In March 2011, the Government announced a new 16-19 Bursary Fund scheme to provide financial assistance to those young people who face a financial barrier to continuing in education or training post-16. The scheme was put in place as a partial replacement for the Education Maintenance Allowance, which closed to new applicants on 1st January 2011.

The 16 to 19 Bursary Fund: pays a bursary of up to £1,200 a year to support young people in one of the defined vulnerable groups (those who do not have access to parental support and those receiving certain benefits in their own right) in participating in education. It also enables institutions to make discretionary awards to those young people they assess as facing the greatest financial barriers to participation.This policy sets out the arrangements for how St John’s Catholic Comprehensive School (the School) will prioritise and administer the 16-19 Bursary Fund in 2025/26.

The School is committed to ensuring the Fund is used to support financially disadvantaged young people taking up or continuing in their education or training post-16 and achieving their learning aims.

The named contact at the School for all 16-19 Bursary support/enquiries is Mrs Chambers (sixthformadmissions@stj.kent.sch.uk). Should you require any information or would like support with completing or discussing your application, please do not hesitate to contact her and we will be happy to support with your enquiry.