Bursary Fund Page

The Government has set aside some money for schools, colleges, training providers and local authorities to allocate to young people who need financial support to stay on in further education or training. This is called the 16-19 Bursary Fund.

The 16-19 Bursary Fund is designed to help support those young people who face the greatest barriers to continuing in education or training post-16 and can be used to pay for items to allows access to their academic studies such as:

  • Clothing
  • Educational visits
  • Books and other equipment/materials for your course
  • Transport and lunch on days you study
  • Exam fees

Students need to apply to Rivers Sixth Form through Mrs Penberthy (Sixth Form Administrator) and Mrs A Mahoney (Finance), can do so once they know where they will study, after GCSE Results Day.

There are 2 bursaries for Sixth Formers:

Vulnerable Bursary which gets paid directly to the student by the school. Students can get a bursary worth up to £1,200, depending on their circumstances and benefits

They could get up to £1,200, if at least one of the following applies:

  • In or recently left local authority care
  • They get Income Support or Universal Credit because they financially supporting themselves
  • They may get the full amount if they have expenses and study full-time on a course of at least 30 weeks.

They’ll usually get less than the full amount, or no bursary, if one of the following apply:

  • Course is shorter than 30 weeks
  • Study part time
  • You have few expenses

The school needs to apply for the vulnerable bursary on behalf of the student.

Discretionary Bursary for those who wouldn’t qualify for the Vulnerable Bursary but may need some help. The school decides how much the student gets and what it is used for. The discretionary is paid from the funding we receive directly from ESFA.

 The bursary can be used for:

  • Clothing, books and other equipment for your course
  • Transport to and from school
  • School trips and visits
  • Lunches
  • Other agreed upon support for the student’s day to day or future planning.

If students are over 19, they will only be eligible for a discretionary bursary. As a school we have our own criteria and look at individual circumstances, including family income. We tend to ask for proof of income and any government support they get. Mrs Penberthy can help provide students with the criteria and any evidence they need.

Please read our school Bursary policy below for more details on eligibility criteria below

For more information please see: https://www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund/how-to-claim

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