Advanced Learner Loans

Advanced Learner loans (England only)

If you are 19 years of age or over and are thinking of starting a college course, at level 3 or above, you may qualify for one of the government’s new Advanced Learner Loans to help fund your studies.

It is easy to apply for a loan, there is no credit check and your household income isn’t taken into account; and what’s more, you won’t have to pay anything back until your income is over £524 a week, £2,274 a month or £27,295 a year

Who can apply for a loan?

To apply for a loan you must be:

• 19 years of age or over at the start of your course (there’s no upper age limit)
• enrolling onto a level 3, 4, 5 or 6 course (some exceptions apply)
• living in England on the first day of your course and have been living in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years previous to this. You may also qualify if you’re an EU national or a family member of one, a refugee, a migrant worker, the child of a Swiss national or the child of a Turkish worker

Find out if you are eligible for an Advanced Learning Loan here

Key facts

• The loans are not means tested, there are no credit checks and you will be able to apply for a loan regardless of your employment status
• You will not have to pay anything back until your income is over £524 a week, £2,274 a month or £27,295 a year
• Your loan will cover the course fees (or part of), and will be paid directly to the College
• The minimum amount you can borrow is £300
• You can apply for up to four loans, but you can only have one loan at a time. You must not have previously had a loan to do the same course subject at the same level.

Repayments and interest charges

Repayments

You will start paying back your loan (plus interest) in the April after you have completed the course, providing you are earning over £524 a week, £2,274 a month or £27,295 a year.

You can choose to apply to fund the course in full with a loan or by alternative funding (i.e. from an employer or personal investment).

If you are employed, your employer can make voluntary payments for part or the whole of the loan amount on your behalf. It is the responsibility of employers and employees to make individual agreements about loan repayment. We would encourage employers to take their own independent advice on how the tax rules apply to them and their employees in these circumstances; and any consequences of potential payments that they may make on behalf of their employees.

If you are an employee, your repayments will be taken automatically from your salary with your tax. If you are self employed you will make repayments as part of your Self Assessment tax return. If your income drops below this amount your repayments will stop.

Each month you will pay back 9% of any income over £27,295. An example of your monthly repayments would be:

• £20 a month if you earned £30,000 a year
• £35 a month if you earned £32,000 a year

You can choose to pay some, or all, of your loan at any time without an extra charge.

Interest

You’ll be charged interest on the loan from the day your first payment is made to your college or training organisation until your loan has been repaid in full. The interest on your loan will be based on inflation Retail Price Index (RPI)

How to find out more

Further details can be found on www.direct.gov.uk

Before you take out a loan you may wish to contact the Money Advice Service for free, unbiased money advice. It is important that, before you commit to a loan, you assess your borrowing needs, including any debts you may already have. You will also find some free online money tools and calculators on their site which may be helpful to you.

How to apply for a loan

If you wish to apply for an advanced learner loan you will need to contact our administration team to check your eligibility, they will then provide you with a letter detailing the amount of loan you can claim and provide you with a course reference number. You can then apply online on the Gov.uk website.

Student Loans Company helpline: 0300 100 0619

Advanced Learner Loan Bursary Fund

If you are over 19 years of age and in receipt of an Advanced Learning Loan and find yourself in financial hardship you can apply to The College of Animal Welfare Advanced Learning Loans Bursary Fund (funded by the Government) for financial assistance.

Applications can be made for support in the following areas:

• Hardship situations
• Childcare
• Providing additional support with your learning
• Making necessary adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 e.g. Getting or changing equipment

For further information and an application form please contact us.