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Fees and Finance

It is important that our courses offer excellent teaching, facilities and student experience at an affordable cost to our students. Our fee structure is straightforward and offers excellent value for money.

Online resources

19+ Loans

Information about 19+ Advanced Learner Loans.

HE Loans

Information about HE Student Loans.

Money Helper

Free impartial money advice from Money Helper.

National Careers Service

Provides information, advice, and guidance to help students make decisions on learning, training, and work opportunities.

*Students need to have achieved the Level 4 HNC or similar Level 4 qualification to progress onto HND

Payment Methods

We offer a variety of payment methods. You can pay the course fees in full at enrolment, by instalments, student loan or by company invoice.

If you choose to pay by instalments, these are collected on the first working day of the month by Direct Debit. You will be required to pay a minimum of 20% or £100 (whichever is higher) on the day of enrolment. There will usually be 5 Direct Debit collections in addition to the initial deposit.

Your employer may pay course fees on your behalf. We require a letter of authority from the company confirming the fees they will be paying, or a purchase order. The company will then be invoiced for the fees (payable in 30 days). Any fees not paid by the employer need to be paid by yourself.

If you opt to pay your fees by student loan, please be aware that you are still responsible for the fees and will be required to pay them even if the loan is not approved, or you withdraw from the course, as the SLC will only pay whilst you are in attendance.

Available Support

Student Finance consists of grants, loans, and allowances. It is intended to help you with tuition fees and living costs which are the main types of cost you will have while you are studying.

Tuition Fee Support

The College sets your tuition fee, and the loan is paid directly to us by Student Finance. You have to pay this loan back.

Maintenance Loans

Depending on your circumstances, you may also be eligible to apply for maintenance loans to contribute towards living costs. How much you get depends on where you live while studying, your household income and your course intensity. The loan is paid directly into your bank account two weeks after the start of each term. You have to pay the loan back.

Dependants Grants

Full time students with families are also eligible to apply for government grants for the following; Adult Dependants’ Grant, Childcare Grant and Parents’ Learning Allowance. These grants do not have to be paid back and are on top of your other Student Finance. For more information, see here

Disabled Students' Allowance

You can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) to cover some of the extra costs you have because of a mental health problem, long term illness or any other disability. You can get the allowances on top of your other Student Finance. You will not need to repay DSAs. If you are a part time student your ‘course intensity’ can affect how much you get. For more information visit here

Advanced Learner Loans

If you are planning to study a Further Education course at Level 3 to 6 you may qualify for an Advanced Learner Loan. These loans help you pay the fees charged by approved colleges and training organisations in England.

Most learners, aged 19 and over, will qualify for these loans from the UK government. Eligible courses include A Levels, Access to HE Diplomas and other vocational qualifications.

If you are using an Advanced Learner Loan to pay for an Access to HE Diploma, which you complete, and then go on to complete a course in Higher Education, the remaining balance of your Advanced Learner Loan, including any interest on it, will be written off.

It is easy to apply, your household income is not taken into account and there is no credit check. You will not have to pay anything back until your income is over £25,000 a year.

Before taking out any loan, you should consider all of your options. If you want advice on managing your finances, visit the Money Helper for free and impartial advice.

For information and advice on learning, careers and funding options, visit here

You can apply for an Advanced Learner Loan online at GOV.UK

Applying for Student Finance

Most full time and part time students can apply to borrow money from Student Finance England to help pay for college tuition fees and to help with living costs. This can be done online, paper forms are also available. You can apply online here

You will need to set up a Student Finance account online, then complete a loan application. You may also need to include your household income and provide proof of identity.

For courses starting in September, you can usually apply online from May onwards. After you have been offered a place, we will advise you when you can start applying for a loan.

Eligibility for Student Finance

Whether you qualify for Student Finance depends on your course, if you have studied a Higher Education course before, your age and your residency status.

Your funding may be limited if you have studied Higher Education before, even if it was self-funded. Your funding may also be limited if you change course, or leave a course, and start again, or if you are ‘topping up’ a qualification such as a HND to an Honours Degree.

There is no upper age limit for tuition fee loans but if you are aged 60 or over, you may get limited funding for maintenance loans.

If you are a UK national or have settled status (no restrictions on how long you can stay), normally live in England and you have been living in the UK for 3 years before starting your course, you will usually be eligible to apply. Find out more here

Repayments

If you are a full time student, you will be due to start repaying your loan the April after you finish or leave your course.

If you are a part time student, you will be due to start repaying your loan the April after you finish or leave your course, or the April four years after the start of your course (even if you are still studying), whichever comes first.

You will only start making repayments if your income is over the repayment threshold, which is currently £25,00 a year, £2,083 a month or £480 a week in the UK. You will repay 9% of your income over this repayment threshold.

If your income falls below the repayment threshold, your repayments will stop and only restart when your income is over the threshold again.

You can also make additional voluntary repayments to the SLC at any time.

You will be charged interest on your loan from the day the SLC makes the first payment to you, or to the College, until it has been repaid in full or cancelled. Interest is calculated daily and applied to your balance each month. The interest rate is normally based on RPI plus 3%.

You can find more information on how repayment works by visiting here

Course Cancellations and Refunds

You will get a refund if you have already paid for a course; which we have had to cancel or which we agree with you is not suitable after initial assessment/interview and cannot offer you an alternative.

You will not get a refund if you withdraw before the end of a course. The full costs of tuition will remain payable and this is a condition of enrolment. We reserve the right to re-arrange course dates, times and venues.