UCLan has pledged to offer a place of safety to refugees and asylum seekers by signing up as a supporting organisation of the City of Sanctuary charity.

As part of its commitment to helping people fleeing violence and persecution, UCLan has launched the new Sanctuary Scholarship and will waive the three-year undergraduate fees, currently £9,250 per year, and offer a support package of up to £5,000 per annum.

They will award the scholarship to one sanctuary seeking student per year who is not eligible to access student finance and living no more than 30 miles away from one of UCLan’s three North West campuses.

Read more: Preston joins bid to house Great British Railways headquarters

Dr Liz Granger, UCLan’s Head of Widening Participation and Public Engagement, said: “Our commitment to participation is ingrained in everything we do and throughout our history, and we have actively supported those people who face barriers in accessing higher education.

“We are a major civic institution, not only in Preston, Burnley or Westlakes, but further afield across Lancashire and the North West, and we take our role to help everyone achieve their academic potential seriously.

“We will aim to work closely with the cities of sanctuary in Preston and Burnley to explore how we can best learn, embed and share our efforts to create an inclusive environment for those seeking sanctuary and support students from this background.”

Read more: Shortlist for Dinesh Allirajah Prize for Short Fiction chosen by UCLan students 

The pledge was signed by the University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Graham Baldwin.

For more information, visit – https://www.uclan.ac.uk/study/fees-and-finance/bursaries-and-scholarships/sanctuary

See what’s happening near you by entering your postcode below or visit InYourArea

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines

What are your thoughts on the scholarship? Let us know in the comments below.