A Tower Hamlets education charity has teamed up with two nearby businesses to help nine students take up places at university.

The City-based London Metal Exchange (LME), along with Lloyd’s insurance market’s Community Programme, joined forces with the Tower Hamlets Education Business Partnership.

Two dedicated projects combined bursaries with mentoring and workshops to motivate and encourage students to fulfil their potential.

Starting university this autumn with a �7,000 annual bursary from the LME scheme are two Sir John Cass and Redcoat School students.

A further three students, from Cambridge Heath Sixth Form College, are receiving �5,000 annual bursaries from the Lloyd’s scheme to study at universities outside London.

The initiatives were established after the Coalition Government’s axing of the Aimhigher Programme, designed to help young people from low-income families go to university, last year.