Charlie's story

The Durham Inspired North East scholarship was established to support access to Durham for talented students from low-income backgrounds. Thanks to donor funding, 11 students benefit each year. Here, Charlie explains the difference the scholarship has made to him.  

“I come from Hartlepool in the North East of England and I'm the middle child of three sons. I’ve always been interested in STEM subjects, so I was thrilled to be accepted to study Physics at Durham.  

None of my close family or friends have been to university, so I had no idea what to expect.  Before starting my degree, I was quite apprehensive but receiving a scholarship has enabled me to enjoy this experience more than I could have imagined.

One of my main concerns was affording everything I needed. The costs associated with studying can soon mount up, so I was grateful to be able to use the money to buy books from the course reading list as well as a laptop. I’ve also been able to join in with sports clubs and extracurricular activities which might have been unaffordable otherwise. A particular highlight was learning to row in first year and now I’m taking Russian language classes. 

Of course, the cost-of-living crisis has had a major impact on finances, but the scholarship has provided a much-needed safety net and made challenges much easier to bear. It eased financial worries, which is good as getting to grips with degree level Physics was quite enough – particularly in those early weeks! 

The scholarship hasn’t only helped me, but my family too. They have also been affected by the increased cost of living and not having to loan money from them has meant that they can support my brother while he undertakes an apprenticeship in engineering. 

Without the scholarship, I wouldn’t have been able to embrace student life and all that comes with it. Your donations mean I can enjoy every step of my Durham journey and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.” 
 
By making a gift you can help another student like Charlie. All gifts, no matter the size, will help us reach our goal of changing another life for the better next year.