2024-25 BOVTS Student Hardship Application form

The Hardship Fund provides a non-repayable grant from Bristol Old Vic Theatre School to help students who, due to unforeseen circumstances, may be in financial difficulties that put them at risk of withdrawing from university.

While we understand there may be certain situations as to why you are in financial hardship, this form aims to assess your eligibility for funding based on the School's eligibility criteria:

Be a fully registered BOVTS student on an undergraduate or postgraduate degree course.
Be in financial difficulty that puts you at risk of withdrawing from BOVTS.
After our calculations, have access to less than £100 across all of your bank accounts. This is after income (from part-time work, scholarships, bursaries, or other sources) and reasonable expenses for the term, and will be calculated using the information you submit in this form.
For undergraduates, receive the full government maintenance loan available to you (unless exempt* or for religious reasons).
For postgraduates, receive the full Postgraduate Loan available to you (unless exempt* or for religious reasons)

*Students who have previous HE study at the same level are exempt from receiving Student Finance.

Level 1 - £250
Applicants who declare that they are in financial difficulty and can prove access to less than £100 across all bank accounts (including savings). This is after income (from part-time work, scholarships, bursaries, or other sources) and reasonable expenses (accommodation, living costs) for the term. We use the information you provide in the form to calculate this.

Level 2 - £500
Applicants who meet Level 1 criteria and are taking reasonable steps to reduce their financial problems but remain in difficulty. This can include:

working a part-time job for a reasonable number of hours per week
using a considerable amount of an overdraft

Alternatively, applicants may have:

excessive debt
a health problem preventing their ability to work a part-time job

Level 3 - £750
Applicants who meet Level 2 criteria and satisfy at least one of the following:

have dependent children
have caring responsibilities
are 25 and under and a care leaver, are estranged from their parents/guardians, or have no living parents
presently or at immediate risk of homelessness
have a disability

You may only receive one award per term, unless your circumstances change significantly, in which case you must submit a new application. If you are successful, you will receive the difference in the award value from your previous application.

We will not accept application forms filled out on another student's behalf.

We aim to assess applications quickly, but can only do so if the correct documents are provided. Failure to include the required information will increase assessment time considerably. Please:

provide us with your bank details
prepare screenshots or statements showing the current balance, and at least the previous months transactions, for all accounts in which you hold funds
prepare a screenshot or statement which shows the latest maintenance loan payment entering the applicant's bank account, where applicable
provide any additional information required in the application form

All information must be accurate at the time of submission. The provision of false or erroneous information, in order to secure payment from the School, will result in immediate disciplinary action being taken. Any student found to have secured financial advantage through providing false or misleading information will be suspended from their course of study; the School reserves the right to refer serious incidents of fraud or deception to the police.

If you have any questions or need support in completing this application please contact anselm.klint@oldvic.ac.uk

In the meantime please remember that you can apply for the UWE Student Support Fund - details can be found here https://www.uwe.ac.uk/life/money-and-finance/funds-during-study/uwe-bristol-student-support-fund

Personal details

First Name *

Last Name *

Date of Birth * +

Email Address *

I have successfully registered my UK bank details with the School Should you be successful but you have not registered your bank details with the School, it is likely payments will be delayed. Please send your bank details to finance@oldvic.ac.uk *

I am in financial hardship, which has been unforeseen or unavoidable and without financial assistance I will be unable to complete my course at the university. *

The Hardship Fund Term 1 is now open for applications. Applications for this term will end on Wednesdsay the 6th December 2024 and the next term, Term 2, will be opening for applications on the 6th January 2025 and will close on Wednesday the 19th of January 2025. Term 3 will be opening on 28th April and will close on Wednesday the 2nd of July 2025.

Course Details

Please state which course you are currently studying? *

Do you have any placements during the current year as part of your programme of study, which will incur additional costs. *

Are you temporarily suspended or withdrawn from your programme of study? *

Select your fee paying status. *

Funding Details

Select the status of your current enrolment. *

Have you successfully applied for and received a UK government student finance loan (eg. Undergraduate or Postgraduate loan) in this academic year? Master's Loan: https://www.gov.uk/masters-loan Awards made to students that have not yet received the government maintenance loan will be capped to a Level 1 award - unless they are exempt. *

If you have not applied for the PG loan can you explain why you have not applied?

