Students must be aged between 16 and 19 on the 31st August at the start of the academic year in which they begin a full-time study programme. Students should satisfy the residency criteria as specified in the EFA Funding Guidance.

A bursary is money that you can use to pay for things like:

• clothing, books and other equipment for your course
• transport to/from school and meals in the school day
• essential educational trips during the academic year

Laurus Ryecroft Sixth Form may offer bursaries in the form of non-cash “in kind” payments where appropriate, such as travel passes, attendance on course related school trips, etc. Any equipment purchased by Laurus Ryecroft Sixth Form for use by an individual learner remains the property of Laurus Ryecroft Sixth Form and must be returned upon completion of or withdrawal from the course.

Vulnerable student bursary
The vulnerable student bursary is only available to students who are aged between 16 and 18 years old at the start of the academic year.

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

• you’re in or recently left local authority care
• you get Income Support (or Universal Credit in place of Income Support) in your name
• you’re disabled and get both Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) (or Universal Credit in place of ESA), and either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in your name

Discretionary student bursary
Students may be eligible for a discretionary bursary payment if they meet the Sixth Form criteria. Students who fall near the threshold are advised to apply also as thresholds may be adjusted depending on the number of applications.

In addition, Laurus Ryecroft Sixth Form will consider requests for bursary support from any student, regardless of eligibility under the above categories, where that student faces exceptional circumstances during the academic year which impacts on their ability to participate in full-time education.

Application forms can be collected from the Sixth Form and should be returned by the end of September.

Receipt of a bursary is conditional on the student meeting agreed targets set by Laurus Ryecroft Sixth Form, based on attendance, standards of behaviour and learning outcomes. The amount of each award will be assessed and disbursed on an individual, case by case basis as detailed in the individual’s application form.

Free school meals are still available to qualifying students in the Sixth Form. If you are a student already in receipt of Free School Meals and entering the Sixth Form from Laurus Ryecroft, we will be notified automatically about your entitlement.

If you are joining from another school, or your circumstances have recently changed and you believe you are entitled to Free School Meals then please apply using this online form.