Alumni celebrate graduation anniversary with generous donation
Saturday 28 March 2015
Urban land economics alumni who studied at Sheffield Polytechnic reunited in March to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their graduation ceremony.
The 1970 cohort of graduates gathered with their partners at the Stourport Manor Hotel in Worcestershire. They caught up with old friends over dinner and celebrated into the early hours of Sunday morning.
Alumnus Alan Gutteridge organised the event. He said: 'Graduates came from all over the world including Australia, Canada, and Guernsey, and a great time was had by all.'
The attendees also marked the occasion by generously raising £700 for the Sheffield Hallam University Vice-Chancellor's Fund for Care Leavers. This is a fund launched last year which provides financial support for students who have been in care.
Vice-Chancellor Professor Philip Jones said: 'The challenges facing care leavers entering education are significant and varied, and whilst we do all we can to help them - through specialised advice and guidance and financial support in the form of scholarships - demand outstrips supply and we receive more scholarship applications than we can award.
'We want to change this situation and ensure that a higher number of care leavers can get the financial support they need to join us and transform their lives. That’s why we have launched this fund.'
The University has a number of students who are care leavers - amongst the highest of any university in the UK. The number of care leavers in higher education is extremely low compared to other young people, with just 6% of care leavers entering some form of higher education against a national average of 34%.