University and College Fund 2025-26

University and College Fund 2025-26 – Application Form

Deadline: 8 August 2025

Application Guidance Document

How We Can Help
We can provide a little extra financial support to empower young people from Regular, Reservist and Veteran families to realise their potential and thrive at university or college, anywhere across the UK.

Living Costs
We can offer a monthly term time allowance to help meet monthly living costs, irrespective of where you choose to study.

Cost of Equipment
We know that many courses carry additional costs such as sporting or digital equipment - ask how we can help with one off costs.

Future Transactions
Future Transactions provides an information hub and signposting for young people from forces families to learn more about financial matters such as housing, avoiding debt, benefit entitlements, making the most of your savings and more. For more information on Future Transactions, please tick the box in Section 10 of this application.

Grant Eligibility Criteria

We can support young people from forces families who meet the following criteria:

From a Scottish Regular, Reservist or Veteran family residing in the UK
From a non-Scottish Regular, Reservist or Veteran family residing in Scotland
Between the ages of 16-25 and enrolled in college or university
Enrolled in courses from college to undergraduate degree level
Previously received fewer than 4 years of funding from the Forces Children Scotland College and University Fund

Please note we are not able to fund students enrolled on postgraduate courses.

2025/26 Financial Eligibility Criteria

Award amounts are distributed over a 10-month period throughout the academic year from September to June.

These are our current income elibility thresholds. They are based on household income and are reviewed annually.

We understand that every case is unique and will consider specific family circumstances when making awards. Please make us aware of anything that you feel is relevant.

Annual Household Income	Potential Award Amounts
<£30,000	£1,500 - £2,000 per year
£30,001 - £42,000	£1,000 - £1,500 per year
£42,001 - £52,000	£500 - £1,000 per year
£52,001 - £62,000	up to £500 per year

*based on full-time student status

Conditions of Award

If you are successful in receiving an award, you will need to comply with the following grant conditions:

All applicants over 18 years of age must have a bank account in their own name. No parent or family member bank details will be accepted.
In February 2026 we will email you a progress report form. You will need to have this completed by your tutor/course leader and return it to us. Failure to submit this progress report may result in your grant being suspended from March 2024.
If you leave your course for any reason, you must get in touch with us as soon as possible.
In summer 2026 you will need to send us a copy of your final grades. Failure to send your grades may affect your eligibility for future grants from the College and University Fund.

Application Deadlines

Application deadline: 08 August 2025

Due to high volumes of applicants, no incomplete or late applications will be considered.

We will inform all applicants of our decision by 22 August 2025.

Supporting Documentation Required

There are a few supporting documents we need to consider your application.

Proof of age (new applicants only)
Copy of service record (new applicants only)
Offer letter from College/University (new applicants or previous recipients who have changed course)
End of 24/25 results (previous recipients only

If you have trouble filling in this electronic form or have any issues providing these supporting documents, please ring us for assistance.

Data Protection Short Notice

We collect and process personal data relevant to your application which allows us to assess your circumstances and eligibility for funding. Where we do so, we act as a Data Controller and comply with all Data Protection Regulations which includes but is not limited to the UK General Data Protection Regulations (UK GDPR).

Where you provide personal details of any other individual, or complete this application on behalf of another person, please ensure that you have their consent prior to including their personal data on this application.

By providing us with this information you consent to us processing the data for this purpose. For full details on how we store your personal data please see our full privacy notice here: www.forceschildrenscotland.org.uk/privacynotice. A Hard copy of this notice is also available on request.

Applicant Details
Full name*
Preferred pronouns
Full name as it appears on your birth certificate (if different from above)
Home address including postcode*
Telephone (home)
Telephone (mobile)
Email address*
Please make sure this is correct and monitored as this is our main method of communicating with you regarding your grant
Date of birth*

DayMonthYear
Place of birth (city and country)*
i.e. Glasgow, Scotland, UK
College/University attending*
i.e. University of Glasgow
Official course name*
i.e. BA in Accounting
Length of course*
i.e. 3 years
Starting date of course*

DayMonthYear
If you are not in first year, this should be the date your course began - to your best estimate
Are you a full-time or part-time student?*

Full-timePart-time
What year do you anticipate to receive your qualification?*
Will you be living away from home during term time?*

YesNoMaybe

Details of Parent/Guardian 1
Full name*
Relationship to applicant*
i.e. mother, father, grandmother, etc.
Address*
Telephone (home)
Telephone (mobile)
Email address
Date of birth*

DayMonthYear
Place of birth*
i.e. Glasgow, Scotland
Do you have a second parent/guardian?*

YesNo

Details of Parent/Guardian 2
Full name*
Relationship to applicant*
Address*
Telephone (home)
Telephone (mobile)
Email address
Date of birth*

