Compostela Challenge

Raising funds to support students

Hardship amongst students has become a real issue in recent years. Students in England no longer benefit from grants. The availability of government loan funding for maintenance has fallen well behind the rate of inflation.

Many Worcester students work for up to 20 hours a week to enable them to continue their studies and the University sustains one of the UK’s largest “earn whilst you learn programmes” – but personal circumstances sometimes make participation difficult or insufficient. Students studying on many health and education courses will spend over 2,000 hours on professional placements, making additional part-time work difficult.

Worcester is currently the best University in the UK for sustained employment 5 years after graduation but students need funds to enable them to earn their qualifications and reach their goal.

The University undertakes a number of initiatives to support students, including:

• The University’s student services team operate a carefully organised, scrupulously administered scheme to support students encountering significant hardship due to adverse individual circumstances.
• The University and the Students' Union have been working together to operate initiatives such as regular free breakfasts for students and a community cupboard.
• Our academic scholarship scheme, which is supported by generous donors, celebrates student academic excellence annually. These scholarships make a real difference to the lives and prospects of the winners.

With your support, we will strengthen and expand our hardship and scholarship programmes. A contribution to the fund is a gift with great impact that will resonate into the future.

The challenge

In September 2025, we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the University of Worcester earning the award of full University title from HM Privy Council. September 2026 will bring the 80th anniversary of the foundation of the Teacher Training College at Worcester, which has grown into the University we know today.

As part of the celebrations, the University has launched a Development Campaign, which will seek to raise an initial £1millon to strengthen the University’s student scholarship and hardship provision.

As a personal contribution to help highlight this campaign David will be walking from Porto in Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Spain in the second half of May this year, aiming to raise £100,000 for the University’s student scholarship and hardship fund.

He will be taking the coastal ‘Camino Portugues’, starting on May 16th and hopes to complete this 280-kilometre walk (174 miles) on the evening of May 28. All costs of the walk will be met personally by David and he will be undertaking this trek during a period of annual leave.

The President of the Compostela Group of Universities, of which we are the only UK member, who lives in Porto, has kindly agreed to launch David on his way. The Secretary General who lives in Santiago, has kindly agreed to greet David on his arrival.

Professor Green will also be walking to raise resources to fund an annual scholarship for a graduate from the Compostela Group of Universities to qualify as a teacher by taking our Postgraduate Certificate in Education course, which was described as both “exceptional” and “outstanding” by Ofsted at its latest independent inspection in 2023.

He has been inspired to attempt this walk by the convictions and approach to life and human society of so many who have “walked the Camino” as well as by the very many members of the University’s staff who, over the years, have raised money for the University’s ‘Charity of the Year’ by undertaking a series of challenges including walking overnight, cycling and running.

Your donation

A generous anonymous donor has kindly pledged £100 per kilometre - £28,000 in total, as matched funds – so the first £28,000 raised will be doubled.

• 5p per km = £14
• 10p per km = £28
• 50p per km = £140
• £1 per km = £280

All funds donated by UK taxpayers are eligible for gift aid, adding 25p for every £1 donated.

We very much hope that you will support the University’s student scholarship and hardship funds by sponsoring David to walk this section of the world-famous Camino de Compostela, with its celebrated and profoundly humane and inclusive ethos. Every penny will be welcome and will be well used.