The 16 to 19 bursary fund

The 16-19 bursary fund provides financial support for sixth form students to overcome specific barriers to remain in education.

The Department for Education (DfE) is very clear that the bursary fund is intended to help students with the essential costs of participating in their study programme, so to help with the cost of essential books or equipment or with the cost of travelling to school or college, for example. The bursary fund is not intended to support costs not related to education.

Eligible learners can claim from the bursary to cover the cost of:

• Travel to and from school.
• Meals – to the value of a free school meal unless already eligible for free school meals.
• Essential materials including stationery.
• Essential textbooks if not provided by school.
• Calculators.
• Travel expenses for university open day visits – for students only.
• Course related activities and visits.
• Sport activities where these relate directly to the course.
• UCAS application fee.

School will provide all materials. The DfE expects schools “to pay bursaries in-kind rather than cash as far as possible”.

All students in Year 12 can apply for the 16-19 bursary. All students who have received the bursary this academic year must re-apply for September 2024 to be eligible; there is no automatic roll-over. Appropriate evidence must be supplied.

Once eligibility has been approved, a separate application form will be available to claim the items for which financial assistance is required.

The application form for the 16-19 bursary can be found at the bottom of this page, together with the Eckington School bursary fund statement.

If you have any questions about the bursary, eligibility or the application form, please ask at the sixth form office or by emailing sixthform@eckington.chorustrust.org.