Sutton Trust staff and JP Morgan colleagues gathered with recipients of our first ever Opportunity Bursary Fund. Our Senior Programmes Officer, Priya Bryant, reflects on the event and how the funding helps our students access vital opportunities.

Last week, in the beautiful environment of JP Morgan’s Great Hall on Victoria Embankment, the 51 recipients of the inaugural round of Opportunity Bursaries gathered to celebrate their achievements. They were joined by Sutton Trust staff, and colleagues from JP Morgan, whose funds are supporting this transformational bursary.

About the bursary 

The recipients – selected from a competitive pool of 400 applications – were awarded their funds in December and have since embarked on a variety of projects to improve their employability skills and career prospects. They are attending universities across the country, studying a wide range of subjects, but are united by their drive and ambition to secure the futures that they envision for themselves.

The Opportunity Bursary was proposed as the first scheme of its kind, in light of Sutton Trust research which demonstrated that students from less well-off backgrounds were less able to access extracurricular activities and other opportunities to improve their skills, with an impact on their employability. Over £200,000 has been awarded in the first year to alumni of Sutton Trust programmes and the Social Mobility Foundation and JP Morgan’s Aspiring Professionals Programme.

It has been a real joy to support the successful students to make the most of their funding, and to hear about the huge range of activities they will be doing – from work abroad in Mexico and Sri Lanka, to financial internships in the City of London, to conservation work in South West England – and just about everything else in between. But it was even more inspiring to meet the young people in person, which truly brought home the impact that this programme will have.  

Congratulations to recipients 

The bursary recipients were congratulated on their achievements by Vis Raghavan, CEO of JP Morgan in EMEA, and James Turner, CEO of the Sutton Trust. James said, “it is so great to be here celebrating in person with these inspiring young people… Opportunity Bursaries go to the very heart of what the Sutton Trust is about: that all young people – no matter where they live, the school they attend or how much their parents earn – should have access to brilliant opportunities to make the most of their talents and aspirations.”

The full 2022 cohort of recipients and their projects was then announced and applauded by the room, followed by a short interview with three of the students, chaired by Jessica Ferguson, JP Morgan’s International Head of Employee Engagement and Volunteering.

“It was both a privilege and a challenge to select students from the impressive applications. We feel confident that our final cohort will go on to achieve great things and develop themselves, with the funds they receive.” – Marie-Rose Delauzun, Senior Programme Manager for Alumni at the Sutton Trust. 

Cecil Peters, Head of Advancing Black Pathways for JP Morgan EMEA, also congratulated the students, saying: 

“I am proud to have been involved with the programme from inception to launch. Each one of the recipients of this bursary put in an outstanding proposal and it will be a pleasure to watch our funds support their aspirations. Everyone should be able to access the extracurricular opportunities they want to, and this programme goes some way to improving that access.”  

Growing their network  

Many of the cohort have taken up the opportunity to receive mentoring from JP Morgan staff and were able to meet with their mentors at the event – as well as networking with other staff who had volunteered to interview candidates or review applications back in the autumn. It was wonderful to see the recipients forging new connections and discussing the doors that this bursary has opened for them. 

“It was inspiring to see the power the Opportunity Bursary has in changing the lives and communities of young people.” – Rowan Hettige, University of Durham student and bursary recipient 

Rowan Hettige, a student at the University of Durham, will be using his bursary to support a summer internship, and to continue his voluntary work with his university’s 93% Club – a social mobility network. He said: “The conversations that I had with the rest of my cohort was the most valuable aspect for me. With everyone hailing from diverse backgrounds and working on a multitude of projects, it was inspiring to see the power the Opportunity Bursary has in changing the lives and communities of young people!” 

Everyone at the Trust and JP Morgan look forward to hearing the outcomes of the student projects this year, and hopefully witnessing the impact on their careers for many years to come. 

Applications for next year’s Opportunity Bursary will open in summer 2022 – register your interest here.