Information about financial support available for 16-19 year olds.
From the start of academic year 2026 to 2027, students in households receiving Universal Credit will be entitled to free meals in further education, regardless of earnings.
A student must be aged 16 or over but under 19 on 31 August 2026 to be eligible to receive a free meal.
Students aged over 19 are eligible for a free meal if they either:
and you or your parent/guardian receive:
In addition to this, students within the above age category whose households receive Income related Employment Support Allowance (ESA) or the guaranteed element of Pension Credit may also be entitled to free college meals.
What you’ll receive:
We encourage all students who meet the criteria to make an application for free college meals.
Since 2018, some children have continued to receive free school meals, even if their family circumstances changed during the rollout of Universal Credit. This is referred to as transitional protections.
Now that entitlement is being expanded to all families on Universal Credit, these protections will end at the end of the 2025 to 2026 academic year.
This means:
Eligible students will be provided with a meal voucher for their full days in college, that can be redeemed at Grantham College Refectory.
Eligibility for free meals is assessed separately from bursary support therefore receipt of free college meals does not automatically entitle you to discretionary financial support from bursary, this is awarded based on separate eligibility.
Applications for free meals must be made via the PayMyStudent portal.
You will need to:
If you are making an application for bursary support as well as Free College Meals, this can be done within one application on the portal.
Students who fall within one of the categories listed below may be eligible to apply for the Vulnerable Bursary.
Students must be in receipt of DLA or PIP and ESA or UC to be eligible – receipt of DLA or PIP alone does not meet the criteria.
Students who meet the below criteria, may be eligible to apply for the16 -19 discretionary bursary.
We have a duty of care to ensure bursary support is distributed fairly to ALL eligible students and limits to the total amount awarded are in place to enable us to do this.
Young parents aged under 20 at the start of their course may be entitled to help with childcare costs of up to £180 per week whilst studying.
If you have a child/children and you require support with childcare to enable you to study at Grantham College, you can apply for support via Care to Learn.
You can find out more about Care to Learn, including eligibility and how to apply, at gov.uk/care-to-learn.
If you are enrolled on an eligible LIoT Level 4 or Level 5 course and reside in an eligible postcode area, the LIoT bursary may be available to you.
This financial support is only available to students living in Lincolnshire excluding the City of Lincoln and the eligibility criteria is set by LIoT and Quickline and not Grantham College.
Applications for bursary support must be made via the Pay My Student portal.
You will need to:
