16-19 Bursary Fund
The 16-19 Bursary Fund is a means-tested fund available to provide help with the extra costs incurred by deciding to stay in education. Your household income needs to be £33,000 or less in order to qualify. Please note that household income is the total amount of earned income plus any benefits received.
It is available to students:
- aged 16-18 at the start of their course
- aged 19-24 who have an Education Health Care Plan (EHCP)
An application must be completed and recent relevant financial evidence will need to be provided. The amount of money the government awards the college for the 16-19 Bursary Fund changes each year. As a result, the financial support available annually to individual students is dependent on the funding allocation received and the number of eligible students.
Enhanced Bursary
The Enhanced Bursary provides support for the most vulnerable groups:
- students in care or who have recently left care
- students in receipt of Income Support or Universal Credit in their own right
- students in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment in their own right
19+ Discretionary Learner Support
Students (without an EHCP) age 19 or older at the start of your course may be eligible to apply for discretionary support if you are studying a funded programme at WQE (i.e. you are not paying tuition fees). Limited funding is available and as far as possible the eligibility criteria as agreed for the 16-19 Bursary Fund will apply.
Support available
The eligibility criteria is split into three different bands and this is reviewed on a termly basis as the amount available to each student is dependent on the overall number of students eligible for bursary support. Please note this may increase or decrease during the year.
Eligibility criteria
To view the eligibility criteria for 2024/2025, click here.
Evidence of benefits received and household income
Income Based Job Seekers Allowance Income Based Employment and Support Allowance State Pension Credit or Income Support | An original letter from the relevant Benefit Agency confirming entitlement. This letter must be no more than one month old. |
Universal Credit | The three most recent monthly statements. If Universal Credit has only recently been awarded, please provide the statements that are available. The full statements need to be provided; these can be accessed from your online Universal Credit account. |
National Asylum Support Services (NASS) | A letter confirming your NASS registration number or a copy of your Application Registration Card (ARC). Please be aware you will be eligible for specific forms of support; contact Student Services for further details. |
Tax Credits
You must submit a complete Tax Credit Award Notice (TCAN) as evidence of your household income. The TCAN will be for the period 06/04/2024 to 05/04/2025. The full document must be provided.
The student for whom the application is made must be named in the TCAN throughout the entire period of the TCAN. If your parents/carers have not notified HMRC that you are continuing into Further Education, they must do so immediately. We cannot process your application without this information.
The TCAN must show your legal name (not your preferred or shortened name).
If the TCAN refers to receipt of a Benefit, as listed above, we need to see evidence of the stated Benefit instead of the TCAN.
If the Benefit referred to is no longer being paid, your parent/carer will need to request an up to date TCAN.
Evidence of your bank account details
Reimbursements from the 16-19 Bursary Fund can only be made to a student’s bank account.
You need to provide evidence in the form of an official document (usually either an account opening letter or bank statement) or a copy of your bank card which shows your account number, sort code, roll number (for building society accounts only), the account holders name and bank/building society name.
Evidence of a bank account not in the student’s name will result in your application being rejected.
Note: NASS (National Asylum Support Service) supported students are not expected to provide evidence of bank details. Student Services will contact you, if your application is successful, outlining the support available.
Making an application
Before you complete your bursary application we recommend that you read our guidance document which will help you to understand the process and explain the evidence you require in support of your application. Getting this right will enable us to process your application as quickly as possible.
Students can make an application to the Bursary Fund for 2024/25 by clicking on the link below. You must be signed into your WQE Microsoft 365 account in order to complete the application form.
Please note that support is not immediate; we aim to process applications within 14 working days of receipt, however this can take longer in busy periods. Priority will be given to students who apply by 30 September 2024.
Forms will be rejected if not completed fully or evidence is incorrect or missing. This will result in a delay to your application being processed.
Please only submit one application. If you realise you have made a mistake and need to resubmit your application, or have any questions about the 16-19 Bursary Fund please visit the Student Services Team at either campus or email bursary@wqe.ac.uk.
Multiple applications will cause confusion, and this is likely to increase the time it will take for us to make a decision.
