Advanced Learner Loans

Advanced Learner Loans are not means-tested and do not require a credit check, but to be eligible for a loan you must be:

• aged 19 or over on the first day of your course
• starting your course on, or after, 1 August 2024
• a UK national or Irish Citizen or have ‘Settled Status’ which means no restrictions on how long you can stay
• a resident in the UK, British Overseas Territories, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for three years immediately before starting your course
• enrolling on a full Level 3 to Level 6 course

The loan is designed to pay for part of, or the full cost of, the course fee for your full Level 3 to 6 course.

Qualifications that you can use the loan for include:

• A-Levels (up to four)
• Access to Higher Education Diplomas
• BTEC and other Diplomas and Certificates
• National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs)

Note: Apprenticeships are no longer supported

If you don’t complete your course you will be required to repay the loan amount relative to your attendance as well as any outstanding course fees, which will be payable direct to the College.

The amount you can get depends on the course you want to take and whether you want to pay for any of the tuition fee yourself – you can choose a loan that pays for the full cost of your course or you can choose to pay all or part of the tuition fee yourself. There is a minimum loan amount of £300. If you are paying part of or all of the tuition fee yourself, Bedford College offers an affordable instalment option to help spread the cost – see details on below.

The Advanced Learner Loan is similar to existing loans for higher education, and is administered by the Student Loans Company (SLC). Once your loan is approved, they will pay the agreed amount to Bedford College when you start your course. You only need to apply once per course – so if, for example, your course is longer than one year you don’t need to apply separately for each year.

You can apply for up to four loans in total, simultaneously, or one after the other. Use the eligibility tool to find out more.

Repayment plan 5 – If you start an undergraduate or postgraduate course after 1 August 2023

Repayment plan 5 is a new repayment plan, being introduced for students starting undergraduate and Advanced Learner Loan courses on or after 1 August 2023. You won’t be expected to make repayments to your plan 5 student loan until April 2026 at the earliest, even if you leave your course early.

You’ll only start making repayments if your income is over the repayment threshold. The repayment threshold for the 2026-27 tax year will be £25,000 a year, £2,083 a month or £480 a week in the UK. If your income falls below the repayment threshold, your repayments will stop and only restart when your income is over the threshold again.

You can also make additional voluntary repayments to SLC at any time.

You’ll repay 9% of your income over the repayment threshold, which is currently £25,000 a year, £2,083 a month or £480 a week in the UK. If your income changes, either rising or falling, your repayment amount will automatically change to reflect this.

You’ll be charged interest on your loan from the day we make your first payment to you or to your university or college until it’s been repaid in full or cancelled. We calculate the interest daily and apply it to your balance each month – this is known as ‘compound interest’. The interest rate you’ll be charged depends on which repayment plan you’re on.

The interest rate is based on the Retail Price Index (RPI), which is a measure of inflation.

It measures changes to the cost of living in the UK.

Repayment plan 5

The interest rate will normally be set at RPI only.

Interest rate cap – Plan 2, Plan 5 & Postgraduate Loan

The Department for Education monitors interest rates set by commercial banks using monthly data provided by the Bank of England. If the average interest rate is lower than what you would be charged based on RPI, then a temporary interest rate cap will be applied so you’re not disadvantaged. This is reviewed monthly.

For more information please visit : http://www.gov.uk/repaying-your-student-loan/what-you-pay

You will need your learning and funding letter provided by Bedford College. You can apply for a loan online through Student Finance England. Application forms will be available through the helpline on 0300 100 0619.

Please be aware when making your loan application online, Student Finance England may suggest a fee amount that is standard to the sector, but not necessarily the amount charged by Bedford College. Please ensure you enter the amount specified in your learning and funding letter provided by Bedford College. If you have any questions regarding charges, please contact Bedford College’s admissions team.

Yes, loan eligibility does not depend on your income and there are no credit checks.

Yes, so long as you do not have any arrears. If you have arrears, you will need to pay these off first. If you took a student loan out between 1990-1997 you would not have been paying your loan back via HMRC, therefore you would need to be paying this back and have no arrears.

In addition to the Advanced Learner Loan there is a means-tested bursary to support students who are on a low income who require support with other costs related to their course (e.g. travel or childcare costs). The bursary does not form part of the loan and is a separate application.

Other ways to pay…

Taking out a loan isn’t the only way to pay for your course – for courses over £100 Bedford College also offers an affordable Direct Debit instalments option to help spread the cost of tuition fees. You will pay an initial non-refundable deposit when you enrol on your course, followed by:

• A maximum of four further payments for courses lasting under six months OR
• A maximum of six further payments for courses lasting over six months.

Please note: an extra £20 charge applies if you choose to pay by instalments.

Your loan could be written off!

If you are interested in taking one of our Access to Higher Education courses and use an Advanced Learner Loan to pay for all or part of your tuition fee, you will have any outstanding debt written off if you go on to complete a higher education qualification.

For courses starting August 2020 or later, if you take out a loan and notify the College in writing, prior to the intended start date of your course, or within 14 days of teaching commencing, all outstanding course fees will be cancelled*. However, if you start a course and withdraw more than 14 days after teaching has commenced you will be liable for the balance of course fees for that academic year. Please refer to our fee policy for further details.

*subject to an administration fee.

This is a means-tested bursary of up to £950 per annum. This bursary is not available to students who less than three miles from the College campus.

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.

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.

The meal’s bursary affords eligible students with a free healthy meal up to £5.00 whilst at College on the days they are timetabled to attend.
Funds are loaded on student ID cards, daily and this can be used towards the cost of purchases at tills in the college refectories. There is also the option to top-up your ID card with additional money to buy additional items – available at Cauldwell and Shuttleworth campuses. Funds not taken up on the day will not be carried over, students must use it on the day or lose it.

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.

We offer a maximum of 80% of ESFA funding received.