Student-athletes and donors celebrate ongoing sporting scholarship successes at University of Bath
With the 50th anniversary approaching of the UK’s first sporting scholarships being awarded at the University of Bath, beneficiaries – including Olympic medallist Kate Shortman – joined current and prospective donors for a special reception.
Shortman, a Bill Whiteley Scholar who famously won artistic swimming silver for Team GB at Paris 2024, was joined by fellow Olympian Charlie Brown (modern pentathlon, Santander Scholarship) and aspiring LA 2028 stars Jack Skerry (swimming, US Foundation) and Aleeya Sibbons (athletics, Santander) for the event at The Rec.
They shared details of the positive impact that scholarships have had on their sporting and academic careers, with Shortman – back in Bath after a placement year in Paris – saying the support played a huge role in her historic women’s duet success with Izzy Thorpe.
“We weren’t funded until the 2024 cycle, so the scholarship meant I didn’t have to work a part-time job alongside university and training,” said Shortman, who studies International Management and Modern Languages (French).
“We train 8-12 hours a day, six days a week and were training for close to two decades for that moment in Paris. I still have no words, it was just incredible. We put everything into it and it paid off.”
Sport Management and Coaching student Brown, who made his Olympic debut in Paris, added: “I have a Santander Scholarship and they offer financial support, courses and personal development advice which has been really helpful.”
Skerry, who will represent Aquatics GB at the 2025 European Short Course Swimming Championships in December, agreed that the scholarship – and the accompanying support from Team Bath’s Student Performance Sport Programme – had helped him balance his sport and studies.
“I made the decision to go part-time in my degree, which has made it a lot more manageable,” said the European U23 100m backstroke champion, who studies Computer Science.
“I remember my first year when I was darting around campus, from training to lectures to gym, and missing bits here and there. From having those open conversations with the University and my Director of Studies, I’ve seen improvements on both the academic and sporting sides.”
GB sprinter Sibbons graduated in Architecture this summer but has kept her training base at the University as she targets a place at the Los Angeles Olympics.
“The Santander Scholarship helped me massively,” said Sibbons, who is now working full-time at a sustainability company in Bristol alongside her training. “A lot of the GB hubs have been based around London, which involves travelling back and forth, so without that support it would have made things so much more difficult.”
Ensuring money is no barrier to sporting success was one of the driving forces behind Stephen Carter’s decision to fund a sports scholarship – the Bill Burden Scholarship named in honour of his wife’s grandfather, a sports master at King Edward’s School in Bath.
Stephen studied Mechanical Engineering at Bath from 1989 to 1994 and, as treasurer of the Athletic Union [now SU Sport], was on the University committee that successfully secured funding to build the Olympic-sized swimming pool at what is now the internationally renowned Sports Training Village.
Speaking at the reception, Stephen – founder of intellectual property consultancy Claines Ltd – said: “Supporting scholarships is my way of saying thank you for what Bath gave me and helping today’s students make the most of the same opportunities.
“Scholarships help make sure financial barriers don’t get in the way of talent and ambition, and that to me is what matters most. Money should never be the thing that stops someone from fulfilling their potential, whether that’s in the lecture theatre, the lab or on the playing field.
“Getting to know the sports scholars, hearing about their dedication and how they juggle study, training and competition, is genuinely inspiring. They are everything that is best about the University of Bath.”
Also attending the reception were Aquatics GB Bath Performance Centre duo Cam Brooker (Mechanical Engineering, Ivor Powell Scholar) and Matthew Ward (Integrated Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Bill Whiteley Scholar), and artistic swimming World Championships medallist Ranjuo Tomblin (Sports Performance, Trendell Scholar).
It was in 1976 that Bath became the first University in the UK to provide sports scholarships under the pioneering leadership of Dr Tom Hudson. This year’s recipients will be announced shortly.
Visit teambath.com/scholarships to find out more about sports scholarships at the University of Bath. For more information about providing a sports scholarship or supporting student-athletes visit www.bath.ac.uk/campaigns/supporting-elite-athletes.
