Fees for students aged 19+

Studying a college course involves making an investment of your time, effort and sometimes you money. We aim to provide a high quality learning experience to make sure you get the best return on your investment.

In this section we explain who may need to pay fees. If you need further advice, please call our advisers on 0800 371 434.

Fees for students under 18

There is no tuition fee for government funded courses for students under 18.Please remember there may be a materials fee for your course.
The college runs a bursary scheme to support students with these costs.

Tuition fees
Tuition fees apply to most courses for people aged 19 and over and you will still need to pay for equipment and material cost as required.

• Tuition fee remission Tuition fees are waived for students 19+ who are enrolled on eligible courses and who are in receipt of either Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA IR). Students who are eligible for fee remission will not need to pay tuition fees, however, will be required to pay for any exam/material costs.
• Free tuition All of our literacy and numeracy courses as well as most of our job seeking courses are free to Home students.
• Level 1 offer – If you are 19 or over and studying on a course at Level 1 or Entry level you may not need to pay tuition fees if you have committed to a progression route to a Level 2 course.
• Level 2 offer - If you are over 19 and studying your first full Level 2 qualification, that is Skills Funding Agency funded, you may be eligible for free tuition fees, however you will be required to pay for any exam/material costs. Level 2 qualifications are equivalent to five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C or NVQ Level 2.
• Level 3 offer - If you are aged between 19-24 and studying your first full Level 3 qualification that is Skills Funding Agency funded you may be eligible for free tuition fees, however you will be required to pay for any exam/material costs. Level 3 qualifications are equivalent to two A levels or NVQ Level 3. Exam and other related course fees are still payable. Please ask our advisors for more information if you think you might be eligible.

International Students
If you are not a Home/EU student* you may be liable to pay a tuition fee higher than those listed in our prospectus. Further information about your fee status in accordance with government regulations and the fees payable are available by speaking to our advisors.

Home/EU fee status

To qualify for Home/EU fees you normally need to be a national from the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland or specified overseas territories, have settled status in the UK, or fall into one of several other categories. To check, please contact our advisors on 0800 371 434.

Examination, registration fees and other costs

Exam and/or registration fees, if applicable, are payable at enrolment. Should you need to resit any examinations, additional charges may be payable. For some courses you will also need to buy books or other materials including printing costs. Please ask for details at interview (if applicable) or when enrolling. The college provides a number of bursaries to assist with the cost of college. Funds are limited so early application is advised. Please see our money matters 19+ page for more details.

College ID card

All enrolled students are required to have a college ID card and there will be a small charge for this card when you enrol.

Payments

All fees are payable at enrolment unless you are eligible for free tuition or you are making staged payments.

Staged payments (if your tuition fee is over £150)
For your convenience we offer a staged payment plan, spreading your payments over an agreed period of time if the course duration is longer than 14 weeks and costs more than £150. A £20 administration fee is payable for this service. 40 per cent of the total fee is payable at enrolment. The remainder of the fee is paid in up to three further payments.

Discounts
If you choose not to stage your payment, you could receive an early settlement discount on tuition fees providing you have enrolled and paid before the start of the course.

Refunds
Fees are normally non-refundable unless we cancel the course.