EMA withdrawall

ViolaLass

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My DS gets EMA at the higher rate of £30 because we are a low income family - we can't afford to pay the extortiate bus fares for him to get to school so I think he will drop out in September because there are no jobs part time or otherwise in this area he will end up on the dole but not get paid a penny because you can't claim anything until you have been out of education for 2 years.
Shame because he is doings Maths, Chemistry and Physics and did want to go to Uni but with the tuition fees going up he won't be, so that is another bright youngster on the scrap heap thanks to the Tory scum who run this country
We are all in it together ....I don't think so

As krisskross pointed out, no university fees have to be paid up front. Your son would only start paying them back once he earns over a certain amount. PLEASE don't let this put him off going to university if it is what he really wants. If you really think that not going to university will condemn him to the scrapheap, then you mustn't let the fees put you off.

Have you looked into when he would have to start paying the money back and how quickly? It's really not as arduous as is often made out.

markharding557

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My DS gets EMA at the higher rate of £30 because we are a low income family - we can't afford to pay the extortiate bus fares for him to get to school so I think he will drop out in September because there are no jobs part time or otherwise in this area he will end up on the dole but not get paid a penny because you can't claim anything until you have been out of education for 2 years.
Shame because he is doings Maths, Chemistry and Physics and did want to go to Uni but with the tuition fees going up he won't be, so that is another bright youngster on the scrap heap thanks to the Tory scum who run this country
We are all in it together ....I don't think so

Your local council should have a students bus pass scheme which will offer a significant discount on normal prices.
My dd's bus pass costs £18pm or £4.50 pw if you look at it weekly.
I would not let these student loan increases deter him because
1/they don't have to make payments until after completing their degree
2/this policy could be changed by a future government who wants votes because in the future there will be an awful lot of voters with these loans and the bigger a voting bloc is-the more the politicians will take notice of them this is why the present government won't touch things that effect pensioners.

Patchwork_Quilt

Some interesting posts on here, some of them hearbreaking.

However, my children's experience of EMA is that it seems to be going to families that have split up and even where the situation is quite comfortable ie with new partners, nothing is official and therefore everything is able to be claimed. The other experience we have is that it went to a family where the Dad had disappeared off the face of the earth and it was a welcome payment to a child who needed education to get him out of that financial hole - but his Mum would have moved Heaven and earth to get him through his education anyway.

It seems to me that another aspect to this debate is not that young people have to take responsibilty for their education and their finances but that some people are walking away from their responsibility to support their children.

lostinrates

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My DS gets EMA at the higher rate of £30 because we are a low income family - we can't afford to pay the extortiate bus fares for him to get to school so I think he will drop out in September because there are no jobs part time or otherwise in this area he will end up on the dole but not get paid a penny because you can't claim anything until you have been out of education for 2 years.
Shame because he is doings Maths, Chemistry and Physics and did want to go to Uni but with the tuition fees going up he won't be, so that is another bright youngster on the scrap heap thanks to the Tory scum who run this country
We are all in it together ....I don't think so

I think its tragic he will give up for want of a bus fair. I presume he's checked any local car share schemes, talked to his college to see if any staff go on a passing or near passing route that he could walk to?

Failing those then I'd consider he did some online advertising for someone to sponsor him...perhaps posting his last three sets of results and reports.

FWIW, as a childless couple continually pestered by dh's university for money we have thought a lot about how we would like to help talented young people, and one of our options for the future (when we can afford it, which is a few years from now certainly) consider sponsoring through education courses. I'm sure we can't be the only ones.

I worked though teens and degree, earning more than EMA amount ...I'm sure though hard, it could still be done if getting a job is possible, or raising income through odd jobs etc.

SingleSue

For me, a young person's education is of the ultimate importance and thus, I would move heaven and earth to make sure my child can have access to it.

We will be hit by the removal of EMA but the old saying "Where there is a will, there is a way" comes to mind. It will take extra budgeting, it will cause problems with transport but come what may, he will stay in 6th form.

I just cannot understand parents who feel differently, I would go to the ends of the earth for my children, even if it meant I had to give up meals, treats etc to be able to do so.

Mind you, ex husband could never understand my obsession with a decent education either......

Butterfly Brain - What distance away does he need to go? Is it within a cycleable distance? Is there another parent near by who drops their child off who he can car share with? Is he able to get a part time job to cover the extra expenses? Even a paper round or odd jobs with neighbours? Any school bus travel? (Although around here, it would be cheaper to send my son on the normal bus as the fare is cheaper!)

With regards to University, we are just going to cross that bridge when we come to it but we have been concentrating our search on areas where friends and family live so that we can reduce costs that way.

One thing we are determined not to allow is money (or lack of) impacting on his future.

Davesnave

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My DS gets EMA at the higher rate of £30 because we are a low income family - we can't afford to pay the extortiate bus fares for him to get to school so I think he will drop out in September because there are no jobs part time or otherwise in this area he will end up on the dole but not get paid a penny because you can't claim anything until you have been out of education for 2 years.
Shame because he is doings Maths, Chemistry and Physics and did want to go to Uni but with the tuition fees going up he won't be, so that is another bright youngster on the scrap heap thanks to the Tory scum who run this country
We are all in it together ....I don't think so

All 'red' herrings, methinks.

Has your son tried walking? My DD regularly walked the 7 miles there & back to her school while in 6th form. She received EMA but, being a chip off the old block, she was too tight to use the buses, which had no direct route there from our house. More importantly, she wasn't the only one who did this, EMA or not.

gauly

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

My DS gets EMA at the higher rate of £30 because we are a low income family - we can't afford to pay the extortiate bus fares for him to get to school so I think he will drop out in September because there are no jobs part time or otherwise in this area he will end up on the dole but not get paid a penny because you can't claim anything until you have been out of education for 2 years.
Shame because he is doings Maths, Chemistry and Physics and did want to go to Uni but with the tuition fees going up he won't be, so that is another bright youngster on the scrap heap thanks to the Tory scum who run this country
We are all in it together ....I don't think so

The government have announced that a small part of the money taken away from EMA is going to be given to colleges/schools to administer their own hardship funds. There is a chance your son's bus fare would be paid by the school if you ask them. Certainly worth a try as A-levels in Maths, Physics and Chemistry should lead to a well paid job at the end.

Butterfly_Brain

vivatifosi wrote: »

Is he going to school in the same town as you live? Can you invest in a second hand bike as a means for him to get there? If the journey to school is over three miles, can you not speak to the school about other travel schemes that may be available, such as subsidised bus tickets? I know that similar schemes are offered in Luton and Bedford, so I would hope that they are available in Dunstable too.

No there is nothing available in Dunstable even though we pay higher council tax than anywhere else in Bedfordshire - it seems we are last on the list for anything :mad:

The college he wants to go to is in Milton Keynes 11 miles away and has better funded resources. IF he had to travel by bike I would be at my wits end with the amount of lorries thundering up the A5

lostinrates

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

The college he wants to go to is in Milton Keynes 11 miles away

Are his choice of subjects not available closer to home? He wants to go to this college, but can he not go to another or a sixth form?

Davesnave

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

The college he wants to go to is in Milton Keynes 11 miles away and has better funded resources. IF he had to travel by bike I would be at my wits end with the amount of lorries thundering up the A5

Walking and biking is out, then, but talk to the Head about what provision is envisaged for circumstances like yours. If you don't ask....

Or there's Luton Sixth Form College, where results are acceptable, and the last Ofsted, published in 2009, rated key areas like teaching & leadership as outstanding. It is, being Luton, 'ethnically diverse.'