Financial support

This is a means-tested bursary of £510 or £770 per annum depending on where you live to help with the costs of travelling to college. The payments will be made on a monthly basis across 10 months subject to attendance. The Travel Bursary 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 £42,500.

If you are travelling to Shuttleworth, the award will be used to pay towards the cost of the Shuttleworth bus pass.

You could get up to £1,200 towards your course costs, meals and travel if at least one of the following applies.

The defined vulnerable groups are students who are:

• in care
• care leavers
• receiving Income Support (IS), or Universal Credit (UC) because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them, such as a child or partner
• receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in their own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or UC in their own right

You could get up to 75% off essential course costs such as hairdressing kits, uniforms, 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.

The meals bursary affords eligible students with a free healthy meal up to £5.50 whilst at College on the days they are timetabled to attend.

Funds are loaded on student ID cards/way2pay app, daily and this can be used towards the cost of purchases at tills in the college refectories.

This bursary is only available to students who qualify for the vulnerable learner bursary and those whose parents receive certain means-tested benefits. Students must attach the relevant evidence with their application.

Funds not taken up on the day will not be carried over, students must use it on the day or lose it.

Any student previously in receipt of Free School Meals can apply for The Bedford College Group Meal Bursary.

If you had Free Meals at school or College last academic year, you may be able to continue receiving these, subject to eligibility.

Please note you are required to apply for free college meals via the bursary every academic year.

We offer a bursary of up to 75% towards the residential fees for students from lower income households. Priority is given to students who live the furthest away from Shuttleworth College & Silverstone. Eligible students will be given the option to pay the balance in instalments.

If you’re a parent aged 16-19 the Government’s Care to Learn scheme could help you. You can find out more on the Care to Learn website.

List of Eligible Programme Types 2026/27

Your course must be either:

• funded directly by ESFA or by ESFA via a local authority
• funded or co-financed by the European Social Fund
  otherwise publicly funded and lead to a qualification (up to and including Level 3)
• accredited by Ofqual or is pursuant to Section 96 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000
• a 16 to 19 traineeship programme
• The King’s Trust Team programmes: Non-employed students aged 16 to 19 who are participating in a King’s Trust Team Programme are eligible to receive the bursary in the same way as any other student participating in an eligible, publicly funded course.

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.

Non-employed 16-19 students on The King’s Trust Team Programme are eligible to receive the bursary in the same way as a student on a publicly funded course. Students on a 16 to 19 traineeship programme are also eligible.

Eligibility for the 16-19 Bursary Fund requires that a student:

• be aged 16 or over at Aug 2026
• be aged between 19 to 24 at 31 August 2026 and have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• be aged 19 or over at 31 August 2026 and continuing on a study programme they began aged 16 to 18 (‘19+ continuers’)
• meet the residency criteria in ESFA funding regulations for post-16 provision before the start of the course
• meet the low household income threshold as set by the College.

Eligibility for the Vulnerable Learner Bursary, students must provide proof of being in one of the following defined vulnerable groups:

• in care (including a young person in foster carer arranged by the local authority)
• care leavers
• receiving Income Support, or Universal Credit because they are financially supporting themselves or financially supporting themselves and someone who is dependent on them and living with them such as a child or partner
• receiving Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payments in their own right as well as Employment and Support Allowance or Universal Credit in their own right

Note: As well as the evidence of IS or UC, colleges are required to see a tenancy agreement in the student’s name, a child benefit receipt, children’s birth certificates, utility bills etc. for students who live independently. This evidence must also be provided to qualify for support where applicable to the student.

Exceptions: the following categories are not eligible for the 16-18 Bursary:

• Students aged 19 or over at 31 August 2025 unless they have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), or are continuing on a study programme they began aged 16 to 18
• Students on apprenticeship programmes, or any waged training
• Students on higher education programmes

Meals Bursary

Eligible Students (see section 2.3) who live in a household in receipt of one of the benefits below are entitled to free college meals on days they attend study or activity that is part of their course (i.e. industry placement).

