Luke's Story
Find out how Luke is benefitting from PWC’s Flying Start Bursary, a bursary that has financially supported students over the last 20 years.
About PWC’s Flying Start Financial Bursary
PWC’s Flying Start Financial Bursary supports students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds with the day-to-day costs of university life. Through our partnership we are further investing in the development and wellbeing of our students ensuring a brighter future for everyone involved.
Since its inception in September 2022, PWC has contributed £10,000 per student to be split across the four years of their degree, exemplifying their commitment to fostering academic excellence and inclusivity ensuring that no potential goes untapped due to financial constraints.
The bursary not only alleviates the strain of the rising cost of living, enabling students to focus more on academics and efficiently prepare for exams without the burden of working long hours to pay bills, but also fosters a sense of belonging to the university community, allowing students to fully immerse themselves in all aspects of university life, such as joining societies and sports teams.
Over the past 20 years, many students have benefited from the bursary with a current annual intake of approximately 60 students who have joined Newcastle University’s community through the programme.
Read Luke’s story below.
Luke (Stage 1 BSc Accounting and Finance, 2024)
“The bursary will support me with day-to-day costs such as food, and I will also use it to help fund my studies eg, course textbooks and a calculator.
It has allowed me to make the most out of my university experience. This has included attending taster sessions for societies such as ‘social tennis’ and pool and snooker, and trials for different university teams such as basketball and football, for which I have joined a seven-a-side team with a few boys on my course.
I chose the Flying Start Degree for a few reasons. Firstly, because I knew that the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales exemptions offered would be upheld after I graduate, as PwC supervise the course; secondly, I enjoy taking on challenging tasks, so the opportunity to test my ability to pass the entrance exams to the course appealed to me. Thirdly, after researching PwC, and speaking to people who know the industry, I discovered that it is an extremely prestigious organisation, with forward-thinking values, especially ‘reimagine the possible’ which made me believe PwC will be able to keep its place in our rapidly changing world.
I hope to use the training and qualifications gained on my degree, along with the network I can build with people in Newcastle University Business School to make partner one day, or branch out into the world of finance, and have a long successful career, so I can support myself and a family in the future.”
