17 yr old at College away from home 13 November 2018 at 11:53AM edited 30 November -1 at 1:00AM in Student Money Saving 7 replies 3.1K views

carol201

Hello, I am hoping for some financial help for.my 17yr old son who is studying away from home and currently living in halls of residencrle which is costing us a small fortune every month. He is a very talented sportsperson and opportunities for his sport are limited where he grew up so thats why we relocated him to follow his dream. Is there any way of getting £££ help towards his accommodation costs please 🙏🙏

sheramber

Presumably, this is a private college which does not qualify for Student Finance funding.

The college should be able to tell you of any support available

silvercar

What level qualification is he working towards?

Spendless

I know of some dancers who have gone away to study have been able to claim housing benefit at age 16+ but this seems to be being stopped in areas that have had Universal Credit come in.

ETA - This is also due to the qualification they're doing (or rather not doing) and it can be a bit of a fight to get it but worth a try if your son's circs fit the criteria. More info on this forum.

http://notapushymum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=23313&sid=defa0b5d9a3a667c2db5301334868f31

tacpot12

You could try the Search for Grants facility on https://grants-search.turn2us.org.uk/

This might turn up a suitable grant-awarding body you can approach. I would expect any such body will want evidence that you paying his accommodation costs is having a negative effect on your family, e.g. on any younger children you have. If you can't support some else in the family adequately because you are supporting your son, you may find them sympathetic.

Are you still receiving child benefit for your son?

If the area where your son is studying has not switched to Universal Credit (UC), it would be worth investigating whether he can claim HB, and trying to get his claim in before UC is introduced in that area.

zagubov

Can you give us more information?
Which part of the UK are you in?
Is he doing a school-level course or a first year of university?
Is he at a private or a public/state institution?

Pension_Geek

Have you considered looking for sponsorship from a local business?

Inty193

I think that sponsorship will be the best opportunity. You might try finding something like that.