Three young thistles join the Ivy League

Published on Wednesday 22 June 2011 18:35

THREE Scots teenagers who have been in care or had difficulties at school have won summer school scholarships to one of the most prestigious universities in the United States.

Mandy Clarke, Cally McKenzie and Dean Roger will spend seven weeks studying at Harvard University, which counts eight US presidents including Barack Obama and John F Kennedy among its most famous graduates.

The three Scots, who will travel to the university this weekend, will study two academic programmes of their choice and be mentored by undergraduate students.

Who Cares? Scotland, which works with young people in care, set up the scholarship programme and were able to offer the scholarships - worth around 7,500 per student - after receiving support from the board of the Spark of Genius Trust

Mandy, 17, from Musselburgh, East Lothian, said her dream was to be a doctor. She said: "I'm the only person in my unit who is studying.

"There is this feeling that just because you are in care no true good can happen."

Cally 17, from Dunfermline, said she hoped Harvard would help her get into nursing, while Dean, 16, who attends the Spark of Genius school in Paisley, said he wanted to pursue a career in computing.

Mike Russell MSP, cabinet secretary for education and lifelong learning, said: "Dean, Cally and Mandy are shining examples of what can be done when young people, no matter what their backgrounds, are given the right opportunity and use talent and hard work to seize it with both hands."