Section For School Leavers :

Money Worries If you need help to pay for college-related expenses contact STUDENT SERVICES

16 -19 Fees & Financial Help

If you have money worries about staying in education after you are 16, you can get
free, confidential advice from Student Services.

If you are 16-18 and a British or European Union resident and enrolled on a full or part - time YPLA funded further education course there are normally no tuition, registration or examination fees.

You may also be eligible for additional financial help including:

Education Maintenance Allowance
Learner Support Fund
Care to Learn
Travelling from Surrey and Hampshire
Travel from London - Zip
Accommodation and the Residential Bursary Scheme

To give you an indication of the type of financial support you may be eligible for, contact Student Services Tel: 01483 44 85 60 or Email: studentservices@guildford.ac.uk|

Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

This is a payment of £10, £20 or £30 per week during term time for 16-18 year old students that are studying in full time education and have a family income of less than £30,810. You must have 100% attendance each week to receive payments.

In order to be eligible to apply you need to be:

Enrolled on a YPLA funded course
Aged between 16-18 (at the start of the academic year)
Settled or ordinarily resident in the UK for 3 years prior to the start your course
Have a household income below £30,810
Studying a full time course (with a minimum of 12 hours per week)

Learner Support Fund

The Learner Support Fund is designed to help support you with costs that arise when studying for a Further Education course. Awards can be made in addition to most grants like EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance). These funds are limited and are prioritised for students that are facing significant financial hardship.

Awards are made towards ESSENTIAL course costs (identified by your Faculty as being required to complete the course) and calculated at rates we consider to be reasonable. This could be for books, visits, materials, equipment and uniform.

In order to be eligible to apply you need to be:

Enrolled on a YPLA funded course
Aged between 16-18 (at the start of the academic year)
A resident in England or Wales for the last 3 years
Have a household income below £30,810 or receiving means tested benefits

Care to Learn

If you are a young parent, Care to Learn can help pay for your childcare and travel costs while you’re studying a funded further education course.

What will Care to Learn pay for?

Childcare costs while you learn, including while you are on placement

Childcare costs for extra home/private study
A childcare deposit (up to £250) if one is charged
Any necessary childcare fees payable during holidays in order to retain your child’s place
Necessary travel costs to and from your childcare provider

In order to apply for the Care to Learn scheme the following must apply:

You are a parent under 20 at the start of your college course
You are caring for your own children (whether you are a Father or a Mother)
You live in England
You use a registered childcare provider

To apply for the Care to Learn scheme then please visit the Care to Learn website

Travelling from Surrey and Hampshire

Many students are eligible for assistance with the costs of travel.

Options include:

Surrey travel fare cards if you are paying your council tax to Surrey County Council (Discounted bus and train travel, further details can be found at www.surreycc.gov.uk or you can call 03456 009 009 to talk to the Student Fare Card team directly) or you can call to talk to the Student Fare Card team directly)
Travel schemes from your local authority

See www.sstp.org.uk| for further details on travel

Please note that unfortunately the Learner Support Fund does not offer financial assistance towards travel expenses for 16-18 year old students.

Travel from London - Zip

Zip is the new name for the 16-18 Oyster card from Transport for London. A 16+ Oyster photocard allows you to buy 7 Day, monthly or longer Travelcards at child rate and pay as you go at half the adult rate on bus, Tube, tram, DLR and London Overground services.

In order to be eligible for a Zip card you need to be:

Studying a minimum of 12 hours per week for 10 or more weeks
Living in a London borough
Aged between 16-18 on 31 August at the start of this academic year (09/10)

You can get an application form from Student Services or your local Post Office.

Residential Bursaries for Specialist Courses

The college has up to 100 places available to live on-site at our Merrist Wood campus and we offer a Residential Bursary scheme to assist students with their accommodation costs at the Merrist Wood Halls of Residence.

In order to be eligible for the Residential Bursary the following must apply:

You are studying for your first full level 2 or 3 full time vocational course
You have been ordinarily resident in England for the three years prior to the start of your course
A similar course is not available locally to your home (within reasonable travelling distance)
Your course is YPLA funded

If you would like further details about the Merrist Wood Halls of Residence call the Accommodation office on 01483 88 4093 or see the Accommodation |pages.

More information

For more information about fees and financial support at Guildford College contact Student Services Tel: 01483 44 85 60 or Email: studentservices@guildford.ac.uk|