More than funding
Our bursaries make STEM accessible to all.
Making STEM inclusive
We’re on a mission to give every young person the chance to ‘go pro’ in STEM. Together with industry partners we remove barriers to participation by:
- Providing bursaries covering the cost of robotics kits
- Ensuring our events are free for everyone, forever
- Offering travel and supply teacher grants
- Making our content open source
If you’re a DfE registered school or nationally recognised youth and community group you can apply for a bursary and bring up to £3,000 of STEM enrichment to your organisation today.
“These students come from areas where there are not a lot of opportunities, but this challenge gives them life experience. They get to do things here that they’d only do at university, and this experience is also inspiring many of them to pursue further studies at a university.”
Karl Mahon, Teacher, Chiswick School
The kit that keeps on giving
Our robotics kits squeeze in over 1400 parts – plus a control hub for programming and driver station with controllers. Kits are reusable and upgraded annually with game pieces. Commercial suppliers charge thousands of pounds for a kit and our bursary scheme issues them for free.
*does not show the control hub or driver station
Grab a bursary
For just a £299 annual commitment fee you can hoover up £3,000 of STEM enrichment provision for your organisation.
What's included
Organisations awarded a bursary will receive:
Robotics starter kit, driver station, control hub and all hardware needed to participate for up to 12 students
This season’s game pieces
Access to educational content
Buddying with a local champion school
Support securing an industry mentor
Free entry to all events – local practice, regional tournament, and national champs
Ability to apply for a travel and supply teacher grant of up to £500
Who's eligible
Bursaries are available to non-fee paying DfE registered schools, SEND and Alternative Providers serving young people aged 12 to 18. Youth organisations with a safeguarding policy will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Organisations which meet our targeting framework are likely to be considered favourably.
To maximise impact and sustainability of the programme, approval of the SLT or Headteacher is required to participate. The name and email of the sponsoring staff member must be submitted during the registration process.
Equity, diversity and inclusion
All teams must subscribe to our EDI pledge.
Organisations who demonstrate how they reach underserved groups (gender, socioeconomic status, ethnicity), drive social mobility and promote inclusion will be considered favourably.
We recommend you read our targeting framework prior to submitting your application.
Likelihood of success
In 2024 we have up to 150 bursaries to award.
Where an eligible organisation demonstrates a commitment to making the programme inclusive, they are highly likely to be granted a bursary.
Bursary applications are assessed on a rolling basis and are often exhausted by July – so don’t hang around!
What is the commitment fee?
All teams – including those awarded a bursary – must pay the £299+VAT commitment fee to participate.
The commitment fee ensures the charity is not misdirecting its resources and £3,000 of STEM enrichment provision.
Robotics kits, game pieces and access to the online learning management system will only be provided once the commitment fee has been paid.
What do I pay and when?
Existing team
If you’ve participated previously and have a robotics kit, you simply register your team and pay the £299+VAT commitment fee by 30 Sep each season.
Additional team
Commitment fees for additional teams are reduced to £99+VAT. Unless you are awarded an additional bursary you will need to purchase another robotics kit to support any additional team at £999+VAT.
New teams
New teams will be issued with an invoice for:
Commitment fee – £299+VAT
Robotics kit – £999+VAT
Total incl. VAT – £1557.60
New teams receiving a bursary will have a £999 bursary credit applied to the invoice.
The total amount payable will be £558.60, of which £259.60 is VAT and fully recoverable with a VAT-registered organisation’s VAT return – in other words if you receive a bursary, you pay £299. Download this explainer.
Fundraising
Community outreach is a development opportunity for teams. Fundraising missions and tools are embedded within the programme to encourage teams to drum up support from local businesses for travel and team branding sponsorship.
Keeping it simple
For the numbers folk, here’s a simple two-pager explaining the value of the provision, the commitment fee and bursary conditions.
Inclusion Partner
If you haven’t heard of Arm, you’ve definitely held their technology in your hands. Their chips make our robots intelligent, their generosity powers bursaries to make STEM more inclusive and their people mentor our teams.
Collaborators
By paying the real Living Wage, employers are voluntarily taking a stand to ensure their employees can earn a wage which is enough to live on.
XTX Markets is a world leading, innovation-driven algorithmic trading firm.
Arrow is where opportunity meets technology – we help customers create, make and manage forward-thinking products that make the benefits of technology accessible to as many people as possible.
Raytheon Technologies is accelerating ideas to solve some of the world’s biggest challenges by bringing together the brightest, most innovative minds across aviation, space and defense. They push the limits of known science and redefine how we connect and protect our world.
Proudly fuelled by
Disney entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe through the power of unparalleled storytelling, reflecting the iconic brands, creative minds and innovative technologies that make them the world’s premier entertainment company.
Proudly fuelled by
Twilio’s mission is to unlock the imagination of builders. They’re the customer layer for the internet, powering the most engaging interactions companies build for their customers.
Proudly fuelled by
The Gene Haas Foundation was established in 1999, by Gene Haas, founder and owner of Haas Automation, Inc., to support the needs of the local community.
Accredited by
CREST is the British Science Association’s scheme for STEM project work that inspires young people to think and behave like scientists and engineers.
Proudly fuelled by
Collins Aerospace is dedicated to redefining aerospace and redefining futures – creating a positive global impact by advancing STEM education and investing in the communities where they live and work.
Proudly fuelled by
Bloomberg, the global business and financial information and news leader, gives influential decision makers a critical edge by connecting them to a dynamic network of information, people and ideas.
Accredited by
Industrial Cadets is a nationally recognised scheme connecting young people with employers to run accredited experiences across the UK.
Funded by
The Department for Education’s vision is for an education system that prepares young people for life in modern Britain, regardless of their background or where they grow up.
Inclusion partner
Arm architects the pervasive intelligence. Arm-based chips and device architectures orchestrate the performance of the technology.
Proudly fuelled by
We are engineers, scientists and strategists. We come from diverse cultures and have unique perspectives. We focus on a single goal – invent mobile technology breakthroughs.
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