A Guide of the Grants and Funds Available for Young People in Education

Many young people in the local area may be eligible for grants and funds if they are in education, from places such as Point North, Nat West or Atom Bank. This financial support can massively support young people from underprivileged backgrounds to achieve their potential and reach their dreams, removing money as a barrier in education. There is a variety of support available for a range of ages and students at different stages of their educational journey, so check out this guide to see if anything is suitable for you!

Atom Bank

Durham-headquartered Atom Bank has launched its Early Careers Programme. The programme includes a range of initiatives aimed at helping students make their university dreams a reality, and to build fruitful careers. They offer graduate schemes in business, tech or finance, summer internships, placements for students studying maths or statistics at Durham University, and a variety of scholarships or funds. They offer two ‘Women in Technology’ scholarships to women from low-income backgrounds studying computer science at Durham University.

For younger students, they also offer the Atom Futures Fund which is financial support for low income or in care Year 13 students from schools in County Durham who apply to Russel Group Universities. They also have the EY Foundation Smart Futures work experience programme, offering six students from Durham Sixth Form College the opportunity to spend a week at Atom during Easter.

Point North Youth Opportunities Fund

Point North offer a range of grants including their Youth Opportunities Fund, which gives up to £1000 to talented young people under 24 in County Durham, who excel in a particular field but face barriers to achieve their potential. Applications must be made by an appropriate person who will act as a referee or sponsor, such as a coach, teacher, trainer or support worker. The fund covers competition and entry fees, specialist coaching and training, lessons and tuition, travel costs, specialist equipment or kit, or essential accommodation.

Point North Christine Carter Creative Arts Fund

The Christine Carter Creative Arts Fund provides bursaries of up to £250 to talented artists and creative practitioners who are facing financial hardship in County Durham or Sunderland. This is suitable for people who are beginning their creative arts training, looking to develop their artistic career, looking to develop their practice towards arts for social change or from an underrepresented group. Applications must be verified from a named sponsor or referee. Funding could be used for art and craft materials, essential equipment, accredited training programmes but not higher education, study aids or travel costs towards training.

Point North SWEF Enterprise & Business Fund

The SWEF Enterprise & Business Fund provides grants of up to £2000 to young people in County Durham and Tees Valley to help them with a business investment they can’t afford, but that will transform their business. Applicants must be aged 18-30, from a low-income household or facing challenges, running a business that has been trading for under two years, working on a newly established business and able to demonstrate what time and resources have already been directed towards the business. The grant could be used for equipment, materials/stock, prototypes, websites, training, product development or services to support the development of the business.

Point North SWEF Enterprise & Business Start Up Fund

The SWEF Enterprise and Business Start Up Fund provides grants of up to £500 to young people in County Durham or Tees Valley who are in the early stages of setting up their business and need funds to take their business to the next level. The criteria and what the fund covers is similar to the previous fund.

Point North Opportunities for Life

The Opportunities for Life fund supports people in County Durham who are out of work and face barriers to getting support from the usual routes. This fund is designed to give people the chance to learn new skills, join vocational training, and get into work. Applications must be made by a referee or sponsor such as a career advisor, social worker or support worker. The fund is up to £1000 and could cover accredited training programmes, study aids, equipment, travel costs, contribution towards training costs, clothes and support for job interviews, driving lessons where the job requires a full licence, or a laptop.

Point North Miller Wood Bonsall Student Bursary

Students who are studying two or more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) subjects at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington, could receive up to £500 per academic year to help them fulfil their potential, take advantage of opportunities, and build their careers. Students must be participating in the Queen Elizabeth Future Engineers Scheme and intending to follow a career in Engineering. Funding could be used for competitions, industry visits, specialist equipment, subject-specific trips, attending a summer school, university trips or other activities relating to engineering.

Point North Durham Education Fund

The Durham Education Fund offers grants of up to £400 to students aged 11 – 19 who would benefit from financial assistance to help them maximise their time in education. The fund is open to applications from students attending one of the following schools: Your application must be made for you by a member of staff at your school, usually a Tutor, Teacher, SEND Support Officer, Pupil Support Worker.

The fund covers accredited training programmes, study aids, equipment, travel costs, clothes and other support for job interviews, school uniform, bicycles or a laptop.

Point North Acumen Legacy Fund

The Acumen Legacy fund offers grants of up to £1000 to unemployed people living in East Durham who are facing barriers to employment, skills development or vocational training programmes. Applications must be made by a referee or sponsor. Funding could be used for training programmes, study aids, equipment, travel costs, childcare costs, clothes or support for job interviews, bicycles, driving lessons or a laptop.

There are many more on the Point North website for young people involved in specific sports- e.g., cricket. 

Nat West Levy

NatWest have partnered with the National Youth Agency to fund training for around 70 Level 6 apprenticeships this year. This means that £20,000 per year for 3 years is paid to the employer to pay their apprenticeships’ wages, rather than the organisations having to pay this themselves.

Santander

Santander also offer a variety of scholarships for students, including financial aid, free technology, scholarships for students wanting to study abroad and research grants. They also have internships in areas including content creation, academic research, marketing, computing, wellbeing projects and business. These are affiliated with specific universities so take a look to see if your university is currently offering any internships and you could get a scholarship from Santander. They also offer a general ‘Brighter Futures Grant’ for students attending a participating university. Each university gives away 10 lots of £1000 to their students, and any students can apply!

There are so many other grants and scholarships available to students, therefore there is financial support out there. This will remove some of the barriers to education that some young people face, so take advantage of this!