Raheem Sterling Foundation to fund university scholarships

LONDON:

A partnership between the Raheem Sterling Foundation, The University of Manchester and King’s College London has been launched to support 14 students with scholarships that will enable them to study at the universities.

The initiative is designed to help close the attainment gap for black British students, increase social mobility, and support equal access to higher education.

The first four scholarships – two at King’s and two at Manchester – will be available for students commencing degree programmes in 2023/24. Applications will be open to young people in the regions of Greater Manchester and Greater London and there will be a number of opportunities over the next three years for students to apply. The partnerships with the universities will support young people from under-represented backgrounds to gain access to greater education and enable them to achieve their greatest potential. Research shows in 2021/22, less than five per cent of all UK students starting undergraduate degrees at Russell Group universities were black.

Commenting on the partnership, Raheem Sterling, the Jamaica-born England and Chelsea football star said: “This opportunity will help young people access further education and present them with experiences and opportunities that will enhance their future career prospects.

“I hope this initiative will be a real game changer over the next few years and I am delighted to be working with two of the finest universities in the world. I wish the recipients of our funding all the very best and look forward to meeting everyone on campus in Manchester and London later this year.”

VITAL TOOL

A release on the launch stated that the Raheem Sterling Foundation is committed to greater social mobility, providing better education, and furthering employment opportunities for young people.

Clive Ellington, Chair of Trustees, added: ‘’At the Raheem Sterling Foundation, we believe that access to better education and employment opportunities should be made fair to all young people regardless of financial circumstances and background. The work we do is in pursuit of improving their opportunities, future careers and quality of life and we won’t rest until we succeed in Raheem’s vision of achieving this.

‘’Partnering with two of the UK’s most outstanding universities, whose strive for change mirrors that of ours, is a real highlight in our journey to date, and we couldn’t be happier to announce our commitment to them and the students over the next three years.’’

University of Manchester President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell, said: ‘’The Raheem Sterling Foundation partnership will give us additional support to enable talented black students to access higher education, mitigating financial challenges so they are better able to focus on their studies and realise their full potential. I believe that scholarships are a vital tool in helping students to access and progress through higher education, which is why we are so proud to partner with Raheem to invest in talented black students in Greater Manchester.’’

President and principal of King’s College London, Professor ShitijKapur, said: “Widening participation in higher education makes both King’s and the wider world a better place. We are delighted to partner with the Raheem Sterling Foundation to further our work in this area and enable more support for under-represented students to access higher education, achieve their aspirations and become the change-makers of the future.”

Application information for the scholarships is available on both universities’ websites.