GETTINGA GRANT

Who pays?

The local education authority (LEA) for the area in which the student is living.

Who can get this money?

Anyone who gets a place on a first degree course, although a student who has already attended a course of advanced further education may not. Students must also have been resident in the UK for at least three years, which can exclude some students from overseas.

SPECIAL CASES

If a student has worked before going to college?

A student who is 26 or more before the course starts and who has worked for at least three years will get extra money—￡155 a year since 26, increasing to a maximum of ￡615 at 29 or more.

If a student is handicapped?

LEAs will give up to ￡500 to help meet extra expenses—such as buying a tape recorder for a blind student, extra heating or special food.

Banking?

Most of the big banks offer special services to students who open accounts, hoping that they will stay with the bank when they become rich officials. A student won't usually have to pay bank charges as long as the account stays in credit. Some banks allow students to overdraw by ￡100 or so, and still don't make charges (though they do charge interest).