The William & Ellen Vinten Trust was set up in 1982 to help young people move on to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM).

So what’s it got to do with me or my school?

Quite a bit actually. Every year the Vinten Trust gives a bursary to one student from each school in the Bury area who is leaving to study an engineering degree at University. How much per term? A lot. It rhymes with “chive-thundered-lid” (well it almost rhymes). Yep, each term. Think about it. That’s enough to stop worrying about expensive books or trips. It’s enough to ease the burden of travel expenses if you’re off campus. Most importantly, it’s enough for you to focus properly on your chosen subject and score high marks in you degree, achieving your full potential and launching you into your new career.
Every term a cheque will land on your doorstep and make your academic life easier and less stressful. But there’s a huge catch, right? Nope. Honestly not. Just keep us posted on how it’s going. And we do ask that you come back to your school from time to time and talk to younger students about your Uni experience to encourage them to choose STEM subjects themselves. Sometimes that really is all it takes to change someone’s life – to just make it real for them. And why wouldn’t you want to do that?

What else?

We also help schools with the purchase of new STEM equipment such as laser-cutters and 3D printers and we fund a wide variety of projects, small and large, like the refurbishment of the Langley-Newtonian telescope at St Benedict’s. You might have noticed it in the school field! The school stargazing club makes use of the telescope, and it’s also being involved in science and engineering learning within the school.
We also sponsor Vinten Ambassadors from Year 12 and 13 (and sometimes younger), to help encourage interest in STEM subjects while they’re still in school, and spread the word that STEM is for everybody. In exchange we put them in touch with a leading engineering company in Bury, so they have a taste of the industry.

We support all sorts of applications from schools and organisations for STEM equipment, technology and projects. We help support companies who take on apprentices from the college, and we provide funding for the annual Engineering Experience, open to all schools in the Bury Area.

But STEM is mostly for boys, right?

Nope! For hundreds of years countless women have worked in STEM and made incredible contributions to humanity’s knowledge and progress, it’s just that you never used to get to hear about it. Well that’s all changed now, so what’s stopping you?