£350,000 education cash for refugees
Twenty refugees coming to the region from Syria and surrounding areas are to get £350,000 worth of support, free training and language tuition from a university.
The University of Wolverhampton, which has a large campus in Telford, has written to a number of authorities including Telford & Wrekin Council, which could take in up to 50 refugees over the next five years.
The university has also written to authorities in Herefordshire, the Black Country and Staffordshire offering to help refugees placed with them as part of the UK's pledge to take 20,000 people displaced by the conflict in the Middle East.
It is running a scholarship scheme as well as offering English language tuition and helping families find school places.
Deputy vice-chancellor of the university, Jackie Dunne, said: "In the university we have all been greatly moved by the plight of the refugees fleeing from conflicts in their home countries and we have been looking at ways in which we can help those that may arrive in the region.
"Through them, we want to be in a position to offer practical support for refugee families and help them make the transition to the UK as smoothly as possible.
"Many will have had traumatic experiences in trying to escape the crisis, so if we can help in some way, we want to be able to."
University staff will also help refugee families with guidance on how to get their existing qualifications recognised in the UK, or gain new qualifications. The scholarship scheme, which could be worth up to £350,000, will be open for two years and will pay the tuition for up to 20 refugees for an undergraduate, postgraduate or short course.
In 2013 the university took in two Syrian academic staff as part of a scheme run by the Council for At Risk Academics.
