Bursaries, Scholarships & Awards

Academic Year - 2024/25

The Terms & Conditions below apply to students applying for bursaries, scholarships, and awards during the 2024/25 academic year only.

If you wish to apply for a subsequent academic year, please refer to the Terms & Conditions for the year of study you wish to apply for.

We review the Bursaries, Scholarships, and Awards offer each academic year, so it is important to check that you are referring to the correct Terms & Conditions, as the offer may differ.

B&FC's Advantage Bursary 2024/25 (worth up to £500)

This bursary is designed to help you with the costs of equipment associated with your study. It is a means-tested non-repayable bursary of up to £500.

It is available to full-time students whilst studying higher education at B&FC and will only be awarded once during your HE programme(s) of study, regardless of how many years you are on a study programme.

The bursary can be accessed during any year of HE study, provided you have not received the bursary in a previous year.

This bursary is not available if you have a sponsor who is covering the cost of your higher education programme e.g. (but not excluded to) an apprenticeship or employer funded.

Eligibility will be assessed using data on your household income supplied by Student Finance which must be less than £30,810.

To be eligible for this bursary you must apply for income-assessed financial help through Student Finance. You must ensure that the decision from Student Finance is based upon your total household income.

Student Finance will ask you if you want to give 'consent to share' your application with B&FC. Without this consent we cannot process your application for this bursary.
 

If you have already applied to Student Finance and didn't tick the box, please phone the customer helpline on 0300 100 0607 to change the 'consent to share' box.

If eligible you will receive one payment of £250 in semester one and the next payment of £250 in semester two. Payments may be withheld if your attendance is consistently below 90%.

There are limited Advantage Bursaries available, therefore, we may assess further based on information provided in the Important Information section at the end of this page.

B&FC's Access Scholarship 2024/25 (worth up to £3,000 over 3 years)

This non-repayable scholarship is open to all students, apprentices (apprentices under the age of 25 must apply for the Apprenticeship Care Leaver Bursary - see below) and sponsored students.

If you are a Care Leaver[1], Carer[2] or an Estranged Student[3] (student or apprentice without the support of a family network) you may be eligible for this bursary.

You will be asked to provide evidence of your status in support of your Access Scholarship application, for example:

• A letter from a GP or personal adviser
• A supporting statement from a previous tutor or teacher
• For students estranged from their families, confirmation of estranged status from Student Finance

If eligible you could receive £1,000 for each year you study, for up to 3 years. This will be paid in three annual payments, normally a payment in November of £350, another in February of £350 and a final payment in June of £300. If you are studying part-time this will be paid pro rata.
 

You can apply for the Access Scholarship using Pay My Student.

B&FC has signed the Care Leaver Covenant to support the education of care leavers.

There are limited Access Scholarships available, therefore, we may assess further based on information requirements detailed in the Important Information section at the end of this page.

B&FC's Opportunity Scholarship 2024/25

This scholarship is part of our Access & Participation Plan and will support up to five new undergraduate students from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds to study higher education at B&FC.

It will cover the cost of tuition fees for up to 3 years of study on a higher education programme at B&FC.

You may be eligible if you are a new full-time Level 4 UK home student or EU national and have been living permanently in the UK for the last 5 years (undergraduate students only) from one of the following (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) groups:

Mixed / Multiple Ethnic Group
White and Black Caribbean / White and Black African / White and Asian / Other Mixed / Multiple Ethnic

Asian / Asian British
Indian / Pakistani / Bangladeshi / Chinese / Other Asian

Back African / Caribbean / British
African / Caribbean / Other Black

Other Ethnic Group
 

This Scholarship is not available if you are repeating a study year, undertaking a placement year and/or have a sponsor who is covering the cost of your undergraduate programme.

You can apply for the Opportunity Scholarship using Pay My Student.

The application deadline is the last day of the month in which your programme starts.

The number of Opportunity Scholarships is limited to five each year up to 2024/25 entry, therefore, we may assess further based on information requirements detailed in the Important Information section at the bottom of this page.

B&FC's DSA Student Contribution Award (worth £200) 2024/25

The Government's Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) is intended to help you pay for extra costs related to your disability, learning difference, mental health conditions and/or health conditions which may impact on your studies.

If your confirmation of funding letter indicates the purchase of a computer/laptop, you may apply for B&FC's DSA Student Contribution Award, and you could receive a one-off £200 award to cover you contribution to the cost.

If you have paid (or need to pay) the £200 personal contribution towards equipment following a DSA (Disabled Students' Allowance) assessment, you can apply to B&FC for reimbursement. This will be awarded as a one-off payment to help towards the cost of a laptop or other support materials to enable you to complete your study.

