Wheatley bursaries help 50 customers go to university and college

Scotland’s leading housing, care and property-management group is helping make dreams of further education a reality for people across Scotland.

The bursaries are available through the Wheatley Foundation – the Group’s charitable trust – for tenants of Wheatley Homes Glasgow, Wheatley Homes East, Wheatley Homes South, Loretto Housing homes and those in a home factored or rented by Lowther.

Applications are now open for the bursaries, worth up to £1500 for full-time students and £750 for part-time studies, which will support people from some of Scotland’s most disadvantaged communities for up to two years.

Wheatley Homes Glasgow tenant Bradley McDermott, 22, lives in the east end of Glasgow with his mum.

Bradley is in third year studying a BEng in Civil Engineering at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS) in Paisley.

He said: “I’m really grateful to have a bursary from Wheatley Foundation. It will give me a better chance to do well while at university.

“The bursary has helped cover travel costs and books for the year. I moved to UWS after two years at Kelvin College, so I have further to travel meaning it’s more expensive. The bursary has also meant I haven’t had to work as many shifts in my part-time job, giving me more time to focus on course work and assignments.”

Wheatley Homes South tenant Kimberley Spearey, 40, lives in Stranraer.

A single mum, Kimberley is in her final year of a BSc in Adult Nursing. She finishes her course in a few weeks and has just secured a job as an anaesthetic nurse.

She said: “I used some of the bursary to help with the cost of childcare. I would have really struggled without it – it meant I didn’t need to worry about putting food on the table. Without it I would have been on the breadline.

“For anyone thinking about going on to further education, I would say do it. I’m a single mum, so if I can do it, anyone can.”

Wheatley Homes East tenant Jamo Jamo, 34, lives in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh.

He came to the UK from Kurdistan in 2018 and is finishing his first year studying Psychology at Heriot Watt University.

He said: “I used my bursary to help with living costs, like paying my rent. Without this, I would have been struggling financially.

“I sometimes feel a bit anxious about my finances and having this bursary has helped me relax a bit and not worry as much about money, meaning I can focus more on my studies.”

Bursaries are available for people who want to study for an HNC, HND, Undergraduate Degree or Postgraduate course.

More than 400 people in Wheatley communities have benefited from the bursary programme since its launch in 2017.

Wheatley Foundation Chair Paddy Gray said: “The cost of further education can be a barrier for people and we want to help people go to university or college to achieve their dream.

“The Wheatley Foundation education bursaries really make a difference and are life-changing for our customers. Our bursaries help anyone who qualifies to fulfil their potential.”

The application deadline for bursaries is Sunday, 30 June 2024.

Tenants and customers of Wheatley can email bursaries@wheatley-group.com for more information and for a link to apply.