Student and Free School Meals Awards

All applications and supporting evidence must be submitted to QAC by Friday 09th October 2026.


IMPORTANT!
QAC Bursary and Free Meals for 2026-27

Queen Alexandra College has a small annual allocation of bursary funding available to support learners experiencing financial hardship. The aim of this funding is to ensure that no learner is financially disadvantaged in accessing their education at QAC.

Bursary support will be provided both as payments in kind—such as contributions towards transport costs, meals (via the ‘School Pay’ system), and learning materials specified in the application. These payments will be provided through direct payment to suppliers, travel passes, equipment purchase or reimbursement rather than cash payments. If this is not possible, they will be paid directly to the student on a termly basis, with three payments distributed over the academic year. The majority of the bursary allocation is used to help offset increasing transport and meal costs for students and their families.

As part of this support, eligible students can also apply for free school meals, which will be a separate application. This additional provision helps ensure that all students have access to a nutritious meal each day, further reducing the financial pressure on families.

There is specific ‘government set’ criteria to meet in order to be eligible for a bursary award. Please consider the information below carefully before deciding whether to apply.

Even if you have applied previously for the bursary from QAC, you will still need to apply again and provide the information requested in the eligibility criteria.

Bursary details:
1. Enhanced bursary award – this is only available if a young person meets the
following government set criteria:

To qualify for bursary support, a learner must be aged 16 or over and under the age of 19 on 31st August 2026 at the time they commence learning. In addition, they must meet at least one of the following criteria:

Any 1 (or more) of the following:
• Is in care
• Is a care leaver
• Receives Income Support (IS) or Universal Credit (UC) in place of Income Support in their own name
• Receives Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit and Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP) in their own name

2. Discretionary Bursary award

Discretionary bursaries are available to eligible students who face financial hardship and require support with the essential costs of participating in education. QAC will assess both eligibility and need. Meeting an income threshold does not automatically entitle a student to support. All awards will be based on an assessment of actual participation costs, including travel, equipment, meals and other essential course-related expenditure. Support will be targeted towards students whose financial circumstances would otherwise present a barrier to participation in education.

Eligibility:
• Be aged 16 or over and under 19 on 31st August 2026 for which support is being requested, or
• Be a 19+ continuing student with an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) who remains on the same study programme started when aged 16–18.
Students must also:
• Be enrolled on an eligible QAC study programme
• Meet residency requirements for DfE funding
• Have assessed financial need connected to participation in education Household Income Bands

For the purposes of assessing financial hardship, QAC will use the following household income bands which are reviewed annually having regard to demand, local economic conditions and available bursary funding:

Band Gross Household Income
Band 1 Up to £30,500 and/or receipt of qualifying income-based benefits
Band 2 £30,500 - £37,000 
Band3 £37,000 - £45,000


These thresholds may be reviewed annually in line with changes in funding guidance and affordability.
Please complete the online application form (available on QAC website).

Links for the forms are:

If you need assistance with the application, please email bursary@qac.ac.uk

Please note for the online application, you will need to scan and upload all original supporting documents.

If you have specific questions or concerns regarding the Bursary or free school meals forms, please contact bursary@qac.ac.uk