An £80,000 bursary scheme to support 40 students from low-income backgrounds is announced today by the University of Bristol Law School.
The scheme, funded by the bet365 Foundation, is aimed at students studying single honours Law from households with an income of £25,000 or less*. Successful applicants will receive a bursary of £2,000 each, providing crucial support in their first year.
Joanne Conaghan, Head of the University of Bristol Law School, said:
We are delighted that the bet365 Foundation has generously funded these bursaries and very grateful for support they extend to our students. In doing so the Foundation is helping us fulfil our commitment to capturing and nurturing talent from all walks of life."
"For those coming from low-income backgrounds, getting here is just the start. Many will be balancing study with jobs and worries about paying the bills. Reducing their financial burden will significantly increase their chances of reaching their potential in this important, foundational year.
University of Bristol Law School has long been at the forefront of widening participation activities, running a series of outreach programmes for groups of people currently under-represented in higher education. The aim for all is to raise aspirations, confidence and attainment.
John Coates, Co-Founder and Trustee of the bet365 Foundation, studied Law at Bristol University and began his career as a lawyer. John Coates commented:
Study at Bristol provides life-long opportunities. Students graduate as self-motivated, critical thinkers – skills that every employer is looking for. For under-represented students, the transition from school to academia can be particularly tough. With the bet365 Foundation bursaries we hope to support students in this character building year and help them lay foundations for future success.
The University of Bristol Law School is one of the most successful in the UK, with an outstanding reputation for the quality of teaching and research. Students choose Bristol because of its academic reputation and future career opportunities. Conaghan concluded:
This bursary scheme will help remove some of the financial burden for talented young people from lower income backgrounds, and help them realise that what matters is their talent, drive and ambition.
Students applying for the bursary will need to meet the eligibility criteria and complete a brief statement of interest outlining what difference the award could make to their experience at the University of Bristol’s Law School.
Application details will be available on the Awards, Bursaries and Scholarships website (http://www.bristol.ac.uk/fees-funding/search/) from early November 2015, with successful recipients selected in December 2015.
For more information, please contact student-funding@bristol.ac.uk
*Students coming from homes where the household income is £25,000-£42,620 will also be considered where the need is great.
About the bet365 Foundation
The bet365 Foundation is a registered charity established in 2012 by John and his sister Denise Coates CBE, who leads the Organisation. The Foundation’s primary purpose is to make a positive difference to people’s lives. Placing an emphasis on funding directly to the frontline, where it has a real impact upon those the funding is intended to benefit, the Foundation has to-date identified causes to which it has donated in excess of £7m.
Institutions that have benefitted from donations include; Oxfam, CAFOD, mothers-2-mothers, Leonard Cheshire Disability, YMCA, Douglas Macmillan Hospice and The Donna Louise Children’s Hospice. In addition to supporting charities with the delivery of planned projects, and providing funds for student bursaries, the Foundation has supported emergency responses to natural disasters and the recent Ebola epidemic in West Africa where its funding was targeted at programmes operating on-the-ground providing relief to devastated communities.
Other Law School widening participation schemes include:
Pathways to Law
Set up in 2006 by The Sutton Trust and the Legal Education Foundation, with support from major law firms, Pathways to Law is designed to inspire and support academically able students from non-privileged backgrounds interested in a career in law. The two-year programme provides the chance to experience lectures and seminars on various aspects of law from the University’s internationally recognised law academics.
The Eileen Drummond and Sheila Anderson Fund (EDSA)
Sheila Anderson graduated from Bristol in 1956, and went on to pursue a career in law, working both as a barrister and in-house lawyer throughout her life. Sheila was awarded a state bursary from the government, which paid for her fees and living expenses at university. Sheila was keen to give something back to today’s students and established a generous fund to support students in the School of Law. The fund, which provides £9,000 to cover first year tuition fees for successful applicants, acknowledges her family name, hence the inclusion of her mother’s name ‘Eileen Drummond’.