The Bursary Foundation has set out its expansion plans for 2021, with a goal of partnering with more schools and working with more students.
The Manchester-based organisation works to connect high-achieving pupils from low-income backgrounds with educational opportunities at state grammar schools and independent schools.
The Bursary Foundation’s partnership with Bond, providers of 11+ practice materials published by Oxford University Press (OUP), is set to continue as it moves forward. Providing free workbooks and access to BondOnline allows families access to materials that wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford.
Students receive tutoring and mentoring, supported by Bond 11+ materials, to ensure they are well prepared before sitting entrance exams for partner schools. So far, 57 children across Greater Manchester have received tuition.
We believe that initiatives like ours that drive social mobility are vital and we are more determined than ever to make a real and substantive difference to the life chances of disadvantaged pupils – Jenny Hopkinson, The Bursary Foundation
The Bursary Foundation found that when asked, only 13% of parents had considered applying to independent schools for their children, but after joining The Bursary Foundation, 73% of parents made applications.
For the 2019-20 cohort, almost half of pupils were offered places at state grammar schools or independent schools, including Manchester Grammar School, Manchester High School for Girls, Hulme Oldham Grammar School, Stretford Grammar School and Sale Grammar School.
For the 2020-21 cohort, 37% of pupils have, to date, been offered places at a state grammar school or independent school.
Jenny Hopkinson, founder of The Bursary Foundation, said: “The ‘year of the Great Pandemic’ has been a difficult one for us all, but especially so for the children that The Bursary Foundation is aiming to help.
“In the wake of Covid, we believe that initiatives like ours that drive social mobility are vital and we are more determined than ever to make a real and substantive difference to the life chances of disadvantaged pupils through increased provision of transformational bursaries at leading schools.
“We could not be more grateful for our partnership with OUP… it’s great to have a partner who backs our mission to drive social mobility by ensuring that children from disadvantaged backgrounds have access to the best education, just like their more affluent counterparts.”
