Students pictured from left to right: Trudy Yates, Sam Johnston, with Janet Morris (OCR Chief Executive) and Saul Nassé(Cambridge Assessment Chief Executive), Joseph Dulleston and Nickeal Sidhu. 

Five fabulous students from the West Midlands are heading off to Cambridge University, with the help of a bursary from OCR. They are all the first in their families to go into higher education.

The high-flying students received the bursaries at our Coventry offices on 20 September. All had achieved outstanding A Level results at West Midlands schools; Thomas Alleyne's High School in Uttoxeter, Caludon Castle School in Coventry, Cardinal Griffin Catholic College in Cannock, Bishop Vesey's Grammar School in Sutton Coldfield, and King Edward VI Handsworth Grammar School for Boys, Birmingham. The students will begin their degrees in Medicine, History, Natural Sciences, and Human, Social and Political Sciences at Cambridge in early October. The OCR bursary, which gives students £3000 for each year of their undergraduate studies, can be used towards living or tuition costs, or for a combination of both. 

Janet Morris, OCR Chief Executive, (pictured above) congratulated the students on their achievements: "We are delighted to support these outstanding young people through the OCR bursary scheme. For us, celebrating with the students is one of our favourite days in the year. It's not only a chance to mark their success and wish them well on their next steps. It's also a privilege to meet them. They have not only excelled academically but they have pushed themselves in many other ways; volunteering in their local communities, competing in national sports events, being excellent representatives of their schools and, in some cases, having responsibilities as family carers."

"We are also delighted to have the opportunity to meet their families and the teachers at their schools and colleges who have taught and inspired them."

Now in its 15th year, the OCR bursary helps students from the West Midlands to make the most of their studies at Cambridge University. The bursary fund arises out of OCR's historical association with the West Midlands Examinations Board. 

Application forms for next year's OCR bursary, which will open in Spring 2019, will be available here.