Former has donated more than £1 million for a new university school in Birmingham as well as cancer research.
The entrepreneur has pledged to hand over £1.1 million to , which will split the cash between the school it is building and a new medical facility aimed at finding cures for cancer.
Sir Doug said he pledged the cash to after he was impressed by its vision of providing top class education to deprived children.
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“I’ve always been keen to support children’s causes and the provision of high quality education to those who would otherwise be denied the opportunity is something very close to my heart,” he said.
School principal Mike Roden said he was “incredibly grateful” for the donation. The school is due to welcome its first intake of students in September.
“We’re trying to create an excellent facility that everyone in Birmingham can be proud of, so it’s fantastic that such a senior figure in the local community has recognised the school’s worth and chosen to support the project,” he added.
It comes after the school, which will offer pupils the chance to use some of the university’s resources, was flooded with applications for its places.
The Year 7 intake will consist of 75 pupils living near the Bristol Road site, while another 75 will come from homes near Hall Green, Small Heath and the Jewellery Quarter railway stations.
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“These are some of the city’s fastest growing and most deprived areas, where there is a real need for secondary school places,” said Mr Roden.
The free school has been described as a facility that will provide the standard of private education – without charging fees.
Those vying for one of its 200 sixth form places will have to meet strict selection criteria, including top GCSE grades as the school aspires to secure students places at universities such as Oxford and Cambridge.
Part of Sir Doug’s donation will also go to the university’s Institute of Translational Medicine, a new facility being built that will aim to find cures for cancer and liver disease through pioneering science.
“As a cancer survivor myself, I felt compelled to support this exciting new approach that will touch the lives of so many patients, both locally and nationally,” Sir Doug said.