There are two types of 16 to 19 bursaries: those for defined vulnerable groups and discretionary bursaries.

Discretionary bursary
The fund is used to assist students who may be benefit from financial assistance to complete their course. Any such contributions will only be made towards costs incurred for attending College. (The 16-19 bursary does not provide childcare funding - please refer to the Care to Learn website for under-20 childcare funding.) The bursary fund is limited and allocations will be based on financial need.

Financial assistance will mainly be in the form of weekly credits on students’ ID cards for the purchase of meals and resources in College. Further assistance may be available for items such as; participation in trips and visits, UCAS application and the purchase of other resources required for College activities. Allocations will not be made until a student is enrolled and fully engages with their studies.

Bursaries (during term-time only) will be awarded to students with a household income (before benefits) of less than £28,000. Bursaries may also be available for students with a household income in excess of £28,000. 

To be eligible you must:

• Be an enrolled student on a full time course
• Provide evidence that household income (before benefits) is below £28,000 for the guaranteed weekly bursary; bursaries may also be available for those with household income in excess of £28,000
• Be aged under 19 on 31 August 2025

 

Vulnerable Bursary
Young people in the defined vulnerable groups are eligible for a bursary of up to £1,200 a year, which equates to approximately £30 per week during term time.

The defined vulnerable groups are students who are:

• In care
• Care leavers
• Receiving income support or universal credit (UC) because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them such as a child or partner
• Receiving disability living allowance or personal independence payments in their own right as well as employment and support allowance or universal credit in their own right

 

Free College Meals
As part of your application for the college bursary, you will also be assessed to see if you are eligible for free meals.  Eligibility for free meals is based on an assessment of household income. If you or your parents/carers are in receipt of one or more of the following benefits, you may be eligible for free meals.

• Income support
• Income-based jobseeker’s allowance
• Income-related employment and support allowance (ESA)
• Support under part VI of the immigration and asylum act 1999
• The guaranteed element of state pension credit
• Child tax credit (provided you are not also entitled to working tax credit and have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190, as assessed by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs)
• Working tax credit run-on - paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for working tax credit
• Universal credit - if you apply on or after 1 April 2018 your household income must be less than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get)

The college operates a cashless catering system (ParentPay) where all parents/carers have the ability to put credit on the student ID card. Any free meal allowance will be credited in the same way.

Checklist

Your application will take around 10-15 minutes in total to complete.  You can save your progress at any time by hitting the save button at the bottom of each page.  The system will save your application and email you a link which you can click to resume your application.

To support your application, there is some evidence we will need you to upload to check you are eligible.  Before starting your application, we recommend downloading or taking photos of all the relevant documentation listed below to make your application as easy as possible.

Application for the Discretionary Bursary

You will need to provide evidence for the below;

n Evidence showing that your parent/carer household income (before benefits) is below £28,000. This should be ANY ONE of the following;

4 Copy of 2025/26 Full Tax Credits award notice
4 Universal Credit - Copy of 3 most recent monthly award statements
4 JSA/ESA/Income support letter/notice 

Application for the Vulnerable Bursary

You will need to provide evidence for each of the 2 areas below;

n If you are in care/have previously been in care you will need;

4 A copy of a letter from the local authority issued within the last 3 months stating your current care status and living arrangements. Your social worker should be able to provide this easily on request.

OR

n If you are in receipt of a qualifying benefit in your own (student) name.  You will need ANY ONE of the following;

4 Disability living allowance/personal independence payment & employment support allowance - please provide your most recent letter issued within the last 3 months showing that YOU receive this benefit
4 Universal Credit - 3 most recent monthly award statements
4 Income Support - 3 most recent monthly award statements

AND

n Evidence of your (student) personal bank account information. This MUST clearly show your account name, sort code and account number. This should be ANY ONE of the following;

4 Photo of bank card
4 Screenshot of Online banking
4 Photo/PDF of recent bank statement

Based on your answers to the questions on the previous page, we think you should be applying for the vulnerable bursary.  If you think this is not correct, please hit the back button at the bottom of this page and amend your answer.

Thanks for submitting all of your evidence.  If your application is approved, payment of bursary will be made directly the into the students' bank account.  Please provide us with the name, account number and sort code below as well as evidence to support this.  This must be in the STUDENTS name and applications will not be approved where the parent's bank account is provided.

PART B - TO BE COMPLETED BY PARENT/CARER

Based on your answers to the questions on the previous page, we think you should be applying for the discretionary bursary.  If you think this is not correct, please hit the back button at the bottom of this page and amend your answer.