Bursary scheme

Every year, we’re proud to support an inspiring group of up to 15 talented students from the West Midlands on their journey to academic excellence at the University of Cambridge, awarding over £3,500 per year to each student throughout their first undergraduate degree.

This bursary is paid directly to the student’s college during the first term of each academic year and can be used flexibly to cover living costs, college fees, or a combination of both, so students can fully embrace the Cambridge experience.

This academic year ten exceptional West Midlands students, including a student studying Medicine at Lucy Cavendish from Birmingham and a student from Sandwell studying Law at Fitzwilliam College, have received bursaries to ease their university costs and empower them to thrive both academically and personally at the University of Cambridge. To hear more from the students about their experiences, you can read their comments in this published articles: Cambridge OCR Bursary.

Legacy of Support

Cambridge OCR, part of the University of Cambridge, funds this scheme thanks to its historic links to the former West Midlands Examinations Board. That’s why the bursary is open exclusively to students from schools and colleges in West Midlands Local Education Authorities. See the full list of Local Education Authorities below.

Since launching in 2004, the bursary scheme has supported over 200 students, transforming dreams into achievements. To continue receiving the award, students must maintain strong academic performance and remain enrolled at their college.

Students who:

• have completed or are completing their secondary education in a school, sixth-form or FE college that is in a West Midlands Local Education Authority (Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Herefordshire, Sandwell, Shropshire, Solihull, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton and Worcestershire).
• are eligible for Home (UK) fee status
• have been offered a place on a full-time undergraduate degree course at the University of Cambridge (including those intending to take a gap year)
• have not been awarded funding or sponsorship for their university study by any other organisation or scheme (this does not include funding received from Student Finance England or a University of Cambridge bursary)
• have, or expect to be awarded, a Cambridge OCR qualification (such as GCSE, AS/A Level, Cambridge National or Cambridge Technical) that contributes to the academic profile on which a Cambridge place offer is based

Students can apply themselves, or schools and colleges can nominate eligible students who they believe would benefit from the award. Both the student and the nominating centre must complete their sections of the form and return this before the closing date.

The application can be downloaded by clicking the link at the bottom of this page.

Centres can nominate more than one student.

Remember to attach a full copy of the student UCAS form, including all references.

Please send your completed application to ocr.bursaries@ocr.org.uk

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 5 May 2026. Applications received after this date cannot be considered.

If you have any queries, please contact Janice Smith on 0191 925 0062 or ocr.bursaries@ocr.org.uk.

The Cambridge OCR bursary is considered on the grounds of financial hardship as well as academic merit. We use POLAR and Index of Multiple Deprivation data, along with free school meals and 16-19 bursary eligibility information when we select our bursary recipients.

We will notify provisional bursary recipients in July 2026 and confirm final offers to students by September 2026, when their place at the University of Cambridge is confirmed.

Bursary application forms are kept until the awarding panel decision is confirmed. We keep the data of successful applicants for seven years from the date of the award.