Fees and funding for college students

Funding is available for most* of our further education courses.

If you receive funding, you won’t have to pay tuition fees yourself. There may be some additional costs associated with your course that you’ll need to pay for, such as materials and equipment. You’ll find details on individual course pages.

Here’s how funding works.

If you’re aged 16, 17 or 18 on 31 August 2024 and enrolling on an eligible further education course, you will not have to pay tuition fees.

If you’re aged 19 or over on 31 August 2024, you may be eligible for funding if:

• you’re aged 19-23 and studying your first Level 2 or Level 3 qualification; unemployed; or earning less than £20,319 (gross salary per annum). We’ll ask for evidence of salary or employment status as part of the application process
• you’re aged 24+ and unemployed; or earning less than £20,319 (gross salary per annum). We’ll ask for evidence of salary or employment status as part of the application process
• you’re aged 19-24 and have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP)
• you’re aged 24+ and studying a Level 3 qualification. You may be eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan, regardless of income, employment status or if you have previously studied another Level 3 qualification. You can apply online for this loan using the Gov.UK website. You won't start repaying your Advanced Learner Loan until you've finished your course and are earning more than £25,000 a year (for those who started a course after 1 August 2023).

If you don’t fit into any of the groups above, the full course fee will be payable.

*We offer a small number of ‘full cost courses’. With these courses, all students pay the stated tuition fees. Please check individual course pages to see if the course you’re interested in is a full cost course.

This information is correct for the 2024-25 academic year, but may be subject to change in the future.

Funding is available for most of our further education courses, with the exception of a small number of ‘full cost’ courses. If you’re eligible for funding, your tuition fees are paid for you.

See the ‘Funding’ section on this page for details.

If you’re not eligible for funding, visit our Tuition fees page for an overview of all further education course fees, or see individual course pages.

Financial support may be available to help to pay for things like travel, lunches, essential clothing, course materials and equipment.

What support is available?

• 16-19 Bursary Fund
• Vulnerable Learner Bursary
• 19+ Bursary Fund
• Advanced Learner Loan, for students studying a Level 3 course
• Free Meal Award 

Vulnerable 16-19 year olds studying/continuing in full-time education can receive up to £1,200 bursary funding per academic year. This includes learners:

• aged 16-17 and 'In Care'
• aged 16-18 and Leaving the Care system
• aged 16-18 and in receipt of Income Support or Universal Credit
• aged 16-18 and in receipt of both Employment Support Allowance and Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment.

Who is eligible?

You can apply for financial assistance if you meet residency requirements, have a low household income, and/or are facing financial difficulties.

Levels of support vary depending on individual circumstances and each application is individually assessed. Assistance is not an entitlement and is subject to the availability of funds.

You can check eligibility details with our Bursary Administrator.

How do I apply?

All applications are submitted through your college.

Please complete and submit an application form, along with evidence of income or any benefits received for:

• 16-19 Bursary Fund
• Vulnerable Learner Bursary
• 19+ Bursary Fund
• Advanced Learner Loan, for students studying a Level 3 course
• Free Meal Award

Bursary applications are accepted from September for each academic year. You can apply once you've enrolled with Writtle College and been marked in attendance. We will ask you to include evidence of income and expenses with your application.

Contact our Bursary Administrator for application forms:

• Email bursaries.writtle@aru.ac.uk
• Call 01245 424200

Office hours are 10am-4pm (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday) and 10am-2.30pm (Friday).

Care to Learn Scheme

The Care to Learn scheme is available if you are aged under 20 years at the start of your further education course, to help pay for your childcare costs while you are learning. You can get:

• £160 per child per week if you live outside London
• £175 per child per week if you live in London

The childcare provider must be Ofsted registered.

For further details please telephone 0800 121 8989 or email C2L@studentbursarysupport.co.uk.

Family Fund

The Government allocates money to the Family Fund which then provides grants to families on low incomes who are the parent or carer of a disabled or seriously ill child or young person aged 0-17 who lives with you. To find out more about the Family Fund go to https://www.familyfund.org.uk/.

We understand it’s a difficult time with the cost of living increasing, so we offer a range of discounts and free resources to our students. 

Read more about cost of living support at ARU.