16-19 Bursary Funding
The purpose of the 16-19 Bursary Fund is to provide students with financial support to enable them to continue in education where they would otherwise be limited or restricted from doing so on financial grounds. The bursary fund is made available from the government through its funding body, Education & Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) for 16 to 19 year olds. Government guidance indicates that the bursary must only be used to directly meet educational expenses.
For more information on the 16-19 Bursary Fund, see the government website: https://www.gov.uk/1619-bursary-fund
Students may apply for the bursary if they are eligible in one of the following categories:
Category A: Student is one or more of the following: currently in care (LAC) or is a care leaver; financially independent and in receipt of Universal Credit; in receipt of Personal Independence Payments; an unaccompanied asylum seeker under the age of 18.
Category B
Priority 1: live in a household with an annual income below £16, 190 before tax and national insurance or be eligible for free school meals.
Priority 2: Student is from a household with a total income below £30,000. If there are other persons under 18 living in the household who are financially dependent (i.e. siblings), a deduction of £1750 per dependent will be applied. For example, a student household with a total income of £33,000 and two siblings would be eligible for the fund, as this deduction would reduce the assessed income to £29,500.
Eligible students may apply to claim through the fund for equipment, resources or services that will support their Post 16 studies. This may include items such as: travel expenses, books, IT equipment, online learning resources, educational visits, enrichment opportunities, university open day visits and the UCAS application fee. Where possible, these items will be purchased by the school and provided to the student.
Decisions on individual claims from the bursary fund will be made on a case-by-case basis. This will be based on factors including, but not limited to, the educational benefit that the claim will make to the student and the level of funding available.
If it is not possible for the school to purchase an item on behalf of the student (e.g. for transport costs), the student will receive a full or partial reimbursement for any expenses, depending on their level of assessment and the availability of funding, upon submission of a valid receipt or other proof of purchase. In this case, a bursary claim application should still be submitted prior to purchase, as each claim is subject to assessment and approval.
Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application, and any payments that they are eligible for, once all initial applications have been received and processed.
The 16-19 bursary application form can be found via the Post 16 menu on the Academy website, or by clicking here..
Completed application forms must be returned online and all required financial evidence should be brought to the Post 16 office. We will accept applications throughout the academic year.
Please note that those eligible for funding during the last academic year (2023-2024) will need to re-apply in order to claim funding for 2024-25, as financial circumstances may have changed.
Please do not hesitate to contact the Post 16 team if you have any further questions. You can do this via email to post16@astonacademy.org.
Bursary Application Form (Online):