Financial Support
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
Please click below to see a PDF showing the eligibility criteria for 2025/2026.
Universal Credit
For parents/carers in receipt of Universal Credit, we will need to see the three most recent Universal Credit monthly statements. Please ensure that the full statements are provided which show the monthly Universal Credit amount and any deductions.
Your Universal Credit statements can be downloaded from your online Universal Credit account in the Payments section. Our preferred way is for the the statements to be saved as PDF. Screenshots can be accepted however please ensure you that you send images showing the full document for each month. The images also need to be provided in an order we can follow.
If Universal Credit has only recently been awarded, please provide the statements that are available and the summary document. These can all be accessed from your online Universal Credit account.
Evidence of other benefits received and household income
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 06/04/2025 to 05/04/2026. 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. |
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. |
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. |
Household income below £33,000 but not in receipt of benefits | For each parent/carer living in the household, please provide:
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Evidence of your bank account details
Reimbursements from the 16-19 Bursary Fund can only be made to a student’s bank account.
Prior to requesting a reimbursement you will need to provide evidence of your bank details. This can be either a photo of your bank card or a copy of a bank statement which clearly shows your name, account number and sort code.
Note: Students in receipt of support from NASS (National Asylum Support Service) will not be eligible for any reimbursements. Equipment or resources can normally be provided in-kind; please speak to the Student Services Team for further information.
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.
Current Year 2 Level 3 Students who were in receipt of bursary support during the first year of their course can complete the Continuing Students Declaration Form. The link for this was sent to your WQE email address at the end of Summer Term.
New Students can make an application to the Bursary Fund using the 2025/26 Application Form. 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 10 working days of receipt, however this can take longer in busy periods. Priority will be given to students who apply by 30 September 2025.
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.