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseekers Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• Support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
• The guarantee element of State Pension Credit
• Universal Credit

In most cases this will be supplied through the College’s catering outlets. Where this arrangement is not possible, alternative arrangements will be made. The amount of support that can be provided is shown in Annex C of the policy.

In individual cases of severe hardship, the College can to provide food support whilst a student attends their study programme, for a student it considers to be in real need, without undertaking the checks on household income or gathering other evidence that would normally be required.

These discretionary meals awards are to be made for a specific number of days, and a student in receipt of the award will be required to sign a declaration to confirm receipt.

This is a means-tested bursary of  either £700 or £770.

Depending on where you live to help with the costs of travelling to college. Awards for part time students will be made on a pro rata basis dependent on number of days and weeks in College. The payments will be made on a monthly basis across 10 months subject to attendance.

The Travel bursary 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 £45,000.

The support will be either 75% or 50% of tuition fee. We can only provide tuition fee support if you are enrolled on a co-funded course. To check whether your course is co-funded, please contact our Customer Contact Team at info@bedfordcollegegroup.ac.uk or on 0345 658 8990.

The amount of support which can be provided is shown in Annex C of the Adult Support Fund Policy.

Note: if the course you are applying for is eligible for the Advanced Learner Loan then you will be unable to apply for help towards this 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 The Bedford College Group, 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.

The College operates a loan laptop scheme for students who have difficulty engaging with remote education at home (for example lack of devices or quiet space to study). This is subject to eligibility.

Fees for halls of residence can be supported, although they are very limited.  Applications are prioritised by distance from the student’s home and/or availability of transport to Shuttleworth College. We operate a banding system for this bursary for students from very low income households.

If you are experiencing a sudden change of circumstances which places you in hardship, please speak to a member of the Student Advice team.

Students that eligible for the Adult Support Fund are eligible to free college meals on days they attend study, or activity that is part of their course (i.e. industry placement).

Students can also access childcare support through the bursary. The support available per day student attends college, or activity that is part of their course (e.g. industry placement).

Childcare funding may only be used towards the cost of a registered childminder, nursery or pre/after-school club. Only childcare with a provider who is registered with Ofsted may be funded. The availability of free childcare and education for all 3 and 4 year olds (and some 2 year olds) is verified with each student, and also with their nursery. If they are eligible for 2, 3 and 4 year old funding, childcare is only supported where the student’s timetable exceeds the number of government funded sessions.

Nursery deposits and childcare retainers payable during college holidays are not funded. In circumstances where a student faces exceptional hardship during the course of the academic year we may be able to provide additional financial support for childcare.

List of Eligible Programme Types 2026/27

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).

Applications will be judged in line with AEB funding guidance for 2026/27.

Bursary Eligibility 2026/27

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, The Corby Sixth Form and Central Bedfordshire College) are eligible to apply for support where they meet the following criteria:

• be aged 18 or over but under 19 at 31 August 2026 and not on a traineeship
• are starting a traineeship on or after 1 August in the year in which they turn 16
• have lived within the UK / EEA for 3 years prior to the start of the course
• meet the low household income threshold as set by the College

In addition, the following will be considered for the Adult Support Fund, those who:

• have learning difficulties or disabilities
• are care leavers (previous VLB students)
• are participating on a King’s Trust Team Programme
• are on probation or supervised by the Youth Offending Service
  experience a sudden change in circumstances, such as redundancy

Eligibility for the Advanced Learner Loan bursary requires that a student:

• be aged 19 or over at 31 August 2026 and not on a traineeship
• are starting a traineeship on or after 1 August in the year in which they turn 16
• have lived within the UK / EEA for 3 years prior to the start of the course
• meet the low household income threshold as set by the College
• is in receipt of an advanced learning loan

The following categories are not eligible for adult bursaries:

• Students eligible for 16-19 bursary support, see 16-19 bursary policy for further details
• Students participating through partnership arrangements
• Students on apprenticeship programmes, or any waged training
• Students on higher education programmes
• International students are not eligible for any financial support