All full time and part time students are eligible to purchase an online discounted student bus pass via the relevant bus company app (First Bus or Stagecoach) regardless of household income. The student pass will allow you to travel for a much cheaper cost compared to standard rate fares. The bus passes can be used to travel to college every day, all day. The bus passes can also be used at weekends – please see the section ‘Ordering a Bus Pass Without Financial Assistance’ to see how to do this. All bus passes must be used with a valid College ID card.
College purchased bus passes:
Students may be eligible for a bus pass that has been purchased by the College (at no cost to the student, unless you upgrade the pass) if they fit the below criteria:
If the above criteria are met, please see the section ‘How to Order a Bus with Financial Assistance’ and complete the application form.
If the application for ‘Student Travel & Support’ was successful, the student will also join the College Financial Assistance Scheme; this scheme covers the financial support which may be required to assist the student in studying their chosen course. The Financial Assistance Scheme will help towards essential course-related items, such as uniform, trips, printing credits, books, assessment fees (in some cases), professional fees such as the AAT membership fee, childcare assistance, equipment and kits.
We may still be able to help if the student is not in receipt of an income-based benefit – we recognise that there are some circumstances where a student may be experiencing financial difficulty preventing them from being able to make their college experience a successful one, but the household is not in receipt of an income-based benefit. In these situations, the College may still be able to help, please talk to a member of the Student Travel & Support Team and ask for a Discretionary Financial Assistance application form.
Free Student Meals – Students aged 19 or over are only eligible to receive a free meal if they are continuing on a study programme they began aged 16 to 18 (‘19+ continuers’) or have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP).
These two groups of aged 19 plus students can receive a free meal while they continue to attend education (in the case of a 19+ continuer, this must be the same programme they started before they turned 19), as long as their eligibility continues.
The Government introduced Advanced Learner Loans to help adult learners manage the costs of further education and training in England.
The student must be 19 or older on the first day of their course and studying a level 3, 4 or 5 course or if the student is aged between 19 – 23 and this will be their second Level 3 course or above.
HSDC may be able to help financially support learners who are being funded through a 19+ Advanced Learner Loan and in receipt of an income-based benefit.
We can assist with the following:
If you think you may be eligible, please complete the Financial Assistance Application Form.