There has been a notable decrease in the number of 16-19 year old students staying on at college due to recent Government cuts. The number of students enrolled at colleges has dropped for the first time in 12 years by up to 15%.

The axeing of the EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) weekly grant which provided students with £30 per week for students is cited as one of the main reasons for the drop in enrolments along with cuts in transport subsidies. Martin Doel, chief executive of the AoC said a “significant number” of colleges were concerned that some students would no longer be able to afford the cost of study and that “there is a risk of vulnerable groups becoming disengaged from education.”

This year colleges have received £65m in bursary funding for 16-year-olds, this is around a third of the amount that was available last year. Furthermore a recent survey revealed that only 2% of local authorities had increased the transport subsidies for 16-19 year olds, while 38% of authorities had actually reduced their subsidies.

Paul Davis, managing director of Perspective, said: “It is vital that young people who are perhaps unable to afford further education look to alternative opportunities such as apprenticeships. This option allows young people to learn valuable skills to make them employable in the future while earning at the same time.”