Student Zakariyya Ali explains what the support has meant for him:

“The funds I had received were extremely useful in allowing me to meet the living expenses at Cambridge both in terms of the termly rents and through arranging travel at the start and end of the term.  

The bursary is by far one of the best ways in which students from working-class backgrounds can get a footing in terms of life at Cambridge. Having both academic and financial support has allowed me to flourish in my first year, putting aside a set of financial worries in order to focus on my studies. I thank my donor for granting me with that ounce of reassurance, which can only help me to go a long way in terms of my degree and studies respectively.  

I believe the grant was very important in allowing me to deal with meeting the financial demands that accompany university. As I come from a single-parent household, the worries my mother and I had in terms of moving on to university meant many sacrifices had to be made, but through receiving a grant, it has undoubtedly alleviated many of our concerns, and for that, I am hugely grateful.”