New data reveals importance of scholarships in supporting young people in future career pathways.
Over £180,000 has been awarded in 2022 to individuals across the United Kingdom through the Air League’s Scholarships Programme.
Yesterday saw scholars receive their certificates from Sir Christopher Harper, President of the Air League, with additional awards presented by Air Vice-Marshal Simon Edwards, Assistant Chief of the Air Staff.
New data has revealed that the scholarship programme has successfully helped to inspire and equip young people from all backgrounds to break into the aviation, aerospace, and space sectors.
Feedback also shows that two in five scholars were from an ethnic or minority background, and 80% of scholars’ parents were not university educated. Additionally, nearly 40% of scholars in 2022 were female, which far exceeds the industry average.
Furthermore, the data highlights that the scholarships have been effective at helping young people pursue careers within the aviation, aerospace, and space sectors with 94% of respondents stating they intended to secure further education, an apprenticeship, or a traineeship as a result of the course, and 97% stating that they felt further prepared to pursue a career in these sectors.
Milan Gandhi (22) from Harrow, was awarded this year’s Prince Philip Flying Scholarship Award. The Scholarship is awarded to a previous flying scholar to achieve their full private pilot’s licence to commemorate the Duke of Edinburgh’s seven decades of patronage of the Air League.
The event also saw Grace Cartwright (17), from Cornwall, receive the Evelyn Saunders Memorial Cup which is presented to the most outstanding female scholar.
Following the awards Ian Morrison CBE, Chief Executive of the Air League, said:
“I’m thrilled to recognise the achievements of Milan, Grace, and all our 2022 scholars at this year’s scholarship awards reception. They are a shining example of what the Air League aims to deliver through its vision, mission, and purpose.
“I am also pleased to see this reflected in the data from the current cohorts of scholars. The aviation and aerospace industries are often deemed to be inaccessible, and I’m pleased to see that our scholarship programme is continuing to change this.”
The Air League aims to inspire, enable, and support the next generation of aviation and aerospace professionals from any background across the United Kingdom. Over the past decade, scholarships worth over £2 million have been allocated. In 2022, over 100 awards worth over £180,000 have been allocated to aspiring individuals throughout the entire UK. The Air League is deeply grateful to the sponsors of the scholarships and bursaries who generously provide continuing support for scholarships and programmes.
Milan Gandhi is 22 and from Harrow in North London. He was a member of 1454 (Harrow) Squadron ATC for 6 ½ years attaining the rank of Cadet Warrant Officer, holds a DofE Gold Award and was his unit’s DofE expedition assessor. He was the Deputy Lord-lieutenant’s Cadet of Harrow for three years and was awarded the Jack Petchey Award for Outstanding Achievements in 2019. He was awarded an Air League Gliding to Solo Scholarship in 2021 sponsored by Boeing UK and the Department for Transport and is currently studying towards a degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Nottingham where he has joined the East Midlands Universities Air Squadron as an officer cadet. Milan has undertaken all his training at Tayside Aviation in Dundee, Scotland.
Grace Cartwright is 17 and from St Austell in Cornwall. She is a Cadet Sergeant at 1225 (St Austell and District) Squadron, Plymouth and Cornwall Wing. Currently a student at Callywith College with aspirations to fly professionally, Grace was awarded the 2022 Ed Strongman Flying Scholarship – kindly sponsored by Airbus UK, in memory of Ed Strongman who’s flight-test career ran through five decades where he amassed more than 11,000 hours at the controls of multiple aircraft types for the Royal Air Force, Royal Aircraft Establishment, Civil Aviation Authority and culminating as chief military test pilot at Airbus. Grace also undertook her training at Tayside.
The Prince Philip Flying Scholarship was established in 2002 to mark 50 years of Patronage for the late Duke of Edinburgh. The Scholarship is now awarded to commemorate the Duke of Edinburgh’s seven decades as Patron of the Air League to a previous scholar who has displayed outstanding potential and allows the individual who was a member of the Air Training Corps and who also holds a Duke of Edinburgh Award to achieve their full private pilot’s licence.
The Evelyn Saunders memorial cup is presented each year to the most outstanding young female scholar. The cup was established in 2008, in memory of Evelyn ‘Evie’ Florence Saunders, a remarkable lady, who stretched the boundaries for female aviators of her generation. Piper PA-28 G-EVIE was donated to Tayside Aviation in Dundee, to run scholarships on behalf of the Air League Trust in her memory.
