If you are unemployed, in receipt of certain benefits or on a low wage, you may be eligible for a free course. Applicable courses will clearly state the following information on the Cost and Finance tab on the individual course listing.

To be eligible for a free course, you must meet the following criteria:

• You will be aged 19+ when the course begins
• AND you are in receipt of Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
• OR you are receiving a means-tested benefit, earning less than £617 per month (take home) if you are a sole claimant or £988 a month if you have a joint claim with your partner, and are completing the course to improve your employability
• OR if you are working and earn less than £20,319 annual gross salary

You will need to provide evidence and sign a declaration when you enrol.

Subsidised fees

If the above does not apply to you, you may still be eligible for a subsidised fee. For more information, please contact our Admissions team or call 01273 667704

If you see the message "Eligible for an Advanced Learner Loan" on the individual course listing, you may be eligible to apply for a loan to meet the cost of your qualification fees. This is paid directly to the College on your behalf. For more information about Advanced Learner Loans, please click here.

If you are applying to study for your English or Maths GCSE, this course will be free if you meet the following criteria:

• You are a UK citizen, hold EU Settlement Status or have a visa which could qualify you for home status
• You do not already hold a grade 'C' or a grade 4 in this GCSE

Our Admissions team will guide you through the enrolment process on receipt of your application.

When a course is listed as full cost only, there are no discounts available. This will be stated on the Cost and Finance tab of the individual course listing

For information on payment plans, please see Fees and Withdrawals Policy.

Please speak to our Admissions team for more information: admissions@gbmc.ac.uk | 01273 667704

If you are not a UK citizen, do not hold EU Settlement Status nor have a visa which could qualify you for home status, you will be classified as an international student.

Many of our courses are open to international students - eligible courses will be clearly labelled on the individual course listing.

Please note that fees for international students differ from those for home students. For hobby & leisure (Adult and Community Learning) courses, the international student fee is usually the course fee, plus an additional 30%. Find out more about this here. The fees for other course types can either be found via the course listing or by contacting international@gbmc.ac.uk

If you are interested in applying to one of these courses, you will need to fill out this short application form. If you have any questions regarding the application process for international students, please email international@gbmc.ac.uk

More information for international students can be found here.

Many of our leisure and hobby courses will be eligible for a 50% discount if you are in receipt of certain benefits (listed below). This will be clearly stated on the Cost and Finance tab of individual course listings. If no discounts are available, this will be stated on this tab.

Applicable benefits

• JSA
• ESA
• Universal credit
• Housing benefit
• Income support
• Council tax benefit
• Pension credit

Please note we do not accept any of the following benefits:

• DLA or PIP
• Carers allowance
• Working/child tax credits

You may also be eligible for a 50% discount if you are working and earn less than £20,319.00 annual gross salary. You will need to provide evidence and sign a declaration when you enrol.

How to apply

If the course you wish to enrol on is eligible for the discount and you are in receipt of one of the applicable benefits, please contact our Admissions team | 01273 667704. You will need to provide evidence and sign a declaration before you can enrol.

We will accept a letter confirming the benefits are in your name or a bank statement showing receipt of benefits – both must be dated within the last three months.

Many of our Level 2 courses will be free if you meet the following criteria:

• You will be aged 19-23 when your course begins
• You have not already achieved a full Level 2 or above, you may not have to pay any fees.

Eligible courses will have the above information stated on the Cost and Finance tab of the individual course listing. If the tab states "Please note that there are no applicable fee remissions for this course." then the full fee would need to be paid regardless of your circumstances.

For more information, please speak to our Admissions team: admissions@gbmc.ac.uk | 01273 667704

Many of our Level 3 courses will be free if you meet the following criteria:

• You will be aged 19-23 when your course begins
• You have not already achieved a full Level 3 or above, you may not have to pay any fees.

Eligible courses will have the above information stated on the Cost and Finance tab of the individual course listing. If the tab states "Please note that there are no applicable fee remissions for this course." then the full fee would need to be paid regardless of your circumstances.

For more information, please speak to our Admissions team: admissions@gbmc.ac.uk | 01273 667704

The Lifetime Skills Guarantee (LSG) is part of the government's National Skills Fund, designed to help adults to gain the skills they need for employment and to improve their job prospects. 

If a course is eligible for the LSG, you will find this information on the Cost and Finance tab of the course's individual listing.

These courses may be free if:

• You are 19+
• This is your first full Level 3 qualification OR
• You achieved your full level 3 qualification before 1 April 2021 (and none since) and you are unemployed (or earn less than £345 per month) and are in receipt of benefits OR
• You achieved your full level 3 qualification before 1 April 2021 (and none since) and you are employed and have an annual gross income less than £20,319

For more information, please visit the government website or speak to our Admissions team: admissions@gbmc.ac.uk | 01273 667704