You will be able to borrow the full cost of your tuition fee from the Government in the form of a Tuition Fee Loan (subject to eligibility).

You must have submitted a GOV.UK teacher training application before you can apply for loans and grants from the Government. Consider applying for financial support earlier on, ensuring receipt and processing of your application in good time.

The funding application process for English-domiciled students is as follows:

• You make your application online to Student Finance England. Please note, for PGCE student finance purposes, please apply as if you were an undergraduate student.
• After you have applied for student funding, you will be able to manage your account online.
• Following the assessment of your application, you will receive a Student Finance Entitlement Letter. This will outline the support you have applied for and what you can expect to receive. You can also view this online.
• If the financial support outlined in your Student Finance Entitlement Letter is not what you anticipated, contact us for advice.

Maintenance Loans are available to eligible students joining a PGCE or Postgraduate Teacher Training course.

• Available to help with living costs such as food, accommodation and travel.
• The amount of Maintenance Loan you can apply for is determined by your household income. It is also determined by additional factors such as where you are going to live while you are studying.
• Usually paid in three instalments, directly to your bank or building society account.

Supplementary grants and allowances

Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for additional financial support from the Government, including:

• Adult Dependants’ Grant – means-tested support of up to £3,545 a year if you have to care for an adult dependant. This is someone who is not your grown-up child (subject to eligibility).
• Childcare Grant – means-tested support designed to contribute up to 85% towards your childcare costs. If you have a dependent child/children in the care of an Ofsted-registered childcare provider while you study, you may qualify for this grant. Childcare grants for academic year 2025/26 are worth up to a maximum of £199.62 per week for one child only. This goes up to £342.24 per week for two or more children (subject to eligibility).
• Parents’ Learning Allowance – means-tested support of up to £2,024 a year if you have children who are wholly or mainly financially dependent on you.

How much you repay depends on your income – the amount you earn (including things like bonuses and overtime) before tax and other deductions.

You’ll repay a percentage of your income over the income ‘threshold’ for your type of loan, depending on how often you get paid.

The earliest you’ll start repaying is:

• the April after you leave your course
• April 2026 if you’re on Plan 5

Your repayments automatically stop if either:

• you stop working
• your income goes below the threshold

You’ll repay either:

• 9% of your income over the threshold if you’re on Plan 1, 2, 4 or 5
• 6% of your income over the threshold if you’re on a Postgraduate Loan plan

The income thresholds are different for each plan type.

Taking out student loans and paying the required inflation-based interest is an issue for some students and could be prohibited for religious reasons.

The Government is working towards an alternative Sharia-compliant student finance package for these circumstances. The suggested alternative financial product would result in identical graduate repayments to the current student loan system but would not be interest based.

Further details will come from the Government. In the meantime, you may find it useful to contact a local Imam to discuss Sharia-compliant finance if you have any concerns.