To equality and beyond! New scholarships for disabled students

Snowdon Trust, the disabled students charity founded by Lord Snowdon in 1981, has announced the first of what will become a programme of full scholarship opportunities for disabled students undertaking Masters degree courses at some of the UK’s greatest universities. The scholarships will provide fee funding and a generous £15,000 p.a. stipend.

The Royal College of Art has been chosen as Snowdon Trust’s partner for the first scholarship, in recognition of Lord Snowdon’s long association with the College. Provost of the RCA from 1995 to 2004, Lord Snowdon also endowed a series of awards for disability design projects at the RCA’s Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design, the world’s leading centre for inclusive design.

The scholarship programme is being launched now, to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the publication of the Snowdon Working Party’s groundbreaking 1976 report, Integrating the Disabled. An investigation into issues affecting disabled people the report also made a series of key recommendations on how disabled people could be better integrated into society. Integrating the Disabled laid the foundations for a transformation in attitudes towards disability in areas such as education, employment, housing, public transport, sport and accessibility of public buildings. Almost 2 decades later, in 1995 the Disability Discrimination Act was passed by Parliament.

Renny Leach, chairman of the Snowdon Trust said: “The Snowdon Trust was founded to help disabled people achieve equality in further and higher education. This new scholarship programme goes beyond that. We want to support some truly exceptionally talented disabled people to become future leaders in their fields and in doing so, act as inspiration for others to follow. Snowdon Scholarship funding will mean they can concentrate fully on their studies to achieve their true potential.”

Professor Naren Barfield, Pro Rector of the Royal College of Art added: “The direct connection from Lord Snowdon, our former Provost and the very first Snowdon Scholar is one to be celebrated, and we are delighted to be partnering with the Snowdon Trust at the outset of such an exciting development.”

Notes for Editors:

Scholarship - The RCA Snowdon Scholarship is open to students with physical and sensory disabilities who will be commencing their Masters Degree course at RCA in the 2017/18 academic year. It will cover the student’s full Masters fees for the two-year course and provide a grant of £15,000 p.a. towards living costs. The Trust is planning to announce additional scholarships to extend its programme across a small number of top UK universities, to include different disciplines.

Snowdon Trust - The charity was founded by Lord Snowdon in 1981 and to date, has provided grants to disabled students towards their additional disability-related costs where these are not covered by statutory or other funding. This includes such things as human support costs, equipment and extra accommodation costs. In the current 2017/18 academic year they have already awarded grants totalling £238,000 to 88 disabled students across the UK. The scholarship programme will be an addition to its current grants programme.

Royal College of Art - The RCA is a postgraduate-only university offering 24 specialised programmes in art and design. It has been ranked number one for art and design in the world for two years running (QS World University Rankings 2015 & 2016). Graduates from RCA go on to occupy leadership positions across creative sectors and industries.

Contacts:

Snowdon Trust – Paul Alexander (paul@snowdontrust.org) or 01403 732899

RCA - Aine Duffy (aine.duffy@rca.ac.uk) or 020 7590 4127