It’s really important that you don’t let money matters get in the way of you attending college.
At North Hertfordshire College, we offer a range of financial support options through our college bursaries that support learners to access our courses. Whilst tuition is free for many NHC students, there may be some small costs throughout your course for things such as equipment, enrichment, and activities. Our bursaries can help eligible learners with the costs of travelling to college, free college meals, essential kit, DBS checks, and trips.
All our bursaries are linked to learners’ attendance and punctuality during their study programme. Learners must attend all lessons, including Personal and Academic Development (PAD), maths, and English (if applicable) to receive a bursary. The College reserves the right to stop or reduce learners’ payments if monthly attendance drops below 90%.
For all Discretionary Bursary Funds, the limited nature of the fund means meeting the criteria does not guarantee funding. Discretionary Bursaries are income assessed and operated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Am I eligible for a college bursary, and what am I likely to be awarded?
If your annual gross household income is £35,000 or below, you may be eligible for a college bursary.
Please use the Bursary Eligibility and Award Guidance and the drop-downs below to see if you are eligible before you apply.
What evidence do I need for my bursary application?
Each bursary application must have evidence uploaded to the application; the type of evidence will depend on the learner’s household income and circumstances, and be requested based on the answers you provide in your bursary application.
Evidence we accept:
- Universal Credit – all pages of statements (including breakdown calculations and deductions) covering the last 3 consecutive months (view an example)
- Pension/Pension Credit (State or Private) award letter dated after 1st April 2026
- Payslips for the last 3 months, and the most recent P60s for all employed adults in the household
- Tax Return for 2025/26 (self-employed)
- Care experience letter, if applicable
Most people in receipt of benefits have now moved over to Universal Credit. However, we are aware that some people may remain on legacy benefits. In this instance, we are able to accept the below, provided they are dated and show scheduled payment amounts within the current tax year:
- Income Support
- Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
How do I apply for a bursary?
New for 26/27 💥
Once learners have enrolled on their course at the end of August, they can apply for a bursary using the new online PayMyStudent Bursary Application Portal.
Learners will need to use their college ID number (which is printed on their NHC ID badge) their date of birth, and create a memorable password to register a PayMyStudent account. Once learners have created an account, they’ll need to activate the account by clicking the link sent in an email. This email may go to your junk/spam folder.
Please note, it may take up to 24 hours after enrolment for learners to be able to create a PayMyStudent account.
We do not accept paper or email applications, and are unable to accept evidence or bank details via email. All application and supporting evidence must be made online using the PayMyStudent Bursary Application Portal.
To avoid delays to your application, please do not upload screenshots unless they show a complete statement in one single screenshot. We suggest downloading your statements as a PDF.
We do not accept Personal Independence Payment (PIP) as a standalone piece of evidence; we are only able to accept PIP with other qualifying evidence for the vulnerable bursary. Please view the 16-19 Vulnerable Bursary section of this page for further information.
Financial support options at North Hertfordshire College:
To be eligible for the 16 – 19 Discretionary Bursary, you will be at least 16 and under 19* on 31st August at the start of the academic year, and able to evidence a gross household income of £35,000 per annum or below, with applicable evidence outlined in the online application form.
*If you are 19 and returning for the second year of the same level of a study programme, or have an EHCP, your bursary may be through the 16-19 Discretionary Bursary.
Learners aged under 20 on the date they start their course who have childcare needs while at college are likely to be eligible for Care to Learn funding.
Eligible learner receive support with childcare costs for term-time, timetabled days and hours only, with a maximum of £180 per week per child.
Please note that the care provider must be OFSTED registered.
Care to Learn is an official government scheme. For more details, please visit the official website.
Alternative financial support offer:
Some of the other places you could be able to access grants of bursaries from include:
- www.hertsdirect.org
- www.family-action.org.uk
- Princes Trust Development Award – via Live Chat
- Hitchin Youth Trust – 01462 422505
To be eligible for the 16-19 Vulnerable Learner Bursary, you will be at least 16 years old and under 19 years old on 31st August at the start of the academic year, and defined as one of the below vulnerable groups:
- You are in care, or you recently left local authority care
- You (the learner) receive Income Support or Universal Credit because you are financially supporting yourself
- You (the learner) receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) or Personal Independence Payments (PIP), and Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) or Universal Credit (UC)
- All of these benefits must be received by the learner in their own right
Learners must be in receipt of DLA or PIP, and ESA or UC to be eligible – receipt for DLA or PIP alone does not meet the criteria.
