Why Fewer Teens Get College Help

When Maddy first started her A-levels in sixth form, she had to drop out because her part-time job was affecting her studies and attendance.

But after resuming her A-levels at college, she applied for Education Support Allowance (EMA) and was able to focus on her studies.

She said the £40-a-week payment “reduces my anxiety about money” and now I don’t need to have a job alongside my college work, but fewer 16-18-year-olds in Wales are now eligible for the funds. means-tested benefit, and the income threshold has not changed for 13 years.

The Welsh Government has said it is considering raising the household income threshold slightly.

College officials and students said the rules need to change so more young people are eligible for financial aid.

When she resumed her studies at a further education college, Coleg y Cymoedd in Nantgarw in Rhondda Kinon Taf last year, Maddy was encouraged to apply for the EMA.

The 18-year-old would have been eligible for EMA when she was in the sixth form but did not apply.

The bus ticket covers the cost of the 80-minute journey from her home in Treorchy to the college campus, 15 miles (24 km) away, but there are many other costs.

“I need to pick up food, books, stationery, pens, pencils…clothes in general and bags,” she said.

“I don’t have to go and ask my parents for money, which puts more pressure on them. I’m fine.

“By comparison, when I was in the sixth grade, I put a lot of pressure on my parents.

“I didn’t want to do it. I didn’t want to ask them for money for what I needed for school.

“I started working because I felt pressured because I didn’t have enough money to support myself.”

She began to “prioritise working on her sixth form”, couldn’t keep up with her schoolwork or exams, her attendance suffered and she eventually left.

But the extra financial support she received through the EMA meant she had enough money to quit her job, adding: “Then I had time to go to college and time to repeat.”

Her friend Olwen, 17, said she now sees some of her classmates struggling with college costs.

“There were definitely people at my school who struggled, but I didn’t like it,” she said.

“I have seen that while there is more support that is readily available, it is more clear that there are more challenges with transportation, food and supplies.”

According to a report to the Welsh Government, the number of students receiving EMA has more than halved since the 2010-11 academic year, from just over 36,000 to just over 16,000 by 2023-24.

At Coleg y Cymoedd 10 years ago, between 55 and 60 per cent of students received aid, said college principal Jonathan Morgan.

“Since the threshold has been frozen, it’s been going down all the time, and now we’re down to about 40%.”

According to him, students “at the border” felt the impact.

“They don’t quite reach the EMA threshold, and their families can only earn slightly above. It would be absolutely key to support more students if this threshold were to be looked at and changed.”

At the same time, council cuts could mean around 1,000 Coleg y Cymoedd students would lose their free transport, he added.

What is Education Support Allowance?

EMA is a fortnightly payment to 16-18-year-olds who remain in further education after completing compulsory education.

It is means-tested and students qualify if they live in a household with an annual income of £20,817 or less if they are the only dependent, or up to £23,077 if there are other dependents.

In April 2023, the Welsh Government increased the benefit from £30 to £40 per week.

It can be applied by sixth form students in schools or further education colleges, but 76% of approved applications in 2023/24 were in colleges.

EMA started as social assistance in the UK but was abolished in England in 2011 and replaced by a bursary scheme. It still operates in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

For Chloe-Mae, 17, from Bangor, Gwynedd, the extra support through EMA means she can buy a drink or snack from a vending machine without worrying too much about the cost.

“When I’m in college, I do performing arts, so I’ll bring a bottle of water with me, but if I want another drink, I have to go to a vending machine.

“We dance a lot so I need more than one drink and sometimes that can be a lot of money,” said student Colleg Menai.

“I’m usually a person who really worries about everything. But when I have EMA, I know the money is there for me when I need it.”

Dr Steffan Evans, of the Bevan Foundation anti-poverty research centre, said the EMA allowed young people to continue their studies “when they would otherwise have to work in low-paid jobs”.

He said that low-income families were squeezed out of receiving benefits because of the threshold freeze.

“There will be young people who may now drop out of further education because, although their families are living in poverty, they will no longer be considered poor enough to receive the real vital support that EMA provides – and this will put real pressure on family income,” said Dr. Evans.

A review for the Welsh Government says there is broad consensus that the income threshold for EMA is currently too low and is not keeping pace with income growth and inflation.

A Welsh Government spokesman said it was currently considering the results of the review, “including the recommendation that the household income threshold should be raised slightly”.

The EMA was protected in Wales, unlike in England, where it was abolished, the spokesman added.

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