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Further Education
Further Education in the United Kingdom is education in addition to that received at secondary school, that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications (such as NVQ).
Further Education in the United Kingdom is usually a means to attain an intermediate, advanced or follow-up qualification necessary to progress into HE, or to begin a specific career path.
Student Loan Company
To qualify for funding from Student Finance England (SFE), you must meet the general eligibility rules. However, even if you meet these rules, if you have studied on a higher education course in the past (whether in the UK or abroad), your entitlement to funding for a new full-time undergraduate degree course will be affected. Study on an earlier higher education course will affect your entitlement to receive Student Finance England funding for a new course.
Whether you qualify for an Undergraduate loan depends on your:
You may also be eligible if you:
- Are a refugee;
- Have humanitarian protection (as a result of a failed application for asylum);
- Are a migrant worker;
- Are the child of a Swiss national or Turkish worker who is working in the UK;
- Under humanitarian protection or a relative of someone who has been granted it;
- not a UK national but you’ve lived in the UK for at least 20 years (or at least half of your life);
- a serving member of the UK armed forces (or their spouse or civil partner or a dependent parent living with them);
Whether you qualify for an Undergraduate loan depends on your:
- Be a UK / EU national or a family member of one;
- An EU applicant must be ordinarily resident in the UK or elsewhere in the EEA and/or Switzerland for the 3 years immediately before the 1st September of the year in which you start your course (you can ignore any short absences, such as holidays);
- Non-UK nationals must have settled status on the first day of the first academic year of the course – which could be 1 September, 1 January, 1 April or 1 July;
- International students can also apply if they have been resident in the EU for the last 3 years or have been a resident in the UK for the 5 years prior to the start of their course, with an immigration status that allows them to stay in the UK, with no restrictions;
The course you plan to study must be in the UK and one of the following:
- First degree, eg BA, BSc or BEd;
- Foundation Degree;
- Certificate of Higher Education;
- Higher National Certificate (HNC);
- Higher National Diploma (HND);
- Diploma of Higher Education (DipHE);
- Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE);
- Initial Teacher Training (ITT);
- Master of Science (MSc);
- Master of Art (MA);
- Master of Philosophy (MPhil);
- Master of Research (MRes);
- Master of Law (LLM);
- Master of Letters (MLitt);
- Master of Fine Art (MFA);
- Master of Education (MEd);
- Master of Business Administration (MBA);
Higher Education
Higher Education is a post-secondary education which refers to any education beyond high-school. Higher education is divided in two categories of courses: undergraduate and postgraduate.
How To Progress
If you did not gain the traditional qualifications required to progress to Higher Education when you were at school, such as A levels or Baccalaureate now you have the chance to apply for an Advanced Learning Loan and progress to Higher Education without any previous qualifications. Courses like Access to Higher education and Level 3 courses will give you the possibility to gain access to Higher Education.
To apply you must be 19 or older on the first day of your course. There are no upper age limits to apply for an Advanced Learning Loan.
Eligibility
Whether you qualify for an Advanced Learning Loan depends on your:
If you are planning to access at any time later an undergraduate or post-graduate loan, those will not be affected by the presence of an Advanced Learning Loan.
Courses covered could include A levels, Access to Higher Education Diploma and Qualifications from level 3 to 6.
All funds can be accessed and returned strictly in accordance with the terms and conditions of Student Loan Company. The eligibility conditions are calculated according to the circumstances of each applicant. All Tuition Fee Loans and Maintenance Loans are fully refundable.
Apply For Funding
Please fill out the form below to find out if you are eligible for government funds. After submitting the form we will process your application and get back to you with more information about your eligibility.