Quadstar wants talented and committed young people living in the UK to flourish and be able to take advantage of opportunities without facing insurmountable financial barriers. We offer educational grants to current and prospective students on any UK FE course, with a particular (but by no means exclusive) focus on students at UK vet schools. 

 

Successful grantees are likely to come from a low-income background and have shown determination in the face of adversity. Applicants will be expected to demonstrate genuine financial need and to fulfil the sort of criteria required for a contextual University place offer (see our application form for further details of the sort of evidence we look for). In the past we have supported students who have faced challenges including (but not limited to): caring responsibilities; care leavers; child-hood trauma; family addiction issues; parental loss; parental imprisonment; and (undiagnosed) neurodivergence.

 

Quadstar funding is not intended to be a mere ‘cash top up’ and strong preference will be given to those who would otherwise struggle or possibly not even take up or complete their degree course. Mentoring support will also be offered by Nick and the Trustees, and in addition you will be paired with a Quadstar grantee. In turn you will be expected to support a future grantee with their progress and development.

 

Applications for our educational grants can be made any time in the academic year and during any year of the course. We make most of our awards in July in readiness for payment in September and would therefore recommend you ensure your application reaches us by 30 May at the latest. However we will consider grant applications all year-round so please email nick@quadstar.org if you feel that you are in urgent need of support or complete an application form.

 

Each grant will generally be for a maximum of £4,000 per annum , but is often less in the early years and more in the later years as we expect students to contribute themselves by earning where they can.