UK Student Finance
An A-Z of Student Finance

Financing Teacher Training

All students who study a course of Initial Teacher Training are entitled to some type of financial help. This page shows you the type of finance you can get, depending on the training route you choose.

Postgraduates

Postgraduate routes into teaching include studying for a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE), or taking a School-Centred Initial Teacher Training course (this often leads to a PGCE).

The Costs

If you’re starting a postgraduate course of Initial Teacher Training in England from 2006/2007, you can be charged the new variable fees for eligible full-time higher education students of up to £3,000 a year.

If you are studying in 2005/2006, you are likely to have your fees paid for you in full.

Financial Help

New students in 2006/2007 will be able to apply for:

·        a Student Loan for Fees to cover the total amount of your tuition fees (this does not depend on your income)

·        a Maintenance Grant of up to £2,700 a year (as a PGCE student you will get at least £1,200 of this; the rest depends on your household income)

·        a Student Loan for Maintenance

Part-Time Postgraduates

If you are studying a part-time postgraduate course of Initial Teacher Training, you’re treated as if you were a full-time student for the purposes of financial support. However, your course should not take more than twice as long to complete as an equivalent full-time course.

If your periods of study add up to less than 10 weeks throughout the year, your university will only be able to charge you up to £1,500 a year in tuition fees.

You will be entitled to an appropriate percentage of the guaranteed part of the Maintenance Grant (£1,200) available for full-time postgraduates.

Training Bursaries for Postgraduates

Postgraduate students on PGCE or School-Centred Initial Teacher Training courses can also apply for a training bursary from the Training and Development Agency for Schools.

In 2006/2007, you can apply for a training bursary of:

·        £9,000 (£225 a week) if you train in secondary maths, science, English, drama, information and communications technology, design and technology, modern languages, religious education or music

·        £6,000 (£150 a week) if you train in any other secondary subject or as a primary teacher

In 2005/2006, you can apply for a bursary of:

·        £7,000 (£175 a week) if you train in secondary maths or science

·        £6,000 (£150 a week) if you train in any other secondary subject

You can find out more about the financial incentives for postgraduate trainee teachers at the Department for Education and Skills website.

 

One-off Taxable Bonus

As well as the training bursary, postgraduate students on PGCE or School-Centred Initial Teacher Training courses may also be entitled to a one-off taxable bonus called a ‘golden hello’.

Golden hellos are available to eligible newly-qualified teachers in England who have trained to teach in: English (including drama); information and communications technology; design and technology; modern foreign languages; religious education; music; mathematics; or science.

Mathematics and science attract £5,000 and all other priority subjects £2,500.

Undergraduates

Undergraduate courses for Initial Teacher Training are funded in the same way as other eligible full-time higher education courses.

If you start your course from 2006/2007, your university can charge you variable fees of up to £3,000 a year.

If you started your course in the 2005/2006 academic year or before, your fee contribution will be up to:

£1,175 in 2005/2006

£1,200 in 2006/2007

Financial Help

If you start your course in 2006/2007 or later, you can apply for:

·        a Student Loan for Fees to cover the total amount of your tuition fees (this does not depend on your income)

·        a Maintenance Grant of up to £2,700 a year (depending on your household income)

·        a Student Loan for Maintenance

If you started your degree course before September 2006, in 2005/2006 you can apply for:

·        a tuition fee grant to cover some or all of your tuition fee contribution (depending on your household income)

·        a Student Loan for Maintenance (25 per cent of this is based on your income)

If you started your degree course in either 2004/2005 or 2005/2006, you can also apply for:

·        a Higher Education Grant of up to £1,000 a year to help with living costs (depending on your household income)
 

 

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