If you are studying a further education course and you are aged 16 or over, you may be able to receive some form of financial assistance.

Education maintenance allowance (EMA)

Education maintenance allowances were introduced in September 2004 for all students who stay in full time education after their GCSEs. If you are eligible for an education maintenance allowance you may receive up to £30 per week paid directly to you while you are studying through your course. Payment of an EMA does not affect any other support or benefits paid by the government to your parents.

All students who are aged 16, 17 or 18 in the 2010/11 academic year may be eligible. In 2009/10 the qualifying household income limit was £30,810. You can find out more on the Education Maintenance Allowances page..

Learner support fund

You may also be eligible for some additional assistance from the learner support fund. This fund can be used to help students aged 16 and over with the costs they may incur when taking further education courses. These costs could include books and equipment, emergencies and field trips or educational visits. If you have particular financial difficulties or hardship you may be eligible for additional financial help. Please contact the Student Support Section on 0845 3452153, the Head of Sixth Form at your school or student services at your college for more information.

Travel assistance

You can apply on line for travel assistance by downloading the  Post 16 Transport Application Form [109kb].

If you are over 16, you can apply for a bus pass using our application pack.

• To ensure you receive your pass before the beginning of term, please submit your application before 31 July 2010. You can apply for a bus pass at any time
• It may take up to two weeks to process your application and you may have to finance your travel until you receive your pass.
• The Education Office - Harrogate process your application and if you are entitled to a pass they will forward a request to Integrated Passenger Transport.
• If you are allocated a pass on one of our school buses it will normally take seven working days to process.
• If you are allocated a place on a local bus service then it can take up to two weeks to process.

You can download the document  "Other sources of financial assistance" [21kb] for information about other types of financial assistance to which you may be entitled.

Useful downloads Post 16 Transport Policy Statement 2010 [100kb] Post 16 Transport Policy Statement 2010 Post-16 transport application pack [287kb] Application form and information on how to apply Post 16 travel assistance to schools and colleges [41kb] Information Sheet about travel assistance to schools and colleges Post 16 transport application form [109kb] Apply for assistance with transport to school or college Other sources of financial assistance [21kb] Other sources of financial assistance Post 16 transport application direct debit mandate [53kb] Direct debit mandate for use with post 16 transport application form   Weblinks Please note: All external websites open in a new browser window. North Yorkshire County Council is not responsible for the content of external websites. Education Maintenance Allowances Find out more about Education Maintenance Allowances. Post 16 financial assistance - frequently asked questions What is the transport policy for children over the age of 16? What other sources of financial support are there? Contacts Student support section student.support@northyorks.gov... Tel: 0845 3452153 Fax: 01423 709048 Full details for Student support section