Two in five undergraduates in England from lower-income households have had to cut back on textbooks because of financial pressures, while accumulating average debts of £44,000 and rising. In comparison, many of us got a university education for free, often with significant grant support along the way. We believe this contrast is glaring…
...but importantly we believe we can do something about it. The Reading List Foundation exists to inspire people - including older graduates - to help fund a younger student’s First Year textbooks, providing practical, financial and emotional help.
“I was able to purchase medical books that I would otherwise not have afforded, which has served me well in assignments and exam preparations. Equally as important, I entered university with a positivity I may not have had.”
We ask our donors to fund or co-fund £250 Scholarships for high-achieving students from lower-income households, to cover their Reading List in their first year of university. We encourage donors to make their contribution personal – for instance directing it to their old school or college.
Thanks to a wonderful past year, we’ve been able to support 102 Scholarships this summer, in 87 schools and colleges across England. You can see our growth in the dots on the map above (and compare to this time last year in our previous post). Thank you!
Measuring our impact
Below is a link to a summary of our survey of Scholarship winners, showing just what sort of impact a £250 Scholarship can have. Thank you to all the students who took part – and donors who funded them.
Here’s a map of where we’re awarding Scholarships this year – if you feel passionately about any of the gaps, please feel free to help us plug them!