DayMonthYear
Plate of birth*

HM Forces History

Please give details of your Forces connections, past or present. We will ask you to provide evidence of this with your supporting documents.
For each Forces connection, please include:
- Full name of person who served
- Relationship to applicant
- Royal Navy/Royal Marines/Army/Royal Air Force
- Arm
- Rank
- Dates Served

Forces connections - please list all applicable*

	Name	Relationship	Branch	Arm	Rank	Dates
1
2
3
4

Any other Forces connections

People Living at Your Home

This section will allow us to make a holistic award decision rather than one solely based on your finances.
Please give details of any family members, including yourself, residing at your address where this impacts your household finances/costs. For each family member, please include:
- Name
- Relation to Applicant
- Date of Birth
- Illness, Disability or Special Need (both Physical & Mental health)
- Employed or Studying

People living at your home (including yourself)*

	Name	Relation to Applicant	DOB	Illness/Disability	Employed or Studying
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Financial Details

The financial details that are required here are those of the parent(s) or guardian(s) of the applicant. Please be sure to fill this out as completely as possible as it is a crucial part of our selection criteria. All responses should be in £/GBP.
Now, we'll ask about the income of your Parent/Guardian(s). You will need to provide supporting documents for this income on Page 10.
- Gross earned (including overtime, please provide evidence)
- Net Income (after tax, please provide evidence)
- Other Regular Income (Please include description)
- State Benefits (please list all that apply and provide evidence)
- Pension Income (please list all that apply and provide evidence)
- Maintenance Income
  - Court Order
  - Private
- Total Income and Benefits for Parent/Guardian

Household income*

	Income 1	Income 2
Gross Earned
Net Income
Other Regular Income
State Benefits
Pension Income
Maintenance: Court Order
Maintenance: Private

Total annual income for your household*

Reason for Application
Please tell us a bit about how this grant will impact you as you study this year. Include any relevant background information that may help us understand your personal circumstances.*

Other Funders Approached
Some other funders offering support for students from Forces families are
- Student Award Agency Scotland (SAAS): www.saas.gov.uk/guides/armed-forces
- Armed Forces Education Trust: www.armedforceseducation.org
- The President’s Award Scheme: www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-support/how-we-help/financial-support/grants/women-grants
- Lord Kitchener National Memorial Fund: www.lknmf.com
- Naval Children’s Charity: www.navalchildrenscharity.org.uk
- Robert Nicol Trust Robert (applicants from Aberdeen area only): www.peterkins.com/Home/Robert-Nicol-Trust
Have you applied to any other support for students from Forces families?*

YesNo
Please list any other organisations you have applied to with the amounts you requested and what (if any) you received.*

Tax Status and Declaration

In 2016 all charities who had an income over 50% from investments in the previous 3 financial years where deemed by HMRC to be a financial institution and required to comply with the Common Reporting Standard set out by HMRC. Forces Children Scotland falls into this category and is required to collect data on its grant recipients. Successful applicant’s records must now be kept for a minimum of 7 years.
Are you registered to pay taxation in the UK?*

YesNo
In which country are you registered to pay tax? If applicable, please include your overseas tax registration number.*
For the Applicant: by signing the declaration below, you are stating the information you provided is correct and give Forces Children Scotland the authority to retain your records as stated above.*

Powered by Jotform SignClear
Date of declaration (Applicant)*

DayMonthYear
For the Parent/Guardian: by signing the declaration below, you are stating the information you provided is correct and give Forces Children Scotland the authority to retain your records as stated above.*

Powered by Jotform SignClear
Date of declaration (Parent/Guardian)*

DayMonthYear

Supporting Documents
All applicants must upload evidence of their parent/guardian(s)' income and financial status, as reported on Page 6. Upload documents for both family members in every category that applies.
- Gross earned (including overtime)
- Net Income (after tax)
- Other Regular Income
- State Benefits
- Pension Income
- Maintenance Income
  - Court Order
  - Private
Example documents: P60, pension statement, payslips, benefits statement
Upload proof of family income/financial status*

Please include evidence for all types of income in your file upload
Cancelof
Have you applied for this grant from Forces Children Scotland before?*

YesNo
New applicants must provide:
- Proof of age (birth certificate, passport, driving permit/license
- Copy of service record
- Offer letter from University/College
New applicants must upload proof of age, a copy of relevant service record(s), and an offer letter from University/College. *

Please include all three document types in your file upload
Cancelof
Prior grant recipients must upload end-of-year course results from 2024/2025.*

Cancelof

University and College Fund 2025-26 – Application Form

Application Guidance Document

Grant Eligibility Criteria

2025/26 Financial Eligibility Criteria

Conditions of Award

Application Deadlines

Supporting Documentation Required

Data Protection Short Notice

Applicant Details

Details of Parent/Guardian 1

Details of Parent/Guardian 2

HM Forces History

People Living at Your Home

Financial Details

Reason for Application

Other Funders Approached

Tax Status and Declaration

Supporting Documents

Consent