University software charges for care leavers to be scrapped by Ucas | EUROtoday

Care leavers throughout the UK will not be required to pay software charges for college or school, Ucas has confirmed.

It is a big step geared toward bridging the persistent hole in greater training entry for this demographic.

The admissions physique introduced that those that have skilled the care system and are making use of to start their research in autumn 2027 will see the present £28.95 price waived.

In an interview Press Association, Ucas chief government Dr Jo Saxton emphasised the service’s ambition to “remove a barrier to accessing higher education for the group least likely to go on to higher education.”

“The reason we’re doing this is because care leavers are the group in society least likely to go to university,” Dr Saxton stated.

“We can play a small part in trying to do something about this, so that’s why we are removing this barrier.”

Ucas introduced in 2024 that it could take away the applying price for college students receiving free college meals, which it stated had benefited 40,000 younger individuals in its first 12 months.

“A lot of care-experienced people will be served by our (free school meals) waiver, but there is a cohort who aren’t necessarily financially disadvantaged, and so we want to make sure that they’re not missing out,” Dr Saxton stated.

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In the newest figures for 2023/24, some 13 per cent of care leavers in England went on to greater training by age 19. This was greater than thrice decrease than the 46 per cent of all different pupils who went on to greater training.

The software price waiver will apply to care leavers up till their twenty fifth birthday in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and up till their twenty sixth birthday in Scotland, consistent with the authorized definition.

“What we’ve heard from our university beneficiaries, very loud and clear, is that they often don’t know who the care-leaving or care-experienced students are,” Dr Saxton informed the Press Association.

“And this is something I experienced myself when I was an academic. I remember being utterly shocked – I was teaching at Cambridge University, and I only realised as a student was partway through their second year that they were care experienced, and the wider university wasn’t aware, because they hadn’t told them. And this is something we hear all the time.”

Ucas hopes that care leavers will really feel snug to tell them they’ve been in care after they apply, in order that they’ll level them within the route of any additional assist out there on the universities they’re .

The transfer comes amid rising pupil issues about prices and the price of dwelling at college.

“We talk to young people all the time at Ucas, and one of the things that’s really surprised me during the time that I’ve been here, is they tell us loud and clear that they are concerned about costs today,” Dr Saxton stated.

Many college students don’t see tuition charges because the barrier to occurring to college, she added, however the different prices.

“I had quite a moving conversation with a student at Nottingham Trent who talked about how she’d had to hide the application fee from her mum because of how tight things were in their household,” Dr Saxton stated.

“And that’s what this mechanism is about overcoming, so that isn’t the difficult conversation.”

A survey by the National Union of Students (NUS) earlier this week discovered greater than half of oldsters stated they have been contributing no less than £200 a month in direction of their little one’s dwelling bills at college, with most saying it was hitting their funds.

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The newest knowledge from Ucas additionally discovered a file variety of 18-year-olds beginning college in autumn 2025 meant to stay at dwelling whereas finding out, notably in the event that they have been from poorer backgrounds.

The Government has introduced it’ll reintroduce upkeep grants for college students finding out sure topics from 2028/29 to assist, however the NUS has referred to as for them to go additional and reform family earnings thresholds figuring out how a lot assist college students get.

Asked if she thought earnings thresholds needs to be checked out, Dr Saxton stated: “Obviously, I would support anything that might help increasing participation by encouraging students to apply.

“I’m delighted that the Government has taken the action it has around maintenance.”

The National Network for the Education of Care Leavers (NNECL) and care charity Become welcomed Ucas waiving the applying price for care leavers.

Chloe Grant, director of companies at Become, stated: “We know care leavers face multiple challenges in reaching university.

“Many will have been forced to leave care without the support they need, making the financial barriers difficult to overcome.

“Removing the Ucas application fee is an important and welcome step in bringing university within reach of more young people with huge talent and potential.”