The amount you may get depends on the costs you have and what you need for your course. We will assess the student’s financial need to enable them to participate in learning, e.g. travel costs, trips, meals, kit costs, etc. If these costs are met from other sources of support, then we may not be able to award any funds.
The Adult Skills Fund 19+ Bursary supports learners studying a government-funded course at Level 3 or below.
To be eligible, the learner must be aged 19 or over on 31st August at the start of the academic year, with a gross household income of £35,000 per annum or below. The household income includes all earning and/or in receipt of eligible benefits within the household the learner lives in.
Please note, learners accessing the Adult Skills Fund bursary are responsible for informing the DWP about the bursary support they are receiving, as bursary support may affect eligibility for state benefits.
We’ve created a guide specifically for the advanced learner loan. Please click the button below to find out more.
Find out more about Advanced Learner Loans
Additional Advanced Learning Loan Discretionary Bursary
To be eligible for the Advanced Learner Loan Discretionary Bursary, you will be:
- An approved Advanced Learner Loan applicant from Student Finance England
- Able to evidence a gross household income of £35,000 per annum or below.
The Advanced Learner Loan Discretionary Bursary entitles eligible applicants to support with the cost of travelling to college, essential kit/equipment, and childcare.
All students on one of NHC’s T Level courses are eligible for our T Level support fund and bursary to help pay for any costs associated with your placement.
You can find out more about this bursary by visiting our T Level Bursary page.
Learners under the age of 25 years old who are studying an apprenticeship who are defined as a care leaver may be eligible for the Care Leaver Apprenticeship Bursary.
Learners who think this may apply to them should visit the Student Hub at their main campus.
Tuition fees for 16-18 year olds
NHC pathways:
No course fees, the government fully funds your course.
Tuition fees for 19 – 23 year olds
NHC pathways:
It’s possible that you won’t need to pay any course fees if one of the following circumstances applies:
- You’re unemployed and receiving specific state benefits
- You’re earning less than £18,525 annual gross salary
- You’re studying your first level 1, level 2, or level 3 qualification
Not all courses meet the requirements to be funded by the DfE, and are sometimes not available for fee-based financial support. If you have any queries about whether you could study your course for free, please contact enquiries@nhc.ac.uk
24+ Years Old
It’s possible that you won’t need to pay any course fees if one of the following circumstances applies:
- You’re unemployed and receiving specific state benefits
- You’re earning less than £18,525 annual gross salary
- You’re studying a level 3 qualification that is on the ‘Level 3 Courses for Jobs’ offer list and you meet the eligibility criteria
Not all courses meet the requirements to be funded by the DfE and are sometimes not available for fee remission. If you have any queries about whether you could study your course for free, please contact enquiries@nhc.ac.uk
Degree-level higher education courses
Course fees vary depending on the course you choose to study. For more information, please check your course information page.
You may be able to take advantage of discounted travel through local travel schemes.
16-17 Rail Saver Card
Available to use until your 18th birthday. This card provides up to 50% off train tickets, including peak tickets.
Central Bedfordshire Young Person’s Bus Pass
Free to apply for. This card caps the price of single bus tickets that start or end in Central Bedfordshire at £1.50.
Hertfordshire Bus Fare Cap Scheme
This system caps single tickets at £3 when travelling anywhere in Hertfordshire with participating bus providers.
To be eligible to receive Free College Meals, the student must be aged 16 to 18 on 31st August at the start of the academic year. If the student turns 19 during their programme of study, they will continue to be supported to the end of the academic year in which they reach the age of 19, or to the end of the programme of study (same level of qualification).
Free Meals are targeted at disadvantaged students. For the purpose of eligibility for free meals, ‘disadvantaged’ is defined as students being in receipt of, or having parents/carers in receipt of, one or more of the following benefits:
- Universal Credit
- Receiving support under part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999
Learners eligible for Free College Meals will be allocated a meal allowance for each timetabled day. Details on how learners access free college meals are available in a bursary award letter once they have an approved bursary.
Click here to find out more.
Frequently asked questions about financial support from North Hertfordshire College
Yes. Learners need to apply for a bursary each year they study at North Hertfordshire College.
Details on where and when to make the application can be found further up this page – click here to jump to that section.
The bursary can support eligible students with the costs of travel to college, meals, childcare costs for timetabled college days, essential kit, trips, and DBS checks.
Details of what each bursary can offer can be found in the Bursary Eligibility and Award Guidance.
The bursary does not cover tuition fee costs.
Once you have submitted your application, the team will assess your application within 10 working days.
Details about your application, including what you have been awarded, will be emailed to you and will also be viewable in the documents section of the PayMyStudent Bursary Portal. Please check your junk/spam folder in your email account if you cannot see this.
