Financial Support and Assistance

Exam & Tuition Fees

You will not pay tuition or exam fees if*:

1. You are aged 16-18 (under 19 on 31 August 2011).
2. You are over 19 on 31 August 2011 and you are in receipt of income-based benefits at the start of your course. Income based benefits include:
• Job Seekers allowance.
• Working Tax Credit (if household income is under £15,276).
• Income Support.
• Council Tax Benefit (not single occupier)
• Housing Benefit
• Pension Guarantee Credit.
• Unwaged dependants of the above and on Jobseekers Allowance.
3. You are looking to study your first full Level 2 qualification.
4. You are 19-25 years old and looking to study your first full Level 3 qualification.

*Some courses may still require you to pay a tuition or exam fee. Please contact:

Student Services
t: 01226 216 114  or  01226 216 267
e: studentsupport@barnsley.ac.uk
or call in to Room B164 at the Old Mill Lane site.

Education Maintenance Allowance 

The decision to end EMA was announced as part of the Government spending review on 20 October 2010.

How will this affect learners?

New applicants - This means that learners applying for a place starting College in September 2011 will not be entitled to EMA. 

Current learners – Those students already receiving EMA will continue to receive payments for the rest of this academic year 2010/11 subject to fulfilling the terms of their EMA agreement. No further EMA payments will be made after this academic year.

The College will continue to have a Discretionary Learner Support Fund which will be used to support students as appropriate.
If you would like more information about the Support Fund or any other types of financial support, please contact:

Student Services
t: 01226 216 114  or  01226 216 267
e: studentsupport@barnsley.ac.uk
or call in to Room B164 at the Old Mill Lane site.

If you have any questions about the closure of EMA you can contact the Learner Support helpline on 0800 121 8989. or visit the DirectGov website

Adult Learning Grant
Students aged 19 or over enrolled to a full time course (over 12 hours per week), studying for their first Level 2 or Level 3 qualification may be entitled to a weekly allowance of £30 during term time. Subject to joint or single income assessment. Payment is subject to attendance and behaviour. Students must not be receiving support from other government grants/training allowances, e.g. JSA/Income Support. 

For further information and an application pack please contact:

The ALG – Learner Support Service:

t: 0800 121 8989

w: www.direct.gov.uk

Please Note: Due to the recent Spending Review, the Government has announced cuts to both EMA and ALG which will be replaced by more targeted support. Further details to be confirmed

Learner Support Fund
This fund helps to support learners with the cost of studying, eg. books, equipment, kits and other learning costs. To be eligible learners must be enrolled and attending an LSC funded programme. All applications are means tested based on household income. Due to limited funding the College cannot guarantee to support every application it receives. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. For further information contact:

Student Services
t: 01226 216 114  or  01226 216 267
e: studentsupport@barnsley.ac.uk
or: call in to Room B164 at the Old Mill Lane site.


Professional & Career Development Loans
If you are looking to return to study, Professional & Career Development Loans could help you to pay for learning which enhances your job skills or career prospects. You are able to borrow an amount between £300 and £10,000 from participating banks.

Professional & Career Development Loans are bank loans so you do have to pay the loan back once you have completed your course. You do not pay interest on the loan for the period that you are in learning.

For further information and an application pack please contact:

The Skills Funding Agency 

t: 0800 585 505 

w:    Direct Gov website