New students starting in September: You can find more information about Induction days and submitting your GCSE results in our Start of Year Guide.
financial support for 16-19 students
Students can apply to receive a bursary which could include support for travel, free school meals and kit for courses where this is a compulsory requirement.
Students who qualified for free meals at school can apply for a meal deal card to use at College. You will also be eligible if parent/carers are in receipt of various means-tested benefits as set out in the 'Free Meals in Further Education' guidance.
If you are aged over 16 and under 19 on 31 August you will not normally be charged fees for tuition.
Bursary applications are made online via PayMyStudent. Before applying you must choose your travel option.
16-18 Truro and Penwith student travel bursary rates
The following bursary information is for students who have applied to study at the Truro campus and Penzance campus.
The bursary bandings are based on total household income per applicant and may reduce the total bus pass down to the payment listed below:
To ensure bursary support is in place by the start of term, you must apply by Thursday 21 August. Bursary rates shown are for Go Cornwall for 2025/26 year only. Contribution rates are based on current bus pass costs charged by the bus company which are subject to annual increases.
| Go Cornwall Bus Pass (Tendered or Local) | ||
| Family annual household income | Band | Cost to Learner |
| Over £50k | D | £800 |
| £50k and under | C | £700 |
| £35k and under | B* | £400 |
| £25k and under | A* | £150 |
*Essential course kit is supported for qualifications that require clothing for PPE purposes or Sports Kit for the main qualification.
If you are band D: Only apply for a bursary if you are using Go Cornwall tendered bus service, this is because there is an additional subsidy for this service.
Go Cornwall bus pass applications for those not eligible for bursary support will open early August via the College’s PayMyStudent portal.
To find out more about transport to and from College, visit our Transport page here.
16-18 STEM & Health Skills Centre Bodmin student travel bursary rates
To ensure bursary support is in place by the start of term, you must apply by Friday 01 August. If you apply after this date, we cannot guarantee that your application will be processed in time. This may mean you’ll need to cover the full cost of travel until your bursary is confirmed. You will need to select your transport option and provide proof of your household income before your application can be completed and processed.
| Band A – up to £25,000 | Annual Bus pass cost £150 per year plus bursary support for essential course kit* |
| Band B – between £25,001 > £35,000 | Annual Bus pass cost £400 per year plus bursary support for essential course kit* |
| Band C – between £35,001 > £50,000 | Annual Bus pass cost £700 per year |
| Band D – over £50,000 | Annual Bus pass cost £800 per year |
*Essential course kit is supported for qualifications that require clothing for PPE purposes.
To find out more about transport to and from College, visit our Transport page here.
Council Assisted Transport
The Bursary is available for other bus and rail operators in the unlikely situation you cannot be accommodated by Go Cornwall or Stagecoach. However, you may find your contributions are higher. These too are means assessed.
Please see below regarding Council Assisted Transport.
| Council Buses £674 per annum | ||
| Amount | Band | Cost to Learner |
| Over 50k | D | £674 |
| Under 50k | C | £674 |
| Under 35k | B | £400 |
| Under 25k | A | £150 |
| Full | A | £0 |
For assisted transport, the deadline to apply and pay your contribution to the Council is Sunday 27 July. To allow time for eligibility assessment and advance payments for the start of term, bursary applications must be submitted to us by Friday 11 July.
What you need to know
- The bursary application process will open on Monday 30 June.
- To ensure bursary support is in place by the start of term, you must apply by the deadlines.
- If you apply after the deadlines, we cannot guarantee that your application will be processed in time. This may mean you’ll need to cover the full cost of travel until your bursary is confirmed.
- We strongly advise that you apply on Monday 30 June to avoid delays and make the most of all available transport options.
- You will need to select your transport option and provide proof of your household income before your application can be completed and processed.
- In the unlikely situation you cannot be accommodated by Go Cornwall or Stagecoach, our college bursary is available to support costs for other bus, rail and council assisted services. These are also means assessed.
FAQs
The College bursary can be used towards costs associated with transport; this can be a bus pass or council assisted transport. Additionally, when you are applying for this, we also assess your eligibility for free school meals and contributions towards essential kit. All payments will be towards the actual participation costs for attending college and completing the student’s course.
