Star Sheen funds bursaries to help Welsh students study at Oxford

A BURSARY scheme named after actor Michael Sheen will provide financial support to students from across Wales at the University of Oxford.

Jesus College has developed The Michael Sheen Bursary in collaboration with the Welsh actor to help Welsh students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Applications for the new bursaries, which have been generously supported by Sheen, will open in the autumn term 2021.

Sheen said: “Where you come from and the financial circumstances of your background should not be a barrier.

“Jesus College, Oxford has had a long and fruitful relationship to Wales since its founding in 1571 and it gives me great pleasure to use what resources I have to help young Welsh students of real potential get the opportunities for learning there that they deserve.

“I hope that these bursaries not only make it possible for Welsh students to take advantage of the educational possibilities at Jesus but also help to encourage a sense of what is possible for young Welsh people generally.”

Recipients of the bursary will be means-tested

Dr Alexandra Lumbers, academic director of Jesus College, said: “Our access programmes are going a long way in encouraging and enabling academically gifted young people from Wales to come to the university, but disadvantaged students can face financial inequalities that create a barrier to embracing the full benefit that an Oxford education can offer.”