Futures Programmes – Eligibility Guidelines

We determine which areas have a low level of progression onto higher education using your permanent home postcode and measuring this against data provided by the government. The data we use to judge eligibility is provided by the Office for National Statistics and the Office for Students.

You can check if you are eligible under this criterion using our online postcode checker.

You can demonstrate your eligibility for this criterion if:

• You receive or are eligible for Free School Meals during GCSE or A Level studies;
• you receive the 16-19 Bursary Fund or Learner Support (19+), with an income threshold of £25,000 or below;
• neither of the above apply, but the total taxable income in your household from employment or benefits does not exceed £25,000.

You are eligible under this criterion if either one or both of your parent(s) / guardian(s):

• have not previously completed an undergraduate degree or higher – this includes any degree course obtained at a university or polytechnic, either in the UK or overseas.
• have started but not completed a higher education course
• hold a higher education certificate (HNC) or higher education diploma (HND) from a university, but not a degree
• have undertaken a degree level university course during your secondary education
• studied for an Open University or similar distance learning degree.
• your parent/guardian has obtained a work-based higher education qualification which has been completed on a part-time basis.
• hold a higher education qualification, but you are estranged from them, with little or no contact or influence from them.

This is checked using results for the year you sat your GCSE exams. If you completed your GCSEs in 2020, we will use school performance data from 2019 to assess your eligibility.

The national average Attainment 8 score in 2019 was 46.7.

If you changed schools since completing your GCSEs or have completed examinations over more than one year, the results from any year and school in which a GCSE examination has been taken can be used.

You can check the score for your school using School performance tables on the Department for Education website.

You will need to search for the school at which you took your GCSE exams and scroll down to find the Attainment 8 score for the year in which you took them. Results are shown for the latest academic year but you can find previous year’s results if you click on the ‘Results over time’ button.

To be eligible under this criterion, you should have lived or spent time in public care at any point growing up, or be currently living in care.

You meet this criterion if your recent studies have been disrupted or negatively affected by circumstances beyond your control. Circumstances considered include:

• physical or mental health conditions
• a recent close family bereavement
• being a young carer
• difficult home life or personal situation
• living independently from family

We would generally consider circumstances that have occurred from GCSE studies onwards and / or during sixth form, unless there has been a significant, ongoing impact from an earlier point.

Disruption due to Covid-19 pandemic

Because the pandemic has affected everyone, we cannot consider the general disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic under this criterion, unless your circumstances are extreme, e.g. you were seriously ill, you have suffered a close bereavement, significant caring responsibilities, very difficult or dangerous home life.