Fees and how to pay

If, at the start of your course, you are aged 16–18 or aged 19–24 with an Education Health Care Plan, you are unlikely to pay any tuition fees for our funded programmes. There may be additional charges for materials, trips, and kit to enhance your learning experience. These are kept to a minimum. If you are not a UK citizen, you can use the  UKCISA website to confirm if you need to pay an ‘overseas’ fee.

If you are enrolling on one of our courses that are not funded, such as our leisure courses, you will be required to pay the course fee in full.

If you are not a UK citizen or if you have not been resident in the UK for the past 3 years, you can use the UKCISA website to confirm whether you will need to pay a 'home' or 'overseas' fee.

If you live in one of the following devolved areas, you will NOT be eligible for ‘home fees’ via Activate Learning:

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
• North of Tyne Combined Authority
• Sheffield City Region
• Tees Valley Combined Authority
• West Midlands Combined Authority
• West of England Combined Authority
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

If you are eligible for ‘home’ fees and are enrolling on a funded course you might not have to pay fees on a funded course if you are:

• Earning less than £25,000 gross per year from either employment or self-employment.
• Unemployed and on benefits (in your own name) or unemployed, not on benefits, and using the course to help you gain employment.
• Aged between 19 and 23, enrolling to a full level 2 course, where this is your first full level 2.

Contact us before enrolling to find out if your course is eligible.

English and Maths qualifications

If you are eligible for ‘home’ fees, you will not have to pay fees for English and maths courses at level 2 or below if you do not have a GCSE grade 9 to 4 (A* to C) in the same subject or an equivalent qualification (including overseas qualifications).

Community Wellbeing or non-accredited Employability courses

Some of our Community Wellbeing and Employability courses are free of charge for all learners who are eligible for ‘home’ fees. Where a fee is charged, you will not have to pay a fee if you are:

• Earning less than £25,000 gross per year from either employment or self-employment.
• Not working

If you are not a UK citizen or if you have not been resident in the UK for the past 3 years, you can use the UKCISA website to confirm whether you will need to pay a 'home' or 'overseas' fee.

If you live in one of the following devolved areas, you will NOT be eligible for ‘home fees’ via Activate Learning:

• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority
• Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
• North of Tyne Combined Authority
• Sheffield City Region
• Tees Valley Combined Authority
• West Midlands Combined Authority
• West of England Combined Authority
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority

If you are eligible for ‘home’ fees and are enrolling on a funded course you might not have to pay fees on a funded course if you are:

• Aged between 19 and 23, enrolling to a full level 3 course, where this is your first full level 3.
• Enrolling on a ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ course and earning less than £25,000 gross per year from either employment or self-employment.
• Enrolling on a ‘Free Courses for Jobs’ course and are unemployed and on benefits (in your own name) or unemployed, not on benefits, and using the course to help you gain employment.

Contact us before enrolling to find out if your course is eligible.

Please note: The fees quoted on our website for level 3 programmes are an annual fee, which may not be split evenly between the two academic years. We recommend that students who decide to apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to pay for their course apply for a loan to cover both years to ensure the funds are secured at the start of the programme. Please contact us if you require more information about our course fees.

Advanced Learner Loan

If you are studying on a full-time Level 3 or 4 programme (not as part of an apprenticeship), you may be eligible to apply for a loan to help you pay your tuition fees. These loans are not means-tested or subject to credit checks, and you start repaying the loan when you earn over £27,295 per year.

Loans for Access to Higher education programmes are cleared if you go on to complete a higher education programme with the support of a higher education student loan.

For more information regarding eligibility criteria, please visit www.gov.uk/advanced-learning-loans

Please note: the following area is only for those with an offer for a course at our colleges. For access online, a link will be sent with your joining instructions.

Download your learning and funding information letter

For financial information see our Higher Education website:
Funding your Higher Education journey

Fees and how to pay

Payment may be made in person, over the phone or electronically.

• You can make payment in person at your local campus Advice and Admissions. We will only accept payment in person by card from 1^st August 2024.
• To make a card payment over the phone please call 0800 612 6008.
• If you wish to pay by bank transfer please pay to Activate Learning, Lloyds Bank (Carfax Branch), Sort Code: 30-96-35, Account number: 03017129. Please use your student ID as the reference.
• If you wish to set up a direct debit plan, you can speak to your local campus Advice Centre or by calling finance on 01865 551 598.