Please upload a copy of your student loan confirmation. *

Please upload a screenshot or statement which shows the latest maintenance loan payment entering your bank account. Please ensure the date of the payment is clearly shown on the document you wish to upload. *

Can you explain why not?

Accommodation Costs

Do you have upcoming rental payments to make during the current term? *

How often do you pay your rent? *

What is the date of your next payment? *

What is the value of your next payment (Excluding bills)? The value must be a number. *

Personal circumstances

Please state the amount of funds you have available to you. Enter values in £GBP. *

Please provide details below of your income for the current academic year. *

Please upload screenshots or statements showing the current balance (as of today) for all accounts that you hold funds in. This includes: current accounts, savings accounts, premium bonds, shares, and any other investments you mayhave (e.g cryptocurrency). Accounts with penalties for withdrawals must still be provided. Failure to declare all savings may result in disciplinary action. *

If you would like to comment on the documents you have provided, please do so below:

Do you have personal debt? This should not include any internal School debt such as student loans or tuition fees etc., *

What is the total value of these debts? Enter values in £GBP.

Please explain what each of these debts are, and how much they are worth.

How much money do you still expect to receive from friends and family during the current term? Please only include the value of payments you are not expected to pay back. Enter values as £GBP.

How much money are you yet to still receive from scholarships and bursaries during the current term? Please exclude the value of payments you have already received Enter values in £GBP.

Do you currently have a part-time job? *

How many hours do you work per week? If you work a zero-hours contract, please provide the average number of weekly work hours. *

Please upload your most recent payslip as evidence. If you do not have a payslip, please upload any other document you may have as proof of recent part-time hours worked. If your uploaded document is insufficient, it will delay the assessment time.

Do you have a disability, chronic illness or medical condition that prevents you from working a part-time job? *

Please elaborate. For example: - What is your condition? - How does this prevent you from working part-time? *

Please upload recent medical evidence to show proof of this. This should be a recent Statement of Fitness for Work (also known as a 'fit note') from a healthcare professional to confirm you are not fit to work. If your condition is diagnosed, you’ll probably have this (or similar) evidencealready. If you do not have a recent 'fit note', you may not be considered for assessment on this criteria.

Do you have a caring responsibility for which you are the main carer? Child dependents must be under 19, unless they are in full-time study then they must be under 24. *

Please elaborate. For example: - Who do you care for? - Are you the sole carer? - What are your responsibilities? - Are they financially dependent on you? - How many hours would you dedicate to these responsibilities in an average week? *

Were you under 25 years old at the start of your course? *

Do any of the following statements apply to you? *

Are you presently or at immediate risk of homelessness? *

Please elaborate. For example: - How long has this been the case? - Where are you staying presently, and how long can you remain there? - When do you anticipate this period of homelessness lasting? *

Do you consider yourself to have a disability? This is a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities. *

Optional Feedback

Please fill out this optional feedback section before the final declaration and submission.

(Optional) Do you agree or disagree with the following statements.

The form was simple and easy to complete.

I understand the criteria for an award and feel I am eligible.

I will recommend the fund to other students.

(Optional) How did you hear about the Hardship Fund?

(Optional) Any other feedback.

Final Declaration By submitting this application form you agree that all the information provided is accurate.

Please check all the boxes to confirm you have read and agree to the statements below: Please select 6 options. *

I confirm that the information given in this form is true, complete and accurate, that no information requested or other material information has been omitted and understand there may be disciplinary consequences for false or misleading information.

I consent to providing any information required to validate my application, should I be chosen as part of a random sample of applicants.

I agree that if any false information is discovered to have been submitted after any payment is made to me, that I will be required to repay any amount awarded to me and I will be subject to the School's disciplinary process.

I consent to the processing of my data by the School for the purpose of dealing with this application.

I can confirm that I have sent my UK bank details OR supplied details of my international bank account.

I confirm I have read and agree to the above declaration. The submission of this application constitutes my personal certification that the details are correct.

Please sign to confirm you have read and understood the above *

clear