Applying for a Higher Education Scholarship

You must have accepted a place to study with us or be enrolled on a higher education course (HNC/D, Cert HE, Foundation Degree or Degree) at SGS to apply for a scholarship.

Scholarships are fee waivers directly applied to your tuition fees and are only available for one course of study.  Payments for part-time students are paid on a pro-rata basis, but will receive the same total amount of bursary as full-time students over the duration of their course. The criteria for each scholarship varies but to receive the fee waiver, all scholars will be required to act as HE Ambassadors, maintain attendance of 80% or over and represent SGS in at least three events per year. Scholarship applications must be submitted before enrolment. There are a maximum of two scholarships available per year.

Please contact our Admissions Team at headmissions@sgscol.ac.uk if you would like any advice on which scholarship, you could be eligible for.

HE 24+ Bursary
HE 24+ Bursary

The HE 24+ bursary is a £500 payment, made in three instalments during each year of your course. You can apply for this bursary if you are aged 24 or over when you start your course and are re-entering education.

The purpose of this bursary is to assist you in obtaining any extra resources you may need or covering any additional personal expenses you may have.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE 24+ Scholarship
HE 24+ Scholarship

The HE 24+ Scholarship is a £4000 fee waiver for each year of your course if you are aged 24 or over, when you start your course and are re-entering education.  

Students will be expected to act as an advocate for their peers and inform good practice. Scholarship students will be expected to attend SGS Open/Applicant Events throughout the academic year and be prepared to assist with any outreach offer targeting mature students.  

Successful applicants will be expected to attend a variety of Student Forums and HE Meetings.  Students may be asked to help to review Higher Education documentation as required.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Cares Bursary
HE Cares Bursary

The HE CARES Bursary is a £1,500 payment, made in three instalments during each year of your course. You can apply for this bursary if you can apply evidence of any of the following:

  • If you care for an ill or disabled family member
  • If you are living in supported housing, or are under the care of your Local Authority or a Health and Social Care Trust
  • If you are irreconcilably estranged from your parents or if both your parents have passed away

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE DSA (Disability Students' Allowance) Bursary
HE DSA (Disability Students' Allowance) Bursary


The HE DSA Award is awarded to all students who are applying for a Dyslexia/SpLD Assessment. The cost of an online report is currently £350 of which you will be expected to pay £50 towards the cost and the College pays the rest.  

If you are in financial difficulty you can apply to the Financial Assistance Fund to cover your contribution of £50 towards the assessment, this will not stop you applying to the Financial Assistance Fund again later.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Lone Parent Bursary
HE Lone Parent Bursary

The HE Lone Parent Bursary is a £500 payment made in three instalments during each year of academic study.

It is available for application by students who are single, widowed, divorced, separated, or whose civil partnership has dissolved and who no longer live with their partner and have a dependent child (under the age of 18, or under the age of 25 for those with an EHCP) who lives with them the majority of the time.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Low Income Bursary
HE Low Income Bursary

The HE Low Income Bursary is a £500 payment made in three instalments during each year of your course. You can apply for this bursary if you are eligible for student finance for your course and you come from a household with a total income of £25,000 or less.


Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Reach Bursary (Racial Equality & Cultural Heritage)
HE Reach Bursary (Racial Equality & Cultural Heritage)

The HE REACH (Racial Equality and Cultural Heritage) Bursary is a £500 payment, made in three instalments during each year of your course.  

You can apply for this bursary if you:

Are from an underrepresented ethnic background  

OR

Live in an area of disadvantage where your home postcode at the start of your course is identified as being in IMD Quintile 1 or 2. IMD is the Index of Multiple Deprivation which measures relative deprivation in local areas.

OR  

Live in an area of low participation in HE where your home postcode at the start of your course is identified as being in POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2. POLAR4 is a statistical measure which looks at how likely young people are to participate in higher education across the UK

Please contact our Admissions Team at HEAdmissions@sgscol.ac.uk and we will check whether your home postcode is eligible for a REACH bursary.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Reach Scholarship (Racial Equality and Cultural Heritage)
HE Reach Scholarship (Racial Equality and Cultural Heritage)

The HE REACH Scholarship is a £4000 fee waiver for each year of your course. You can apply for this scholarship if you:

Are from an underrepresented ethnic background  

OR

Live in an area of disadvantage where your home postcode at the start of your course is identified as being in IMD Quintile 1 or 2. IMD is the Index of Multiple Deprivation which measures relative deprivation in local areas.

OR  

Live in an area of low participation in HE where your home postcode at the start of your course is identified as being in POLAR4 Quintile 1 or 2. POLAR4 is a statistical measure which looks at how likely young people are to participate in higher education across the UK.

Please contact our Admissions Team at HEAdmissions@sgscol.ac.uk and we will check whether your home postcode is eligible for a REACH scholarship.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Sanctuary Scholarship
HE Sanctuary Scholarship

The HE Sanctuary Scholarship is available to support refugee and asylum seekers looking to study a higher education course at SGS. This scholarship gives you a full fee waiver for your tuition fees for the duration of your course and a £1,500 bursary for each year of your course to help towards study costs.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry
HE Sport Scholarship
HE Sport Scholarship

HE Sports Scholarship is available for application by students who have achieved international status and/or had appearances within a professional or semi-professional club in a sporting discipline as recognised by a National Governing Body (NGB). The objective of this scholarship is to support and aid the progression of dedicated and talented athletes alongside their studies. The scholarship awards are tiered and are assessed based on the level of sporting performance.

The HE Sports Scholarships aim to provide performance athletes with financial support to assist with the costs of coaching, strength and conditioning, nutrition and sports psychology. Sports Scholars can receive up to £4,000 per year in a bursary or fee waivers at the discretion of the panel, in the following sports:

  • American Football
  • Women’s Rugby Union
  • Men and Women’s Football
  • Rugby League
  • Basketball

Tier 1 (Podium) – Offers between £2,500 - £4,000

Students will need to have full senior international status and have made regular appearances within a professional club.

Tier 2 (Professional) - Offers between £1,000 - £2,000

Students will need to have u18, u21 or 23 level international representation and have made not less than 10 appearances within a professional club.

Tier 3 (Performance) - Offers between £250 - £500

Students will need to have u18, u21 or 23 level international representation and/or have made regular appearances within a semi-professional club.

Apply for 2024/25 Entry