PGCE Funding for 2011 entry

Tuition Fees

In 2011/12, the University of Bristol will be charging £3,375 tuition fees for the PGCE course.

Home UK and EU students will not have to pay the fees up-front and can apply for a tuition fee loan to cover the cost of the fees. This loan does not need to be repaid until the April after graduation when students are earning over £15,000 per year.  Please see the Student Loans Company website for further information.

UK students need to apply to Student Finance England, Student Finance Wales, Student Finance Northern Ireland or Student Awards Agency for Scotland, depending on where they are from.

EU students should apply for a tuition fee loan to the Student Finance Services European Team, the telephone number is (+44) (0) 141 243 3570 or email address is EU_Team@slc.co.uk

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Financial (Statutory) support from Government

In addition to a tuition fee loan, UK students can also apply for financial help for living costs from their Government. The type of support and the amount of support available will vary depending upon whether you are from England, Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.

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Additional financial support for students from England

Students from England should apply to Student Finance England via the DirectGov website at www.direct.gov.uk/studentfinance from 16th March 2011 onwards.

Student Finance England is a partnership between the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the Student Loans Company Ltd to provide financial support to students entering Higher Education from England on behalf of the UK government.

Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant

Students from England are eligible to apply for the fully means-tested Maintenance Grant of up to £2,906.

Students who may be eligible to receive means-tested benefits such as Income Support or Housing Benefit will receive a Special Support Grant, instead of a Maintenance Grant. The Special Support Grant will not affect benefit entitlement, although your maintenance loan will count as assessable income for state benefit purposes.  Students who may be eligible for benefits include single parent students, student couples and students with disabilities.

This grant does not need to be repaid. Applications are made at DirectGov.

Maintenance loan for living costs

Students from England are eligible to apply for a partially means-tested maintenance loan for living costs, such as accommodation, food, clothes, travel and other living expenses. The maximum loan available for PGCE students in 2011/12 is £4,950. £3,564 of this loan is non means-tested and the remaining £1,386 depends upon your level of household income.

However, if you are in receipt of a Special Support Grant (as opposed to the Maintenance Grant) you may be eligible to receive up to £4,950.

Students should apply for the maintenance loan for living costs via the DirectGov website, if preferred. This loan does not need to be repaid until the April after graduation when the student is earning over £15,000 per year.

Other help for students from England

Grants are also available for students with childcare and caring responsibilities (Childcare Grant, Adult Dependants' Grant or Parents' Learning Allowance). If you have extra costs as a direct result of a disability or specific learning difficulty, you may also be eligible for a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). Please see DirectGov for further information.

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Additional financial support for students from Wales

UK students who normally live in Wales and who choose to study at Bristol University will be eligible for services provided by Student Finance Wales.

Student Finance Wales is a partnership between the Welsh Assembly Government, Local Authorities (LAs) and the Student Loans Company (SLC). The Student Loans Company and Local Authorities in Wales work together to deliver financial support to students on behalf of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Your Local Authority can help you with general questions and more detailed requests, as well as provide you with a student finance application pack.

Assembly Learning Grant or Special Support Grant

Students on full-time Initial Teacher Training courses that do not lead to a first degree, and are studying for 10 weeks or more, will be eligible for an Assembly Learning Grant or Special Support Grant  of up to £5,600. How much you get depends on your household income and will be calculated by your LA when you make your application.

The Special Support Grant is for students who may be eligible to receive means-tested benefits such as Income Support and Housing Benefit. If you are eligible to receive a Special Support Grant you will not be eligible to receive an Assembly Learning Grant. The amount of support, the income assessment and the payment arrangements are the same as for the Assembly Learning Grant, however the amount of Special Support Grant you receive will not affect the amount of Maintenance Loan you may be entitled to receive. Nor will your state benefits be affected if you receive a Special Support Grant, although your maintenance loan will count as assessable income for state benefit purposes.

If your household income is over £50,020 you will not be eligible to receive any living costs grant or Assembly Learning Grant.

Maintenance loan for living costs

Students from Wales are eligible to apply for a partially means-tested maintenance loan for living costs, such as accommodation, food, clothes, travel and other living expenses, of up to £4,745 per year if studying in Bristol.

Other help for students from Wales

Grants are also available for students with childcare and caring responsibilities (Childcare Grant, Adult Dependants' Grant or Parents' Learning Allowance). If you have extra costs as a direct result of a disability or specific learning difficulty, you may also be eligible for a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). Please see the Student Finance Wales web site for further information.

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Additional financial support for students from Northern Ireland

Students who normally live in Northern Ireland and who choose to study at Bristol University will be eligible for services provided by Student Finance Northern Ireland.

Student Finance Northern Ireland is a partnership between the Department of Employment and Learning, your local Education and Library Board (ELB) and the Student Loans Company (SLC) to deliver financial support to students.

Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant

The Maintenance Grant is a grant available to eligible undergraduate students dependent on household income. The maximum amount of support available is £3,475 per year. The maintenance grant is means-tested and depends upon your household income. It is payable to students who have a household income of £41,065 or less.

Up to £1,887 of the Maintenance Grant will be paid in substitution for an element of the Maintenance Loan. This means that your eligibility for the student loan will be reduced by up to the amount of grant you are paid.

A Special Support Grant is available for new students who are eligible to receive Income Support and other means-tested benefits such as Housing Benefit.

The purpose of this is to assist with additional course costs, such as books, equipment, travel or child care, that result from attending a course.

Entitlement to the Special Support Grant is worked out in the same way as the Maintenance Grant but will not affect the amount of Maintenance Loan you may be entitled to receive. If you claim income related benefits, the Special Support Grant will not be taken into account by Social Security Agency or your local Housing Benefit office when working out your income, although your maintenance loan will count as assessable income for state benefit purposes.

If you are eligible to receive a Special Support Grant you will not be eligible to receive a Maintenance Grant.

Maintenance loan for living costs

Students from Northern Ireland are eligible to apply for a means-tested maintenance loan for living costs, such as accommodation, food, clothes, travel and other living expenses.

The maximum loan available for full-time PGCE students from Northern Ireland in 2011/12 is £4,840 while studying at Bristol.

Other help for students from Northern Ireland

Grants are also available for students with childcare and caring responsibilities (Childcare Grant, Adult Dependants' Grant or Parents' Learning Allowance). If you have extra costs as a direct result of a disability or specific learning difficulty, you may also be eligible for a Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA). Please see the Student Finance Northern Ireland web site for further information.

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Additional financial support for students from Scotland

UK students who normally live in Scotland and who choose to study at Bristol University will be eligible for services provided by Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS).

Eligible students from Scotland can apply for a partially means tested student loan for living costs of up to £5,417. The amount you may receive is dependent upon your household income and whether you are classed as a dependent (young) student or an independent (mature) student.

In addition, depending upon your household income you may be eligible to receive a Students' Outside Scotland Bursary (SOSB) of up to £2,150. This bursary will replace part of your Maintenance Loan support.

There is also extra help through supplementary grants for certain categories of students, such as single parents or those with dependants.

You are strongly advised to contact the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) to confirm your entitlement.

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Teacher Training Bursaries

The Training and Development Agency (TDA) may offer a tax-free training bursary for home UK students in 2011/12. In addition, EU students who qualify for student support will also be eligible for training bursaries. Students apply for their TDA bursary during the first few weeks of registration on their PGCE course. 

The amount of bursary depends on when an individual starts their training and the subject they train to teach.

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University of Bristol Bursary

In 2011/12, all new UK PGCE students with a household income of £50,020 or less and who are in receipt of a government Maintenance (or Special Support) Grant will receive a University of Bristol Bursary. All PGCE students must have applied for means-tested support from DirectGov, or their respective funding assessing body, in order for the University to be able to determine household income levels.

PGCE students in receipt of a Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, with a household income of £25,000 or less, are eligible for a University Bursary of £1,260.

PGCE students in receipt of a Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, with a household income between £25,001 and £40,000, are eligible for a University Bursary of £810.

PGCE students in receipt of a Maintenance Grant or Special Support Grant, with a household income between £40,001 and £50,020, are eligible for a University Bursary of £330.

This bursary is non repayable and students do not need to complete a separate application form, as the University will automatically receive confirmation from the Student Loans Company (SLC) of the household income level for the student, once the student and their parent/sponsor(s) (if applicable) have given their consent to share these details.

N.B: You may see reference to a Local Bursary, this is not the same as the University of Bristol bursary detailed above, and is not available to students on the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme.

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Emergency Loans

Short term loans of up to £200 are available. In order to repay the loan, you will need to supply your bank card details or deposit a cheque post-dated to a date when loans or other finance will be available. This is particularly useful at the start of University life when there may be delays in receiving loan payments or towards the end of term. Students will not be able to take out a short-term loan in the Summer Term. Application should be made to the Student Funding Office.

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Further information and contact details

The Student Funding Office is open daily to give assistance and advice to students on all aspects of funding whilst at University.

The Student Funding Office is located on the ground floor of Senate House in Tyndall Avenue. The office is open 9.00 am – 5.00 pm Monday – Friday during term time and vacations.

Please contact us if you have any questions regarding student support. Our telephone number is 0117 331 7972 and our email address is student-funding@bristol.ac.uk. Further details of all the above are available on the Student Funding Office web site and the address is: www.bristol.ac.uk/studentfunding.

Useful external web sites

The links below take you to web sites which may provide you with additional useful information. The Student Funding Office is not responsible for the content provided by these web sites.

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