Charity awards £65,000 in university bursaries to Bedford Borough students
The Harpur Trust supports local residents and communities through grants and programmes
Last updated 28th Sep 2024
The Harpur Trust has awarded bursaries totalling £65,600 to students across Bedford Borough to help them access higher education.
Sixteen students from local state schools have each been awarded £3,600, spread across three years, to assist with university costs such as accommodation, books, and travel.
In addition, two postgraduate students were awarded £4,000 each to support them in completing a PGCE and an MSc in Clinical Immunology.
Lucy Bardner, Community Programmes Director at The Harpur Trust, said: "This is a university bursary programme which we actually started in 2007, so it’s been going for a long old time.
"Over that period, we have supported 265 students from low-income families who live in Bedford to go to university."
The bursary scheme provides financial support to students studying a wide range of subjects, from midwifery to law, and enables them to attend universities across the UK.
Ms Bardner highlighted the importance of encouraging students to research the best universities for their chosen fields, even if it means moving further afield.
She said: "Lower-income students tend to self-restrict their options in terms of where they go to university because of the financial burden. So they tend to stick closer to home.
"Going further afield to the right university where they’re going to be doing the right degree and getting the right support can make a real difference."
One of the key impacts of the bursary is the relief it provides from the increasing cost of living and its effect on students’ mental health.
"We all know that young people’s mental health issues are increasing exponentially, and it takes a little bit of that pressure off," Ms Bardner added.
"It doesn’t make the difference between choosing to go or not to go, but it does make that whole experience more beneficial and enables the students to get what they need to get out of university."
The Harpur Trust leaves it up to the students to decide how best to spend the bursary, whether on food, books, or course-related trips.
The bursary programme is part of a broader commitment from the Harpur Trust, which provides grants and financial support to various community initiatives in Bedford.
The Trust’s long history dates back to 1566, when Sir William Harpur, a Bedford-born philanthropist, established a foundation to support education and the local community.
The income from Harpur’s estate, now part of central London, continues to fund the Trust’s work.
Applications for the next round of bursaries, for the 2025 academic year, will open after Christmas.