SCHOLARSHIPS totalling £27,000 are on offer to students at the Wivenhoe House Hotel.

The Edge Hotel School will be the first of its kind in the UK where students learn in a fully-operational, commercial hotel when it opens in June.

Nine students will be awarded a £3,000 scholarship to attend the hotel, thanks to the Savoy Educational Trust.

Alan Jenkins, principal of the hotel school, run by Essex University, said: “The support of Savoy Educational Trust is a significant endorsement of our mission, based on a model of learning-by-doing.

“We are honoured to be working with them.”

Ramon Pajares, chairman of trustees for the Savoy Educational Trust, said: “The Edge Hotel School impressed us as an initiative of benefit to the entire hospitality industry.

“Growth in demand for additional hospitality staff is expected to reach 638,000 by 2017, at the same time as the sector is suffering a significant skills gap.

“This innovative model, combining work with academic study in a commercial operation, is a fantastic way to prepare tomorrow’s hospitality managers for the demands of working in the sector.” Courses on offer at the hotel are either a one-year foundation degree or a two-year BA honours course.

The scholarships are available to students across the country.

To apply, visit edge hotelschool.ac.uk, e-mail admissions@edgehotel school.ac.uk, or call 01206 872858.