Current options for bus passes are explained fully on our Transport page: www.truro-penwith.ac.uk/transport/. Please review these carefully, ensuring the option you’ve chosen covers your route to college.
PLEASE NOTE: once you have chosen your transport option on your bursary application, you will not be able to change this until spring term (January).
- Parent carer choses transport: We won’t be able to assess and complete your application until you have chosen your transport option. Please see our transport page: www.truro-penwith.ac.uk/transport/ to make your choice of transport.
- Collect income evidence: See the FAQ below for accepted evidence.
- The student, parent or carer apply via Pay My Student: Truro and Penwith College Online Student Portal
- We make an assessment: When we receive this application, we will make our assessment and get back to you via email regarding your eligible funding. Please note, we will have a high volume of applications, therefore you may not get a response immediately.
Applications made before 21 August will be completed ready for the start of the next academic year.
See below for accepted evidence types to prove household income:
- Universal Credit - screenshots of at least the last three months statements. This must include your name and address. Please ensure that you include the blue box containing your total payment amount and the page showing any deductions such as any income from work.
- Working Tax Credit - all pages of your current award, which must show your earnings.
- Child Tax Credit - all pages of your current award which must show your earnings. P60 OR evidence of last 3 months working income, plus any evidence of benefits received.
- Self-assessment Tax calculation OR letter from your accountant, plus any evidence of benefits received.
- Job Seekers Allowance - this should be all pages, showing income and calculations. Employment and Support Allowance- this should be all pages, showing income and calculations.
- Income Support - this should be all pages, showing income and calculations.
- Housing Benefit - this should be all pages, showing income and calculations.
- Private Pension or Pension Credit - together with any other earnings or benefits received. Savings/Investments/any other income - please include in evidence.
- For children in care, care leavers we require a care status letter from the local authority.
- If you are living independently of parents or carers, we require universal credit statements and a tenancy agreement.
- If the student receives two benefits in their own name, e.g. universal credit/ ESA and PIP or DLA then we require evidence of these to make an award.
If you have only just started receiving a certain type of benefit or have only just started a new job, please send us as much evidence as possible. We will make an award based on this; however, we will need the rest of the evidence as soon as possible. We will then re-assess based upon this. Please be aware that your award might change, and further payment may be required.
If you have previously received Free School Meals, you may be able to receive them at college. If your total household income is below £16,190 per year and you are not receiving working tax credits OR if you receive Universal Credit and your working income is below £7,400, you may be eligible.
We can support with contributions towards essential kit and equipment depending on your household income (under £35,000) and the course you are enrolled on.
You can apply for this on your main bursary application.
For under 20’s, support for childcare is available via Care to Learn.
For learners on an access course, we can support with childcare if your total household income is below £35,000.
June- September are our busiest months for processing bursaries, if you submit your application early in the summer you may not hear back from us for a few weeks. If you are trying to contact us in September, please be aware we may not be able to respond immediately due to a high level of student support and queries.
Please check your junk and spam on all your email addresses, we will contact you using the email addresses you have supplied when you applied to the college. Emails should be sent to both the student and their nominated next of kin.
If you still haven’t heard, please contact us via email:
Truro: studentservices@truro-penwith.ac.uk
Penwith: penwithstudentservices@truro-penwith.ac.uk
Ottery: jodiedavey@truro-penwith.ac.uk
Full-time students who don’t pay tuition fees wouldn’t normally be asked to pay fees for examinations taken as part of the course with the College’s approval. However, if you need to retake an exam, you’ll be asked to pay the fees to do so. If you pay your own tuition fees, you will need to pay your own examination fees. More details are available on application.
Quick links
Pay my student - portal
Pay my student - guide
Transport
Student Services can help with funding
Truro College: 01872 305718 | studentservices@truro-penwith.ac.uk
Penwith College: 01736 809407 | penwithstudentservices@truro-penwith.ac.uk
STEM & Health Skills Centre: 01872 267586 | jodiedavey@truro-penwith.ac.uk
