Are you facing financial hardship over the summer break? If so, the Summer Hardship Fund (SHF) is due to open on Monday the 23rd of June 2025 and will close 1pm on the 25th of鈥疛uly 2025, (SHF applications for 2024/25 will not be accepted after this date)
The University provides a hardship fund for students who encounter sudden financial difficulties. The fund can provide financial assistance during the summer period for some students; applications will be considered from non-final year students who meet the following criteria:
- Students with children (please note Students who are lone parents are advised to apply for government means-tested benefits and increased housing benefits during the summer)
- Student re-taking/re-sitting elements of their course.
- Students who are ill or have a disability and are therefore unable to undertake work and are not eligible to receive benefits.
- Care leavers, carers鈥痑nd students who are estranged from their family.
Screenshots or images submitted as supporting evidence will not be accepted and SHF application will automatically be rejected.
Incomplete sections in the SHF application will result in automatic rejection, and such applications will not be reassessed.
Eligibility:
You must meet the following criteria.
- A UK National or an EU National with a maintenance loan from Student Finance England (or equivalent).
- You have applied for all other funding (loans, grants, statutory support) you are entitled to.
- If you are a self-funded student, you can show that you made sensible arrangements at the start of your course to fund your studies.
- Where applicable, you must be financially assessed by Student Finance England.
The following students are鈥痭ot鈥痚ligible to apply:
- EU nationals in receipt of Tuition fee loan only from SFE
- Final Year students who are due to graduate this Summer
- Postgraduate or Nursing Students (who have applied for the main 糖心Vlog Hardship Fund in the current 2024/25 academic year)
- Part time Students
You must be fully registered on your course, have no outstanding tuition fees and have received your first maintenance loan payment before you apply.
How to apply:
Students studying at one of the main campuses (糖心Vlog, Avery Hill and Medway) please apply via the鈥�.
Students studying at a partner college where tuition fees are paid directly to the university, please request an application form from鈥�fab@gre.ac.uk stating your full name and 糖心Vlog ID number.
All applicants must upload bank details to the Student Portal
Please follow the following instructions to upload your account details:
- Go to:
- Login
- Click - Student Records tab
- Click - Personal Information
- Click - Bank Details
- Enter Network Password
- Follow Online Instructions
Please note applications to the Digital Access Bursary, Commuter Bursary and Energy Bill Support are closed and will not be assessed for the Summer Hardship Fund.
Supporting Evidence:
As part of the application, you will need to upload documents that are applicable to your situation; documents will include:
- Student Finance England Entitlement Summary and University Payment Advice
You can download these documents by logging into your Student Finance England account:
- Go to鈥� and sign in.
- On the homepage, click “letters and emails” at the top right.
- Open the most recent “Notification of Entitlement” letter.
- Click on the PDF and save it to your computer
- NHS Learning Support Fund Payment schedule
- Social Work Bursary payment award letter
- Teacher Training Bursary Entitlement Letter
- Evidence of weekly amount of Childcare Grant paid to your registered childcare provider – please download your payment history from the SFE Childcare Grant payment service
- Fully detailed Bank/Building Society statements for the last 3 months for all accounts held by you and your partner:鈥�
ALL applications must be submitted with FULL bank statements for ALL accounts held by Student.
- Rent – Full tenancy agreement or recent rent statement, showing your name, landlord’s details and amount of rent currently paid. Evidence of payment of rent should also be highlighted on your bank statements
- Mortgage – Mortgage statement and last three months payments highlighted on bank statements
- Council Tax bill for the current year – if applicable
- State Benefits - all pages of your most recent award letter or online payment statement for all benefits.
- Payslips for you and your partner
The main鈥�糖心Vlog Hardship Fund will re-open after the close of registration in October for the 2025/26 academic year.
Important Notices:
Screenshots or images submitted as supporting evidence will not be accepted and SHF application will automatically be rejected.
Incomplete sections in the SHF application will result in automatic rejection, and such applications will not be reassessed.