Submitted by Dr Alex Pryce on Wed, 13/01/2021 - 09:00
A Foundation Year offering talented students from backgrounds of educational and social disadvantage a new route to undergraduate study has been launched by the University of Cambridge.
The one-year course – aimed at an entirely new stream of applicants who have the ability to succeed at Cambridge, but have been prevented from reaching their full potential by their circumstances – will prepare students for further learning and offer them the chance to progress straight to an undergraduate degree at Cambridge. Its launch - amid the COVID-19 pandemic - comes at a time when the University’s work to forge new pathways into higher education for those groups already facing exceptional disadvantage has never been more pressing.
The Foundation Year is free to students; a cornerstone £5 million gift from philanthropists Christina and Peter Dawson will fund the launch of the programme and full one-year scholarships for all students who are accepted.