If we contact you asking for further details, such as evidence or bank details, you will need to update this in the PayMyStudent Bursary Application Portal and resubmit your application. The team will assess your application within 10 working days of resubmission.
We base the amount of travel money learners receive from the bursary on the distance and method they travel to college, in line with local discounted travel schemes.
If a learner is 16-18 and uses the train, we will award the money for a 16-17 Rail Saver Card and base awarded bursary travel money on the price of train tickets using this card.
Learners travelling by bus will benefit from the Bus Fare Cap Scheme, which is capped at £3 per journey until 31st December 2026. In January 2027, the fares will be capped further at £2 per journey.
Those living in Central Bedfordshire aged 16-19 can benefit from the Young Person’s Public Transport Discount Card, which caps tickets starting or ending in Central Bedfordshire at £1 per journey.
How travel money is paid:
Travel money will be paid directly to the learner into their bank account.
Travel money will be paid based on a minimum of 90% monthly attendance to all lessons, which learners sign an agreement about before they submit their application. September’s travel money will be paid without taking attendance into account to enable learners the best start to college, and all travel payments after this will be paid based on attendance.
How kit, enrichment, trips, and DBS fees are paid:
Essential kit, enrichment, trips, and DBS checks will be paid either directly to the curriculum department, or to the learner, depending on the curriculum area or if the learner has already purchased the items.
How free college meals are paid:
The way free college meal payments are made depend on the campus you’re studying at. The way in which meals are allocated may vary. The bursary award notice will detail exactly how you can access your free college meals.
Supported Studies cooking costs:
These are paid directly to the learner* to enable them to purchase the ingredients with college staff at a local supermarket ahead of their cooking lessons.
*please see below drop down if the learner does not have their own bank account
How childcare payments are made:
Childcare elements of our bursaries are paid directly to the childcare provider on receipt of their invoice.
We are unable to pay bursary payments to parents/carers/guardians or anyone other than the learner, unless there is a legal proof of appointeeship in place.
If learners do not have a bank account and there is not an appointeeship in place, we encourage you to open a bank accoutn.
If there is a legal appointeeship in place which allows someone else to manage the learner’s finances, please provide proof of this by uploading the document to the bursary application.
All scheduled bursary payments are viewable through the PayMyStudent Bursary Application Portal. Login to your portal using the password you created when you made your application. If you have forgotten your password, please follow the forgotten password link – the NHC team is unable to reset your password for you.
Payments may take up to 3 working days to reach your bank account from the due date shown.
Please note the travel payments for September may not be paid on the date shown for that payment if your application was approved after the date shown. This will be paid on the next payment run.
Please visit the Student Hub if you have an questions related to your payment.
Bursary payments are paid based on learners having 90% monthly attendance to all lessons, including maths and/or English (if applicable), and PAD. If your attendance is below this, the College reserves the right to stop or reduce your payment.
If you do not believe your overall monthly attendance payment is correct, please speak to your tutor or Head/Deputy Head of Curriculum who can look into this and discuss it with you.
The Student Hub team will not be able to pay bursary payments until curriculum departments confirm the attendance recorded was incorrect.
First time using PayMyStudent:
You will need to register for an account on the ‘Register’ section of the site. You’ll need to use your student number (found on your ID badge) and your date of birth, and you’ll need to create a memorable password. You’ll then receive an activation email to activate your online account. Please check your junk/spam email folder for this if you have not received it.
Once your account is activated, you’ll be able to use the login section to make your bursary application.
Used PayMyStudent at another college, first time using it at NHC:
You’ll need to register for PayMyStudent again using NHC’s link to start your bursary application.
Forgotten your password:
Please follow the ‘Forgotten Password’ section of the portal. NHC’s Student Hub team are unable to reset your password for you.
We are unable to accept paper or email applications, and cannot accept evidence or bank details via email.
All application and supporting evidence must be made online using the PayMyStudent Bursary Application Portal.
If you do not have access to the internet, please visit Student Hub at each campus to talk with a member of the team.
If your bursary application was declined, you will be unable to make any changes to the application. You can appeal the decision by following the steps in your ‘declined’ letter, and the bursary appeals procedure.
There is no guarantee that an appeal will result in the declined bursary being overturned. In such scenarios, the learner will be responsible for covering all costs.
If you have read the information on this page including the Bursary Eligibility and Award Guidance document and require further support, please visit the Student Hub at your campus to speak with a member of the team.
Alternatively, you can email bursaries@nhc.ac.uk, and the team will endeavour to respond to you within 10 working days