You may be eligible if:

• You are a UK home student or EU national who has been living permanently in the UK for the last 5 years (overseas and EU students are not eligible)
• You are a current full-time or part-time registered higher education student at B&FC
• You had equipment recommended and have a DSA approval letter from your funding provider (this is usually Student Finance) to confirm you are required to pay the £200 DSA personal contribution.
   

As part of your application for this Award you will need to provide a copy of the DSA approval letter from your funding provider (usually Student Finance) outlining computing equipment recommendations. Please make sure to include the page showing you're liable to pay the £200 contribution.

You can apply for the DSA Student Contribution Award using Pay My Student.

If you require assistance with applying for Disabled Students' Allowance and/or the DSA Student Contribution Award, please get in touch and the team will be happy to support you through this process.

Email: dsainfo@blackpool.ac.uk

There are limited DSA Student Contribution Awards available, therefore, we may assess further based on information requirements detailed in the Important Information section at the end of the page.

For more information on any of these Bursaries, Scholarships and Awards, please email ssfunds@blackpool.ac.uk.

B&FC's HE Support Fund 2024/25

Blackpool and The Fylde College offers discretionary financial support for students who are experiencing financial difficulty and are unable to meet basic or unexpected additional costs from other sources of support.

The fund can also offer support to students who have experienced a change in financial circumstances due to unforeseen events.

The primary purpose of the fund is to relieve financial hardship that might impact on a student's participation in higher education, including:

• Assisting those who need extra financial help to meet particular costs which are not already being met from Student Finance or other sources of funding
• Meeting specific course and living costs, other than tuition fee costs, which are not already met from other sources
• Providing emergency payments for unexpected crises
• Intervening in cases where a student may be considering leaving higher education because of financial problems
   

The fund is intended to act as a safety net for those in financial difficulty rather than a main source of income. The size of the fund is limited.

We may not be able to meet your need in full, or guarantee that funds will be available, especially towards the end of an academic year. Awards are discretionary and are paid in the form of a non-repayable grant.

The fund is administered by Blackpool and The Fylde College based on guidance from the National Association of Student Money Advisers (NASMA).

You cannot currently apply for this fund using Pay My Student.

Please speak to an Adviser to find out more.

Email: careers@blackpool.ac.uk

Important Information

1)   Bursaries and Scholarships will be given to students who meet the eligibility criteria at the time of allocation. There are a limited number available so even if you meet the criteria, this does not mean that you are guaranteed to be granted any funding.

2)   Payments may be suspended if there is an interruption of study.

3)   If you withdraw from the programme before receiving the full amount, you will no longer be entitled to any further payments.

4)   B&FC reserves the right to withdraw a Bursary or Scholarship from any student who has misled the College about any aspect of their application or eligibility for an award. B&FC will seek repayment of any monies paid in this instance.

5)   B&FC reserves the right to withdraw a Bursary or Scholarship if a student's attendance drops consistently below 90%. Extenuating circumstances for poor attendance will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

6)   B&FC is entitled to recover any material overpayment of Bursary or Scholarship made in error.

7)   B&FC reserves the right to withhold an awarded Bursary or Scholarship where a student has outstanding debt in relation to course fees with the College.

8)   If we receive more applications within the timescales specified for the Advantage Bursary, Opportunity Scholarship, Access Scholarship or DSA Student Contribution Award than the number of awards available, your application will be ranked according to:

• Household income - For the Advantage Bursary and DSA Student Contribution Award this will be as provided by the applicant to Student Finance and for the Opportunity Scholarship this will be assessed with the individual student by the Careers Team. Ranking will be based on firstly, if the household income is between £0 to £5,000, then between £5,001 to £10,000, then £10,001 to £15,000, then £15,001 to £20,000, then £20,001 to £25,000, then £25,001 to £30,810.
• If required, a further filter will on POLAR 4 classification with priority to applicants whose home postcode is in an area of lowest participation in HE (QUINTILE 1).

9)   Appeals - If your application is unsuccessful, you can appeal the decision through B&FC's Financial Support Appeals Policy and Procedure, which can be viewed on our Policies & Procedures page.

[1] Care Leaver - As defined by the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. Students under the age of 25 who have been in the care of or has been given accommodation by the local authority such as foster care or a children's home for a period of at least 13 weeks spanning the age of 16 years.
[2] Carer - Students who provide unpaid care for a family member due to illness, disability, a mental health condition or an addiction.
[3] Estranged Student - Students under the age of 25 who are studying without the support of a family network.

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