29 Nov 2011

HSBC is to provide funding of more than £12 million over five years to help more than 200 bright students attend leading schools and universities in England.

HSBC's Scholarship Programme is designed to support education for students who have strong academic potential but come from disadvantaged areas and backgrounds.

Working in six of the UK's largest cities, the Scholarship Programme will fund over 100 places at 20 leading independent schools for Years 12 and 13, over the next five years.

This programme builds on an existing successful pilot between Kingsford Community School and Brighton College, which has been running for four years. During this time eight students from Kingsford School, located in a deprived inner-city area of London, have attended Brighton College, a leading independent school. All of the students on this HSBC Scholarship Programme who have completed their sixth form studies have gone on to win places at leading universities.

In an extension to the initiative, HSBC's University Scholarship Programme will match-fund tuition fees for 90 academically able undergraduate candidates from less wealthy backgrounds, helping them to attend some of the country's leading universities. The programme starts in September 2012 and will run for the following five years.

This extension is a response to independent research commissioned by HSBC, undertaken by Professor Steve Hodkinson, former Vice Chancellor of Brunel University, which concluded that the Bank could make a significant difference to the 'learning futures' of young people through a programme of targeted educational philanthropy. In the first instance he recommended the Scholarship Programme should seek to increase the 'pool' of high achieving sixth formers from disadvantaged backgrounds who meet the entry requirements of the top universities. The Programme should then work with universities to help fund those candidates who meet both the entrance requirement and the widening participation criteria.

Simon Martin, Head of Group Corporate Sustainability at HSBC said: "This programme invests in the futures of talented young people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. Not only is this hugely important for each individual student who benefits from the programme, but hopefully it will also contribute to the future economic and social well being of their communities."

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. The Research:
Conducted by Prof Steve Hodkinson, former Vice Chancellor of Brunel University in 2011, the research reviewed current literature and interviews with education leaders on university access.

The research found that, (i) providing opportunities for talented state school students to attend independent sixth forms is one way of increasing the numbers of such students attending top universities; and (ii) students from low/middle income backgrounds could be put off university by fee levels.

2. Participant Schools 
The independent schools taking part in the Scholarship Programme are:
Brighton College
City of London School
King Edward's School Birmingham
The Grammar School at Leeds
The Manchester Grammar School
Sheffield High School
St Pauls Girls' School
Westminster School
Withington Girls' School Manchester
The Girls' Day School Trust - the largest group of independent schools across the country

3. HSBC University Scholars Programme  
Applications to the HSBC University Scholars Programme are run by each participating university. Enquiries about applications for the fund should be directed to the relevant university.

The six universities participating in HSBC's University Scholars' Programme are:
University of Birmingham
University of Bristol
University of Leeds
University of Manchester
University of Sheffield
University College, London.

4. HSBC's Educational Investment  
The HSBC University Scholars' Programme is part of a wider programme of philanthropic educational investment. Since its inception in 2001, the HSBC scholarship global network has made it possible for over 500 talented UK scholars to study at fee-paying independent schools and gain places at top universities. Globally, HSBC supports more than 17,000 scholars each year.