A MULTI-MILLIONAIRE has pledged to fund up to two sixth form science scholarships a year at a North-East school.

Dr Peter Ogden, the chairman of Computasoft and Omnia Asset Management, and director of Computacenter, a company he co-founded, will fund the scheme at Yarm School, Yarm.

The scholarships are being created to encourage more young people to take up the subject at the school, which has a centre of excellence in science, maths and technology.

In the past week, two pupils have won national awards for design and technology.

Philip Cowan was named Young Designer of the Year, and David Lister won the Audi-sponsored Mind to Market prize at the Young Designer Awards.

Applicants for the scholarships must be from people in state schools who intend to study science at university.

Dr Ogden wishes to provide the places for those who would not normally be able to do so, and the gross income of applicants' parents must be less than £30,000 a year.

The scholarships will be offered in September next year, together with the existing sixth form scholarships, for which there is an exam that must be sat.

To apply for one of the scholarships, or information on others available, call the school on (01642) 786023.