EMA withdrawall

silvercar

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

The college he wants to go to is in Milton Keynes 11 miles away and has better funded resources.

That's the point. He wants to go to a college 11 miles away but there must be the opportunity to study those subjects nearer to home. If that was the nearest place that offers science A levels I would say that you should be entitled to some help, but choosing to travel to a different college means having to contribute to the costs.

lemonjelly

Davesnave wrote: »

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.

I'm inclined to agree.

First off, I would be suprised if a weekly travel pass is in excess of £30. If your son gets £30p/w EMA, it will surely be affordable. He just may need to review where the £30 is spent, as it is EXACTLY this type of cost EMA is supposed to meet.

Have you also looked at student travel passes?

ViolaLass

lemonjelly wrote: »

I'm inclined to agree.

First off, I would be suprised if a weekly travel pass is in excess of £30. If your son gets £30p/w EMA, it will surely be affordable. He just may need to review where the £30 is spent, as it is EXACTLY this type of cost EMA is supposed to meet.

The point is they'll be losing the EMA.

That said, I'm inclined to agree with all the advice given by previous posters.

vivatifosi

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

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

Dunstable is an area I know pretty well and I have close family living there. My honest opinion is that Milton Keynes is a bit too far if you lose EMA and I wouldn't want my child riding a bike up the A5 either, people drive like nutcases on that stretch.

However I agree with others. These are good subjects and it would be a terrible shame if your son didn't go on to study them. If the MK college is unable to help fund transport, then rather than give up, your son should try somewhere closer to home. I know because I've looked, that Central Bedfordshire doesn't offer the A level combination your son wants, which means either going to a school in the town that does, or travelling to Luton.

Sometimes we don't get our first choice in education, for all sorts of reasons, but please don't let your son give up at this hurdle. Please also don't give up yourself. They are excellent, hard subjects that will stand him on an excellent footing to get a high wage and it will be terribly sad if he misses this opportunity.

Malcolm.

EMA is one of many taxes on married families. Live together officially and both incomes are taken into account.

That's one reason I'm against it. IMHO if you're going to give EMA out, it should be paid to ALL children.

ally18

My daughter currently receives EMA of £30 per week and £60 of this is spent on her bus pass to college which lasts 4 weeks. She uses the remaining money for college stuff that she is required to have as and when. She receives her FA which she uses for the cost of clothes, haircut, mobile phone costs and anything else she wants to buy. My daughter does not go out spending money on the cinema, excessive shopping or that sort of thing. Her friends and her take it in turns to have an evening each week at each other houses where they all take food and films and have their weekly entertainment. I had 8 in my house last week!

She has tried to get a p/t job in the two big supermarkets we have in our town, to no avail as they say they have no jobs. She has had her name down for paper rounds for years but these never seem to come up. Our town is losing shops and businesses more and more each year, we seem to just have endless charity shops opening up and its becoming more and more depressing for her.

She only started college last september and is now worried about next year. I have said I will try and help out with the cost of bus fares but my job is currently under review. Come September she will just have her fa to use, I will supplement her as I can. I want the best education for my daughter that she can get.

I believe EMA to be a good idea. If it were paid in a different way, ie the cost of bus passes, college fees etc paid direct by the EMA dept, perhaps it would stop people thinking that some families are ripping others off.

Jowo_2

If EMA did not exist, the motivated and resourceful would find ways around the financial constraints faced by students who have travel and book expenses.

The parents would make savings in their household budget, and/or the kid would find part-time work, and/or choose a course closer to home, and/or arrange lifts or cycle or walk, and/or borrow books from libraries or buy them second-hand and/or defer their entry for a year, get a job and save towards the expenses, and/or choose a part-time or distance learning course.

EMA, like tax credits, is one of those things that sap basic enterprise, compromise and so on. Like tax credits, it provides a cushion against economic reality and while it was set up with the best intentions, is largely counterproductive.

SingleSue

Jowo wrote: »

If EMA did not exist, the motivated and resourceful would find ways around the financial constraints faced by students who have travel and book expenses.

The parents would make savings in their household budget, and/or the kid would find part-time work, and/or choose a course closer to home, and/or arrange lifts or cycle or walk, and/or borrow books from libraries or buy them second-hand and/or defer their entry for a year, get a job and save towards the expenses, and/or choose a part-time or distance learning course.

EMA, like tax credits, is one of those things that sap basic enterprise, compromise and so on. Like tax credits, it provides a cushion against economic reality and while it was set up with the best intentions, is largely counterproductive.

This basically was my point....where there is a will, there is a way.

If someone desperately wants to stay on to do further education, they will find a way to do it and will not give up at the first hurdle.

If a parent wants their child to succeed, they will find a way to help support that even if it means going without themselves.

silvercar

SingleSue wrote: »

This basically was my point....where there is a will, there is a way.

If someone desperately wants to stay on to do further education, they will find a way to do it and will not give up at the first hurdle.

If a parent wants their child to succeed, they will find a way to help support that even if it means going without themselves.

Agreed.

Plus if they can't find a part time job they will have little chance of finding a full time job and with no money they will be stuck at home each day - what parent would want that for their child?

Butterfly_Brain

lostinrates wrote: »

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?

Not to the same quality of teaching and resources