Free Schools Meals Eligibility
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This should only be completed by offer holders who are currently eligible, or have been eligible in the last six years, for Government Funded Free School Meals at a UK school or college, and some mature students who receive benefits.
The reason for requesting this information is for the Education Premium, (further details on this page: Finance information for Home Fee Status (2024 entry) (cam.ac.uk). In addition to the Cambridge Bursary, students who have been eligible for free school meals (funded by your local authority) at any point during secondary school will receive the Education Premium. This is an additional non-repayable bursary of £1000 per year. If you did not declare eligibility for free school meals as part of your application but would now like to do so, please complete the Free Schools Meals Eligibility Task by 2 April 2024.
Follow the following steps to submit your Free Schools Meals eligibility:
1) Save your Free School Meal eligibility as one combined PDF. Please see the FAQ section at the bottom of this page for guidance on what constitutes proof of FSM and for help creating a PDF.
2) Drag and drop your PDF file to the section on this page
3) Click 'Submit' to submit your file
Information on how we use applicant data can be found here: https://www.information-compliance.admin.cam.ac.uk/data-protection/applicant-data.
Q. How do I create PDF files to upload?
How to create PDF files
If you need help creating your PDF file, instructions can easily be found on the internet. We've included some useful examples below (please note these sources are external to the University):
- How to create a PDF file in Windows 10 (via How-to Geek)
- How to scan to PDF on an Android phone (via Android Police)
- How to create a PDF on a Mac (via How-to Geek)
- How to scan to PDF on an iPhone or iPad (via Macworld)
Further suggestions include using CamScanner to do this, if you have access to a mobile phone. It is an app that turns a mobile phone into a scanner and allows you to save the image as a pdf which you can then email to the College, as instructed. Alternatively, you could take a photo of your document, insert it into a Word or other text document, save it as a pdf and email it to the College, as instructed. Please always make sure that the documents are clear, the right way up and all the information is readable.
Q. How can I show proof of Free School Meals eligibility?
Most commonly applicants will submit a letter from their school written on letter-headed paper, signed and dated which confirmed your current or previous eligibility for Free School Meals.
Q. How do I know if I am eligible for Free School Meals?
If one of the following applies to you, please provide a document to confirm this:
- You attend a UK school or college AND you are currently eligible for Free School Meals funded by the government in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
- At some stage in the last six years you have attended a UK school or college AND been eligible for Free School Meals funded by the government in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales.
- You are a mature applicant (i.e.: you will be 21 or over at the beginning of the course), currently eligible for benefits that would entitle any dependent children to UK government-funded Free School Meals.
If you are unsure about your eligibility for Free School Meals, please check with your school/college.