Notes to Editor
For interviews with spokespeople or more information, please email airleague@pagefield.co.uk
| Scholar | Scholarship |
| Naomi Patterson | 2022 Guy Gibson VC Flying Scholarship |
| Tim Heptinstall | 2022 Leonard Cheshire VC Flying Scholarship |
| Dario Pacitti | 2022 MacRobert Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Kaitlyn Robertson | 2022 MacRobert Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Alice Goodwin | 2022 Sir Adrian Swire Flying Scholarship |
| Jack Cunnion | 2022 Sir Adrian Swire Flying Scholarship |
| Ben Jones | 2022 Sir Adrian Swire Flying Scholarship |
| Michael Makram | 2022 Sir Adrian Swire Flying Scholarship |
| Jamal Fazaldin | 2022 Sir Arthur Marshall Flying Scholarship |
| Gurpal Dosanjh | 2022 Albion Aviation Group Flying Scholarship |
| Natasha Michael | 2022 Joan Angus Flying Scholarship |
| Benson Gweza | 2022 Rhodes-Moorhouse VC Flying Scholarship |
| Grace Cartwright | 2022 Ed Strongman Flying Scholarship |
| Jozef Barnaby | 2022 Battle of Britain Flying Scholarship |
| Callum Doak | 2022 Battle of Britain Flying Scholarship |
| Lucy Clarke | 2022 Battle of Britain Flying Scholarship |
| Bradley Bolton | 2022 Battle of Britain Flying Scholarship |
| Dinesh Chhetri | 2022 Battle of Britain Flying Scholarship |
| James Arjuno Hamilton Potter | 2022 Captain Colin Barnes Flying Scholarship |
| Katelyn Tuach | 2022 Captain Colin Barnes Flying Scholarship |
| Khalid Abdulghani | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Jordan Ridgway | 2022 Lucas Aerospace Flying Scholarship |
| Jamaal Otieno | 2022 Scarman Flying Scholarship |
| Georgia Knight | 2022 Scarman Flying Scholarship |
| Mukhtar Fakih | 2022 Scarman Flying Scholarship |
| Katherine Fung | 2022 Scarman Flying Scholarship |
| Kathryn Bishop | 2022 Scarman Flying Scholarship |
| Alison Field | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Basel Hammond | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Ana Leonor Benedito Nunes | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Rohin Nayar | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Elena Lambrianou | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Kane Stanislas | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Aaron MacLeod | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Bilal El Bakkali | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Daniel Newton-Young | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Jake Sparrow | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Harriet Smith | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Ryan Curtis | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Harriet Falconer | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Jamie Attwell | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| William Charlton | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Leon Cheung | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Zion Knight | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Ross Bovill | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Matthew Paine | 2022 Sir Michael Cobham Flying Scholarship |
| Ria Patel | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Alex Godwin | 2022 Colin Bates Memorial Flying Scholarship |
| Niamh Woods | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Arjan Singh Bhogal | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Cameron Brown | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Daniel Thompson | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Luke Kennedy | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Robbie Sharpe | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Tim Richardson | 2022 Swire Charitable Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Mansoor Wamala | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Maya Mulder-Quresh | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Robin Hannaford | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Becca Warnock | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Qasim Hussain | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Andrew Hall | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Alexander Emerson | 2022 Prince Philip 5-Hour Flying Scholarship |
| Benjamin McClure | 2022 Red Arrows Trust Flying Scholarship |
| Harry Reed-Waller | 2022 Rhodes-Moorhouse VC Flying Scholarship |
| Sam Able | 2022 Rhodes-Moorhouse VC Flying Scholarship |
| Milan Gandhi | 2022 Prince Philip Flying Scholarship |
| Merlin Ohta | 2022 Mark Philip Jones Memorial Scholarship |
| Thomas Crossman | 2022 Gliding Scholarship |
| Tai-Ying Lee | 2022 Gliding Scholarship |
| Laura Martin | 2022 Gliding Scholarship |
| Charles Brooker | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Ava Udwadia | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Patrick Ashmore | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Alexander Hook | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| George Booth | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Jordan Johnson | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Edward Oliver | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Ben Swaffield | 2022 Robert Kronfeld Gliding Scholarship |
| Krish Patel | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Manahil Irshad | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Arkan Ali Aqiil | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Joshua Merchan-Nicholls | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Deborah Onita | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Niamh McKeown | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Zion Branch-Salmon | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Elizabeth McAllister | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Riccardo Iheanyiogu | 2022 Gliding to Solo Scholarship |
| Caprice Balu | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Darshak Yagnik | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Chad Davies | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Angela Donnelly | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Laura McCann | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Charlie Edwards | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Arkan Ali Aqiil | 2022 Drone Scholarship |
| Paul Hughes | 2022 Battle Back Gliding Scholarship |
| Adrian Willson | 2022 Battle Back Gliding Scholarship |
| James Stafford | 2022 Battle Back Gliding Scholarship |
| Nigel Martin | 2022 Battle Back Gliding Scholarship |
| Rob Brown | 2022 Battle Back Gliding Scholarship |
| Alexander Trehern-Curtis | 2022 Battle Back Gliding Scholarship |
