2008 Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Scholarship undergraduates.

Vice-Chancellor's Excellence Scholarship victors

Eight outstanding undergraduates have won the £5,000 per annum Vice-Chancellor’s Excellence Scholarship to the University of Exeter.

The prestigious scholarship rewards high academic achievement and extra-curricular activity such as political engagement, voluntary work, business ideas and achieving through adversity.

The Vice-Chancellor Scholarship is highly sought after with over 600 applications, making competition intense. As a result, the winners are both high achievers in education and exceptional students with their activities outside of academia.

Emma Bettany from Swansea will read English; Josh Cowls from Dorking and Loughlin Sweeney from Switzerland are reading History and Politics; Matthew Crocker and Charles Gibbs both from the same school in Bristol are reading Business Economics and History and Ancient History; Alice Humphrey from London will read Geography; Roper Peckham-Cooper from Kent will read Politics and Henry Sackville-Hamilton from Warminster will read Law.

In the second year of the Scholarships, a number of the students’ contributions to society have already been recognised nationally. This ranges from awards for the Young Volunteer of the Year, a Guardian prize for a website creator to regular requests from BBC 5Live for a specialist on youth issues and taking important roles such as the president of the Model United Nations.

Professor Steve Smith, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Exeter said, ‘These scholarships were created to reward qualities that aren’t everyday but are out of the ordinary. They recognise students who combine high levels of academic achievement with excellence in the kind of extra-curricular activities that we believe make an important contribution to the University.’

Scholarships are available for students applying for any subject, who, in addition to academic excellence demonstrate continued commitment to volunteering, leadership or have exceptional talent in the arts or sport outside of their field of study.

Winners of the scholarship are of a high calibre and have already demonstrated a depth of character and an ability to develop their attributes which will be supported throughout their time at University.

Date: 12 November 2008