PA 247/12
After 1,100 miles, twelve intrepid cyclists from The University of Nottingham have arrived in Dover to complete a fundraising journey that began in the North West of Scotland 14 days before.
The Life Cycle 2 team, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway, took on the challenge in order to raise £250,000 to help those from disadvantaged backgrounds access higher education.
Members of the public also got involved as the team reached Nottingham on Day 10, with over 300 people taking part in a Community Day including two cycling challenges and a sponsored walk around University Park.
Over £230,000 has already been raised for Nottingham Potential – part of the University’s largest ever fundraising initiative, adding to the institution’s £8million annual commitment to widening participation.
A personal cause
After growing up in an area of serious social deprivation in the east end of Glasgow, Professor Greenaway knows first-hand the potential difference the money raised could make to people’s lives.
He said: “Nottingham Potential is all about widening participation, raising aspirations and supporting achievement so that even more capable young people from under-represented backgrounds in Nottingham, across the East Midlands and more widely can reach their academic potential. We want to ensure that financial concerns do not limit the ambition of those with the ability to achieve academic excellence.
“Nottingham Life Cycle 2 will make a huge impact on increasing awareness and funds for educationally disadvantaged young people but is only one part of our on-going pledge to widen participation and raise aspirations across the region.”
A remarkable achievement
After arriving in Dover the Vice-Chancellor was quick to thank all of the people who had supported the ride, including Lucozade, Gleeds, Santander Universities and UPP.
Special praise was also given to those who had joined the team on the ride, including Chief Executive of Malaysian Airways Ahmad Jauhari Yahya and fellow alumni Doug Thomson and Jack Swannell from Into University as well as all those that took part in the Community Day.
Professor Greenaway continued: “To have riden almost 1100 miles is a remarkable achievement. What is even more remarkable is that we have already raised more to help young people from disadvantaged backgrounds than Life Cycle 1 - John O Groats to Land's End.
“For me personally, it has been a privilege to spend two weeks on the road with such a special group of people. I have taken enormous pride in that the riders and support team take this on for no other reason than trying to have an impact on educational disadvantage.”
For more information, please visit the Life Cycle website or hear more about the fundraising journey on the Life Cycle Blog.
— Ends —
For up to the minute media alerts follow us on Twitter
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has 42,000 students at award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is also the most popular university in the UK by 2012 application numbers, and ‘the world’s greenest university’. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise. The University aims to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health. The University won a Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education in 2011, for its research into global food security.
Impact: The Nottingham Campaign, its biggest ever fund-raising campaign, will deliver the University’s vision to change lives, tackle global issues and shape the future. More news…
Life Cycle 2: The money raised by the Life Cycle 2 project will go towards the Nottingham Potential strand of Impact: The Nottingham Campaign. Nottingham Potential will raise aspirations and support achievement by working with young people, teachers, schools and colleges in Nottingham and the East Midlands.
The University commits £8 million a year to widening participation. Nottingham Potential will build on this to significantly expand the University’s commitment over the next five years.
The full list of riders taking part is: