Ahead of A-Level results day on Thursday (August 17), UA92 has announced the launch of its Greatness Unlocked Scholarship programme – with Gary Neville set to man the phones during clearing on the day.
The scholarship programme will fund tuition fees amounting to £27,750 for selected students from disadvantaged backgrounds in Greater Manchester who have displayed exceptional personal statements.
The programme will be in place for students beginning their undergraduate studies this September, with the recipients of the 2023 programme announced on Thursday.
Sara Prowse, CEO at UA92, said: “We are immensely proud to be launching the Greatness Unlocked Scholarship programme for this upcoming year. We know that minority communities and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds in Greater Manchester are significantly less likely to attend higher education than their more affluent peers.
“Achieving parity and demonstrating that anyone can attend university is our core mission at UA92 and we will continue to introduce initiatives such as this scholarship programme, our Make It For Real scheme and our Bursary 92 programme, supported by the Moulding Foundation, to encourage those who may not think University is a realistic option for them.”
Co-founded in 2019 by Lancaster University and the Class of ‘92, UA92 currently has over 800 students enrolled in degree and higher education courses across business, sport, media and digital disciplines at its Old Trafford campus, and is due to open its Business School campus this September in Manchester city centre.
More than 21 per cent of UA92 students are from the most disadvantaged areas of the community (national average of 13.5 per cent – UCAS). It has targets to increase this to 50 per cent within the next five years.
The latest scholarship programme is part of a wider package of financial assistance for UA92 students, including its Make it For Real initiative, a financial package targeted at young people in communities where financial deprivation is high and where accessing education is perceived as unaffordable or inaccessible. The initiative is specifically aimed at those in receipt of, or eligible for, free school meals and provides recipients with £5,000 worth of support which includes a laptop, unlimited data, lunch every day, travel pass to and from campus and a £150 home voucher.
UA92 co-founder, the former Manchester United player, businessman, philanthropist and football pundit Gary Neville, will be taking part in the clearing process this Thursday at UA92, taking phone calls from students interested in studying at the facility.
