Tower Hamlets has opened applications for two education-support payments for the 2027/28 academic year, offering eligible students help with the everyday cost of continuing their studies.
The council’s Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) will provide a £600 payment to eligible sixth-form and college students. Eligible undergraduates can apply for a £1,500 University Bursary. The schemes are intended to help towards costs including travel, books, equipment, course materials, accommodation and living expenses.
Applications opened on 21 September and are due to close on 1 November. The council has urged prospective applicants to check the scheme requirements before applying.
Support aimed at the cost of staying in education
For students moving through further or higher education, the extra expenses can build quickly. A journey to college, specialist materials, software or the cost of living away from home can all shape whether a course feels financially manageable. The two Tower Hamlets payments are designed as practical support rather than a replacement for wider student finance or household income.
The EMA is available to eligible young people studying at sixth form or college, while the university payment is for eligible undergraduate students. The council has not presented the announcement as a universal entitlement: applicants must meet the relevant criteria for their chosen scheme.
Tower Hamlets says it is the only local authority in the country to have restored an EMA and is among a small number that provide university grants. The borough brought the EMA and University Bursary back in 2022.
Nearly 6,500 young people supported since 2022
The council says more than £5.7m has been awarded through the two schemes since their return, supporting nearly 6,500 young people in the borough. Local reporting on the council’s recent education awards has separately repeated the figure of around 6,500 people receiving financial support through the EMA and bursary programmes.
In the latest completed funding round, Tower Hamlets says about £2m went to around 2,000 people. That included 1,250 EMA grants and 800 University Bursaries. Those figures describe the previous round and do not guarantee that the same number of awards will be made this year.
The reopening comes as many students and families continue to weigh the routine costs attached to education. Travel passes, study supplies and technology are recurring pressures for learners in further education, while rent and living costs can add substantially to the price of attending university.
Part of a broader borough offer
The council has placed the two payments within a wider package of support for children, young people and families. It says its youth service has received £13.7m of investment and offers free activities through youth centres and community settings. The authority also points to its school-meals and school-uniform support as measures intended to ease family budgets.
Those programmes are separate from the EMA and University Bursary. For students considering an application, the immediate decision is whether they meet the requirements for the relevant education payment before the 1 November deadline.
The announcement gives Tower Hamlets residents planning to start or continue study in 2027/28 a defined period in which to seek assistance. It also provides a fresh measure of the borough’s continued commitment to schemes restored four years ago, with the eventual number of successful applicants yet to be known.
Applicants will need to use the council’s application process rather than assuming that a previous award carries forward. The council’s announcement identifies the payments as support for the 2027/28 academic year, so students should make sure that their course plans and personal circumstances are reflected accurately when checking whether they qualify. The stated deadline is part of the current application round, not a confirmation that funding will remain available beyond it. Students who are uncertain about the rules should consult the council’s published information before making plans around an award.
