Bursaries allow prisoners to study

Prisoners are preparing to begin a course at Cambridge University.

Four £5,000 bursaries have been awarded to current and former inmates, who will start a pilot scheme next month at the Institute of Continuing Education.

They will study for an undergraduate certificate in higher education. Those still in jail must be in open prison and eligible for day release.

The bursaries, funded by the university and the Longford Trust charity, are part of a study on how education can help with rehabilitation.

Serious offenders can apply. Dr Amy Ludlow, one of the academics involved, said: “We are interested in future rather than past.”