No student should be disadvantaged by continuing with their education Post 16. Here at UTC Swindon there are two types of bursaries available a discretionary and a vulnerable.

The 16-19 Bursary Fund has been set up by the government to support young people who face financial barriers to continuing in Post-16 education or training. It is available through the UTC and if you think you might need some financial support to complete your course and you think you might be eligible, please apply as soon as possible.

You could be eligible for a full bursary of £1,200 per year if you are aged 16-19 and are:

  • Household income up to £30,000 per year (a larger sum may be applicable if there are larger numbers of dependents in the household)
  • In receipt of Universal Credit/Employment and Support Allowance
  • In receipt of Tax Credits (annual income less than £20,000)
  • Entitled to Free School Meals in the last 4 years or registered Young Carer
  • A recent and substantial decrease in household income
  • You’re in or recently left local authority care
  • You’re disabled and get both Employment and Support Allowance (ESFA) (or Universal Credit in place of ESFA), and either Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payment (PIP) in your name
  • Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
  • The Guarantee element of the State Pension Credit

All learners who claim Bursary funding must also:

  • Satisfy the government’s residency requirements for publicly funded courses in school sixth forms.
  • Be aged under 19 on 31st August of the year of enrolment (i.e. if enrolling for September 2023, be under 19 on 31st August 2023)

If you apply for bursary funding, we will ask you for evidence to back up your claim. If you are in care or a care leaver, this is likely to be a letter from your key worker. Or we will ask you for a letter or statement from the DWP confirming you are in receipt of benefits, or a P60 or Tax Credit Award Notice (if your parents are employed).

If you would like to apply for funding but think you may have difficulty obtaining evidence please speak to us as soon as possible.

You can find the bursary form here, the cut off for applications this year is 30th September 2023.

16-19 Tuition Fund

The 16 to 19 tuition fund was first provided for the 2020 to 2021 academic year and is being extended beyond 2021 to 2022 for a further two years into the 2023 to 2024 academic year.  It is ring fenced funding for schools, colleges and all other 16 to 19 providers to support small group tuition for 16 to 19 students in English and maths, and other courses where learning has been disrupted. For example, vocational courses where assessments have been deferred because of lockdown.

The tuition fund is provided by the Department for Education as a direct contribution to address the impact of ‘the disruption to learning’ caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funding must be used to support UTC Swindon students that did not achieve a Grade 4 or higher in either English or mathematics. This additional funding, made available to UTC Swindon to support these students for the academic year 2023-24, is £2,304.

The funding will be invested in the following areas:

3:1 small group tuition (English) developing confidence in English GCSE skills through revisiting and reinforcing key concepts and knowledge from GCSE

Bespoke subject support/catch up booster sessions in addition to current curriculum in the vocational courses

The purchase of bespoke resources for students targeted in the tuition catch up and use these to support learning

1: 1 support for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan

UTC Swindon commits to using the small group tuition funding that it has been given to mitigate against the impact of the pandemic on our study programme students.