If you are a low-income household, are in care or a care leaver, you could be entitled to financial support.
You could get help for costs including:
Free College meals
Travel costs
Compulsory course materials
Complusory course trips
Childcare costs
Course fees
Tap i to find out more about financial support and bursaries on our website.
Tap Apply Now to apply. Log in using your College ID and password
If you have any questions after reading the financial support information on our website and the frequently asked questions below, you can:
Or you can drop in to see us in Student Services.
Click to get information on discounted travel tickets and public transport routes to College.
Our student food bank is stocked with cupboard essentials and period products.
At Strode's it's located outside Student Services on the first floor.
At Windsor it's located in the Hub outside Student Services.
We have a range of free period products available - washable sanitary pads/period pants, menstrual cups, tampons, disposable sanitary pads. Where to get them:
Help yourself to products located in the toilets
Place a free order on the Cashless site
Come to Student Services and ask for the 'Red Box'
Students can use a College device (usually a laptop) during the day while on site. These need to be returned to the Learning Centre by the end of the college day.
For students who do not have use of a laptop/computer at home, we can arrange a device loan for the academic year. (This is subject to availability).
If you need help with the cost of living, other financial support or student discounts, find out about organisations that can help. Tap the tile or click here
When assessing household income, the Financial Support Team will consider any earned income and benefits you receive. The upper threshold for income is £35,000 net take home pay, or benefits. All applications are considered individually and students have the right to appeal any assessment outcome.
The amount awarded will depend on your individual circumstances but can be up to 100%. All awards are subject to maximum caps. Full details are available in our policy.
Students in receipt of qualifying benefits will receive a credit each day for a free meal deal. Funds are loaded onto students ID cards daily at 11.00am to allow for discrete purchasing, along with students using the top up option for cashless transactions. Funds must be used by 3.00pm. After this time, any remaining balance will be removed from the card each day.
Students are encouraged to purchase a healthy meal option. Only meals can be purchased. The funds cannot be used to buy just confectionary or drinks.
Your bursary award will be based on the most economical method of travelling to college via public transport - considering both time and cost. When making calculations we will expect that students are making use of the cheapest option e.g. fare cards, in order to ensure maximum value for money. Where a discount card is available, the Financial Support team will look to provide funds for the purchase of this wherever possible.
If you change your method of transport during the year or if your costs go up, it is important that you speak to the Financial Support Team so that they can review the amount of funding we are giving you.
Firstly you need to speak to your class teacher or a member of the Attendance Team to see if the mark can be adjusted. Once this has been done, please speak to the Financial Support Team who can review your circumstances.
Yes, students are expected to maintain minimum levels of attendance as detailed in our policy. Where students fall below these, they will likely have their next payment reduced. This can be a 50% or 100% reduction in funding, depending on how severe the low attendance is.
Support may be available to students if the resit is a compulsory element of the course. Students taking resits to improve grades will not be eligible.
Carole Bazeley
Strode's & Windsor
Siobhan Nolan
Windsor
Dee Bagha
Strode's
If you have any questions after reading the financial support information on our website and the frequently asked questions below, you can:
Or you can drop in to see us in Student Services.
WHERE ELSE CAN I GET FINANCAIL SUPPORT OR HELP WITH THE COST OF LIVING?
Turn 2 Us
Turn2us is a national charity that helps people in financial hardship to gain access to welfare benefits, charitable grants and support services – online, It includes a benefits calculator and grant search.
Too Good To Go
Our mission? To make sure good food gets eaten, not wasted. Every day, delicious, fresh food goes to waste at cafes, restaurants, hotels, shops and manufacturers - just because it hasn’t sold in time. The Too Good To Go app lets customers buy and collect Magic Bags of this food - at a great price - directly from businesses.
The Trussell Trust
Find your local food bank, local food vouchers and food parcels.
GOV.UK Help for Households
Advise and support for help with income support, energy bills, childcare costs, household costs, transport costs, finding work, as well as discounts and offers.
Citizens Advice - Benefits Checker
If you don’t have enough money to live on, you might be able to get help to afford essentials like bills and food. This includes the Household Support Fund and cost of living payments.
Richmond Parish Lands Charity
For students living in postcodes TW9, TW10 or SW14. Please call 020 8948 5701 or visit www.rplc.org.uk
The Egham Education Trust
For students living in Egham in particular need of financial assistance to meet the cost of their studies and for those undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Awards. Please visit www.eghamunitedcharity.org
OLIO
OLIO connects neighbours with each other and with local businesses so surplus food can be shared, not thrown away. This could be food nearing its sell-by date in local stores, spare home-grown vegetables, bread from your baker, or the groceries in your fridge when you go away.
Sense Cost of Living Support Fund
In response to the cost of living crisis in the UK, we distributed grants of £500 to people with complex disabilities who are on low incomes and who are living in the family home.
On Unifrog - Special Opportunities tool
A link about grants and bursaries from universities, charities and other organisations.
The Caddey Egham
Community kitchen at The Caddey in St John’s church grounds Egham, which distributes any close to date goods from the local supermarkets. The kitchen is open 11am -1pm every Saturday.
National Energy Action
This UK charity helps vulnerable and disadvantaged people struggling with their energy bills. As well as offering advice and support, they lobby the government to improve policies to tackle energy poverty.
Overview of University Bursaries.pdfUniversity grants and bursaries
If you’re applying to university this year, you’ve probably put a lot of thought into where you’d like to study and the course you’d like to take, but you might not have thought about the additional financial support that might be on offer from the universities themselves.
Most universities offer scholarships and bursaries that don’t need to be paid back and in this guide we present the income-contingent bursaries available. That is, the bursaries available to you when your household’s annual income falls below a certain threshold.
Helping individuals to overcome social barriers and advance their skills and education, these grants are for applicants who demonstrate a commitment and willingness to achieve, but face financial and/or social adversity.
Driven Forward is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
A ‘not for profit’ charity that has been established to help all adults in Berkshire who are socially excluded, isolated, lonely, and vulnerable.The charity’s main projects are the Community Fridge and the Community Well Being Hub. We also have two Red BT Telephone Boxes, one as a donation drop off point and the other used for advertising.
We provide access to a community hub “drop in“ facility with a kitchen to provide refreshments and meals and access to co – ordinated support services, including access to online learning.
KEY DOCUMENTS
