Stockholm Student Thanks Former Teachers After Winning £1,000 University Scholarship

A former Anna Whitlocks Gymnasium pupil has thanked her teachers for their encouragement after earning a prestigious £1,000 scholarship from her university.

Ebba Wolf, 21, from Stockholm, Sweden, is in the second year of her Creative Writing and English Language degree at the University of Worcester.

“Receiving this Academic Scholarship award is a great honour,” said Ebba. “It means a lot to get recognition from the university for the effort I put into my studies and the care I put into my work. Not only is this validation a great motivator to continue to perform as well as possible academically, but it’s also great for my own self esteem.”

Ebba, who studied at Anna Whitlocks Gymnasium until 2024, paid tribute to her former school and its staff.

She said: “It was filled with a lot of academically brilliant people. I had a lot of teachers who all cared deeply for the students and our education. I was able to form connections with peers who kept me challenged and motivated academically and in life outside school.”

“To my former teachers at Anna Whitlocks Gymnasium,” added Ebba, “you helped me be confident enough in myself and my skills to be brave enough to attend university in England. Without you, without my English teacher in particular, there is a chance I never would have made it here.”

She plans to save the scholarship money until after graduation, when she hopes to begin a career in creative writing.

Ebba is studying at the University of Worcester, recently named University of the Year for Graduate Jobs 2027 in the Daily Mail University Guide, with judges describing a performance that ‘leaves many of the Russell Group in the shade’.

She said: “I chose the University of Worcester because the degree I wanted to do was available here, and after research into both sides of the course here at Worcester, it seemed like the perfect place to learn and do what I love.”

“One of the best things have been the love and passion all the lecturers have for their subjects,” Ebba added. “It’s inspiring and works as a great motivator to get just as skilled and immersed in the topics they teach.”

The University of Worcester is this year shortlisted for the Outstanding Support for Students in the Times Higher Education Awards for the efforts of staff to raise money for student scholarships and hardship funds.

Professor David Green CBE, DL, Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University, said: “Every year, thanks to the generosity of alumni, philanthropists and friends of the University, we are able to award academic scholarships to students who perform outstandingly well – typically gaining straight As across their studies. Achieving such excellent results consistently requires dedication, ability and sheer hard work.”

“All of us at the University are very proud of all our scholarship winners who come from across the range of our courses and from many backgrounds,” he added. “Every year this includes scholarship winners who are students who did not particularly excel at school but find that the intellectual and professional challenge of university combined with the expert education provided at Worcester brings out the very best in them.”