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Advanced Learner Loans have been introduced to help support students aged 19 or above with the cost of course fees for full Level 3 to 6 courses. Find out below about what the loan covers, who can apply and the benefits they offer.
PLEASE NOTE: This is subject to available funding allocation for 2020/21 academic year.
Travel Bursary | This is a means-tested bursary of £360 or £600 depending on where you live to help with the costs of travelling to college. It is only available if you do not receive subsidised travel through your local authority; you live more than three miles from the campus and have a household income of less than £30,000. |
Essential Course Costs Bursary | The support will either be 75% or 50% of your essential course costs such as safety equipment, books or trips. Where the essential course item is provided by Bedford College, for instance, a uniform or a trip, your bursary will be transferred to your department and you will be required to pay the difference. This is not available to students on the second year of a two year course unless essential course costs are specified for the second year. |
Meals Bursary | This bursary affords eligible students with a free healthy meal up to £3.00 whilst at College on the days they are timetabled to attend, usually four days a week. |
Additional Learning | We offer up to £250 towards any learning support requirements for students who have indicated a form of learning difficulty or disability. Access to this support will be through the Additional Support Team who can be reached on 01234 291905. |
Childcare | We offer a maximum of 80% of ESFA funding received. |
After you’ve answered the questions in our eligibility checker, if you qualify you will then be able to start your application. You will be required to upload evidence to prove your eligibility so please have this to hand. You will also be able to save your work and come back to complete your application at a later time.
List of Eligible Programme Types 2020/21
Your course must be either:
Students must provide evidence of how they meet the three strands of eligibility for financial support to include age, residency and household income, as well as be studying on a programme that is subject to inspection by a public body such as Ofsted and the course must be funded directly by the ESFA or by the European Social Fund (ESF) – we can establish this fact from our college database.
Bursary applications will be judged in line with AEB funding guidance for 2020/21.
For the Advanced Learner Loans Bursary, students must have already applied for the Advanced Learner Loan. The college will verify this on the Student Loans Company (SLC) portal; bursary applications will be put on hold where we are unable to view a student’s application status on the portal.
Bursary Eligibility 2020-21
All full time and part time students (including those in receipt of an Advanced Learner Loan) studying on an ESFA funded course, including traineeships, at The Bedford College Group and its incorporated sites (Bedford campus, Kempston campus, Shuttleworth College, Tresham campuses and The Bedford Sixth Form) are eligible to apply for support where they meet the following criteria:
In addition, the following will be considered for the Adult Support Fund, those who:
The following categories are not eligible for adult bursaries:
Exceptions