When I was offered a place at Oxford I knew that I would be able to support myself financially, despite not coming from a well-off background.
This was because I received a maintenance grant, which for over 50 years have been made available to poorer students to cover living costs at university. They have provided a lifeline for generations of students, transforming the accessibility of a university education, and have ensured that young people from lower-income backgrounds do not leave university in greater debt than their better-off peers.
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