For students enrolling onto a further education course, there is a range of financial support available to help you return to study.
Course Fees
If you meet any of the criteria below you may be eligible for free course fees:
- Are in receipt of income assessed benefits
- Working and earning less than £25,000 a year
- Aged 19+ and don’t have a Level 3 qualification
- The course you are enrolling on is funded via the National Skills Fund
Please contact a student finance adviser for further information about your individual circumstances on studentfinance@blackburn.ac.uk
Advanced Learner Loan
An advanced learner loan pay for the fees for your course and is repayable once you have completed your studies and are earning over £25,000 per year (unless you are enrolling on an Access to Higher Education programme, where your loan is written off on completion of your degree).
You will only need to take out an Advanced Learner Loan if:
- Your course is not eligible to government funding as described above AND
- You are over the age of 19 and studying a level three qualification
For more information please click here
Bursary Support
If your household income is below £34,000 per year you can apply for a bursary to support your success in your studies.
Apply at our online portal using your student number - https://blackburn.paymystudent.com/portal/
You can download a step by step guide to help you use the portal here.
Once we have received your application we will get in touch to let you know what type of support we can put in place. This might be a free bus pass to help you get to classes, or money on your student ID card to spend in the canteens.
Bus Pass Information
If you are awarded a bursary and live more than a mile away from college, we may offer you a free bus pass. This will be issued to you electronically and must only be used by you, in conjunction with you student ID card.
All passes are subject to satisfactory attendance of 90% and above. Attendance below this level may result in your pass being cancelled.
Childcare Funding
If you have dependent children and require childcare to enable you to attend your course, you may be able to get support as part of your bursary application. This is dependant on personal circumstances, please contact us for more information.
Contact us
If you would like to speak to an adviser about your personal circumstances please contact us on studentfinance@blackburn.ac.uk
Please be aware as funds are limited and allocated on a first come first served basis, completion of an early application is recommended. Applications missing evidence of household income will be marked as incomplete and will not be assessed until all information is received.
Any applications or evidence received after 30/06/24 may mean your support is not in place for the start of your course, due to the high volume of assessments required during this time.
