Uni to give high achievers £3k help with fees

The scheme, for students who achieve AAB in their A levels or 340 UCAS points, is part of a £3 million scholarships and bursaries pot set aside by the university for students joining in 2012.

Students who receive the £3,000-a-year Centenary Bursary will have to maintain a 2.1 average throughout their degree, the university’s vice chancellor Les Ebdon told students at the launch.

“When I first came to the university we talked about how important it was that this was the university of choice for local students,” he said.

“We have invested £140 million in new facilities and we have plans for another £40 million, because we know people are making a significant decision by going to university.”

He told the students that in spite of the fees hike, university would be the “best career move” in terms of the potential for increased earnings and choice of jobs.

“There’s a substantial return on the investment that you make,” he said, going on to explain that students would not have to pay up front for tuition and would only start to repay once they were earning £21,000 a year or more.

College principal Simon Kitchener said: “Helping students progress to higher education is one of the main aims of Luton Sixth Form College. We think it’s very exciting that the university has chosen to launch its new scheme here.”

Around 150 students from the college go on to study at the University of Bedfordshire every year, and Mr Kitchener said he had seen no sign that the £9,000 tuition fees being brought in in 2012 were having an impact on the number of applications.

But he said it was more likely that in the current economic climate, students would choose to study closer to home.

“The University of Bedfordshire now has a national and international reputation for its teaching and for the percentage of students that go on to employment.

“I know a number of AAB students have already applied to the University of Bedfordshire and we hope the scheme will encourage more to do that.”