More than funding

We offer bursaries to make STEM inclusive and accessible to all.

Making STEM inclusive

We’re on a mission to make STEM less intimidating by giving every young person a chance to ‘go pro’. Together with industry partners we:

  • Reduce barriers to participation through provision bursaries
  • Make our virtual and e-learning content open source
  • Provide access to free events
  • Offer travel and supply teacher awards

Our bursary scheme is open to any non-fee paying, DfE registered school, SEND, Alternative Provider, or nationally recognised youth and community group.

“These students come from areas where there are not a lot of opportunities, but this challenge gives them life experience. They get to do things here that they’d only do at university, and this experience is also inspiring many of them to pursue further studies at a university.”

Karl Mahon, Teacher, Chiswick School

The kit that keeps on giving

Our comprehensive robotics kit is a reusable provision with no recurring cost.

The starter kit squeezes in over 1400 parts, including tablets for programming. Each year, get a free add-on kit with game pieces to tackle the annual game. At the end of the season, dismantle and repeat. It’s that easy.

Check out the starter kit

FIRST Tech Challenge UK - funding page - reusable kit 2

All of this for only £299?

Yep, that’s under £20 per young person. We’re a charity, here to make STEM inclusive. Our nominal £299 commitment fee packs a punch – providing educational content, unrivalled support, free events, rich encounters with industry mentors and accredited student awards. Sign up your first team for £299 and each additional team for £99.

Conditions of Entry

Girl with star_yellow

Grab a bursary

Our industry-backed bursary programme funds provision for a limited number of teams each year. Find out if you’re eligible and how to apply:

Eligibility

Bursaries are only available to non-fee paying DfE registered schools – including SEND and Alternative Providers with a secondary provision. Nationally recognised Youth and Community Groups with a documented Safeguarding Policy are considered at FIRST UK’s discretion.

Returning teams
Next season, bursaries will be considered for organisations expanding their provision with a clear delivery plan that supports our EDI pledge. This season, due to supply chain limitations, there are no bursaries available to existing organisations who want to expand teams.


Criteria

We support organisations targeting underserved communities, driving social mobility and promoting inclusion. We consider measures including Pupil Premium, social deprivation indexing and additional context provided during the application.


Notifying outcome

We will email organisations with their bursary outcome within 10 days of applying. We assume acceptance of awarded bursaries unless otherwise notified within 14 days of issuance.

The bursary scheme for this season closed on Friday 21 October 2022. All applications after this date will be deferred to the 2023-24 academic year.


Invoicing

Commitment fees
Payment of any applicable commitment fee is due within 30 days of an invoice being raised. Invoices will not be raised until you have been notified of any application for financial support.

Treatment of VAT
In line with our charity status and HMRC guidance, the charity invoices all commitment fees and any kit fees inclusive of VAT at 20%. Educational establishments are able to fully recover any VAT component.

Provision bursary invoicing
Teams receiving a provision bursary will be issued with an invoice for a £299 commitment fee for the first team, £99 for each additional team, and £999 provision fee (+VAT). A £999 bursary credit will be applied to the invoice.

The total amount payable will be £558.60, of which £259.60 is VAT and fully recoverable by the school. Download a nifty breakdown here.


Fundraising

Community outreach is a critical development opportunity for teams. Fundraising missions and tools are embedded within the programme to support this activity. The majority of teams raise sponsorship or gift-in-kind funding from local businesses, which often support travel costs to events and team branding.

Keeping it simple

For the numbers folk, download a one-pager about bursaries, invoicing and the treatment of VAT.

Download Bursary Conditions

Inclusion Partner

If you haven’t heard of Arm, you’ve definitely held their technology in your hands. Their chips make our robots intelligent, their generosity powers provision bursaries to make STEM more inclusive and their people mentor our teams.

Arm

Build more than robots

Register a team to take on the UK’s most epic STEM programme for young people. You can apply for financial support during the application.

Register interest for 2023-24

  • We build More Than Robots

    We use robots, role models and competitions to make STEM less intimidating, more diverse and inclusive, empowering young people to make informed choices about their future.