Over 1,500 scholarships are up for grabs for needy students who are set to receive their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examination results.

The scholarships from the Wings to Fly programme spearheaded by the Equity Bank Foundation targets needy students who score more than 350 marks.

The programme, according to a statement to newsrooms, will be open for eligible students from December 30, 2015 to January 6, 2016.

Those who will be short-listed for the scholarships will be invited for interviews, which will be conducted by the Equity Group Foundation Regional Scholarship Selection Board (RSSB).

"We encourage the potential applicants, as soon as the results are announced, to present themselves to the nearest Equity Bank Branch or Equity Agent with their KCPE result slips and a letter of introduction from their respective head teachers confirming their results for them to be issued with the scholarships application forms," the foundation's Managing Director Hellen Gichohi said.

The comprehensive secondary school scholarships under the Wings To Fly programme are designed to provide financial and related relief to academic achievers from financially constrained backgrounds who would otherwise not afford to join secondary school without financial support.

"Beyond school fees, the programme caters for transport, pocket money, shopping, books and uniform costs," she said.