone Family Foundation, started in 1997 to provide quality educational opportunities for gifted students lacking financial resources, awarded the endowment last week.

"We'll be looking for those students who are gifted and in the top 5 percent of their class that demonstrate a financial need," said Rebecca Blair, Augusta Prep's director of advancement and finance.

The top 5 percent is based on national averages for pupils in the seventh through 12th grades, Ms. Blair said.

Officials at the Martinez private school intend to use interest accrued from the grant to eventually award as many as 10 scholarships each year. The school likely will award just one scholarship from the endowment this year.

"We're so excited by this," Ms. Blair said. "It's a great opportunity for students who never have dreamed of coming to Augusta Prep."

Ms. Blair said she believes the endowment will free up some of the school's financial aid funds because some financial aid students might qualify for the Malone Scholars Program.

The school currently earmarks 13 percent of its annual budget, between $700,000 and $800,000, for financial aid.

For information about the Malone Scholars Program, contact Rosie Herrmann, Augusta Prep's director of admissions, at (706) 863-1906 or at admissions@augustaprep.org.