Financial Support

If you’re aged 16–18 (or 19+ continuing a course you started before your 19th birthday), or 19-24 with an EHCP, you could receive help with:

• Travel to and from college
• Learning materials and course equipment
• College meals and trips
• Essential trips.

Eligibility criteria apply, including a household income below £40,000 (or £50,000 for travel-only support). Funds are limited, so we encourage early applications.

You may qualify for  Free College Meals  (FCM) or our Meal Card Scheme, which both provide £5 per timetabled day to spend at our food outlets using your Student ID card.

Our food outlets offer a £5 Meal Deal daily, with plenty of choice on offer. We always try to accommodate common dietary requirements such as gluten-intolerance, vegetarianism, and veganism.

You may be eligible for Free College Meals if your household receives benefits such as Universal Credit, Income Support, or Child Tax Credit.

You may be eligible for the Meal Card Scheme if your household income is below £25,000 net.

FCM and Meal Card funds are added to Student ID cards only after a bursary application has been assessed and approved. Your award letter will confirm if this support has been awarded.

We offer help for students who are also parents:

• Under 20s: UCS College Group administers the Care to Learn scheme, which supports childcare and related transport costs.
• Age 20+: Our Childcare Fund may cover up to 90% of registered childcare costs, based on household income.

Applications are made through our Online Student Portal. If you need help accessing this, speak directly to your tutor.

We can help with a contribution towards the most cost-effective travel method, usually by bus, up to a maximum of £6 per timetabled day. A fuel allowance is not covered under the 16-19 Bursary. 

Your daily travel contribution depends on your household income.

Students are expected to start college with funds to cover their travel for September. Before any payments can be made, two weeks of ticket evidence must be submitted. Once this evidence is received, a payment schedule will be set up, and future payments will be made in advance, providing attendance remains above 85%.

Payments will automatically pause if attendance hits 84% or below. Attendance will need to improve and reach the required threshold before further payments can be released.

If you’re experiencing severe financial hardship, we can provide emergency meal support while longer-term funding (like the 16–19 Bursary) is being arranged. This offers £5 per day, up to a maximum of 7 days.

Students aged 19+ can get help with:

• Tuition fees
• Travel
• Childcare
• Course materials.

Income thresholds apply:

• Single: under £26,500
• Joint: under £40,000

Students with an Advanced Learner Loan may also access a separate bursary with the same income thresholds.

If you’re under 19 and meet specific criteria, you could receive up to £1,200. You may be eligible if you are:

• In care or leaving care

• In receipt of Income Support (IC), or Universal Credit (UC) because you are financially supporting yourself or financially supporting yourself and someone who is dependent on you and living with you, such as a child or partner

• Receiving Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in your own right, as well as Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or UC in your own right

The amount is based on financial need and course duration. Apply via our Online Student Portal. If you need help accessing this, speak directly to your tutor.

Support is available to help students with the cost of on-site accommodation for specialist courses not widely offered elsewhere (e.g., Agriculture, Motorsport).

Students must:

• Live over 15 miles from college and more than 3 miles from a public or college transport route

• Have a household income of less than £40,000 net.

Eligible students may receive up to the full cost of standard accommodation (meal plans not included).

If you’re progressing from a Level 3 course with us directly into a degree at University Centre Somerset, you could receive a £1,000 bursary:

• £500 in Year 1
• £500 in Year 2

Make sure we are listed as your current college on your UCAS application.

Are you aged 11–24, living or studying in the former Borough of Taunton Deane, and need help to continue your education?

You could be eligible for support from this external charity. Find out more by visiting their website.