Leathersellers' Student Grant Application Form 2026-27

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Please use this online form to apply for a Leathersellers Undergraduate Student Grant for 2026-27.

Check the eligibility criteria below before you begin. Applicants who do not meet the criteria will be declined at the first stage of review, If you have any questions, please contact us on studentapp@leathersellers.org.

Deadline: Applications close at 5pm on Thursday 5th March 2026.

We’ll contact you by 17th April 2026 to let you know if you’ve been invited for an interview or if you have been unsuccessful.

Do you meet our criteria?

Eligibility Criteria

Your application will only be considered if you:

- will be studying an undergraduate degree at a UK university in the 2026-27 academic year.

Please note: You may currently be a student on the course (you can apply in any year) or have applied / received an offer to start for that year.

AND

You meet one or more of the following:
- You are care experienced*,
- You are a current or former student of the Leathersellers' Federation of Schools

- You are a current or former student of Colfe's School (in receipt of a full scholarship)

If none of these apply, you are not eligible and your application will not be considered. Please ensure that you meet the criteria before taking time to complete and submit the form.

*Care Experienced definition:

For this programme, care experienced is someone who, at any time between birth and age 18, was under:

• A care order or interim care order

• A voluntary agreement (Section 20) with a local authority

This includes all ‘looked-after children’, regardless of immigration status.

We understand care arrangements can sometimes be complex and that some individuals do not meet the above but have lived in kinship care arrangements for lengthy periods. We are willing to consider these on a case by case basis but this must be pre-approved before applying – please contact us on studentapp@leathersellers.org to arrange a call.

Please indicate all that apply:

I am care experienced, (please provide local authority and dates below)I am / was in kinship care (pre-approved to apply as above)I am a current or former student of the Leathersellers' Federation of SchoolsI am a current or former student of Colfe's SchoolI attended both Colfe's School and the Leathersellers' Federation of Schools

Please select the Local Authority that issued your care order/voluntary agreement:

Please note the dates of your care order/voluntary agreement (these can be years if you do not have the exact dates (e.g. 2015-2017)

Studying in the UK

To be eligible, one of the following must apply. Please select:

I am a UK citizen or have indefinite leave to remainI have the right to remain for at least five yearsI have been granted refugee statusI have pre-settled status (EU)

Assessment Criteria

Your application will be assessed on how well it meets our core criteria:

1. How additional funding from us will help you make the most of your university course

2. Whether you have access to this money from elsewhere

3. Your commitment to making a positive impact on society in the future

The Leathersellers’ Foundation are keen to support you to maximise the support you are able to access at university.

Please tick this box if you consent to us sharing your application and budget with our partners at Become Charity so that their Advice and Support Officer for Higher and Further Education (Becca) can help identify if there may be additional support you can access.

She will get in touch with you directly to let you know you about additional opportunities, and offer 1-1 advice and support if she can help. 1-1 support can be arranged via email, phone or online.

I consent to be contacted by Becca from Become Charity to help me identify additional opportunities for support

I do not consent

Ready to begin?

Tips Before You Begin

You can register with us by ticking the "Save My Progress and Resume Later" box at the top of the online form. This will allow you to save your application and return to it when you next login. Your application will not be saved if you do not register your email and create a password. Please note there is no autosave function so you must press save each time you exit the application.

We appreciate this save functionality isn’t the easiest to work with, so have provided:

• An offline version of the full form

• Application Guidance on key questions

• The budget form to complete

We strongly recommend preparing longer answers offline and then copying these into the form when you are ready to submit.

Submitting your form

When you’re ready, click Submit at the bottom of the form.

After submission:

• You cannot edit your application

• You’ll receive a copy by email from no-reply@formassembly.com

• All future communications will come from studentapp@leathersellers.org or from a member of the grants team (that use the same domain). Please add these to your safe sender list.

If anything changes after submission, email us as soon as possible.

Important Notes

- Questions marked with an asterisk (*) are required - you cannot submit without answering them.

- We receive more applications than we can fund. Take time to give clear, thoughtful answers and proofread your application.

- Be as clear as possible. We look forward to receiving your form!

About you and your course

First name:

Surname:

Nationality / Citizenship

Contact email (please make sure this is an email you will have access to for the next year at least):

This email address will be our main way to contact you during the application process.

Contact telephone:

Your LinkedIn Profile (optional):

Supporting link (optional):

One link only e.g. video, website, portfolio etc.

Current home address

Postcode

How did you hear about us?

If 'Other', or you know the name of the person/organisation who referred you, please specify here:

Your Course Details

Current enrolment status:

University/College (if your institution is not listed, please contact us at studentapp@leathersellers.org):

University of the Arts London college:

Course name:

Qualification type:

If 'Other' qualification type, please specify here:

Course category:

If 'Other' course category, please specify here:

If you are yet to start your course and have conditional offers to study at a university, please list the conditions of the offer for your preferred university, as well as the name of the university and requirements of any other conditional offers you hold, below:

2000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

Course start date

This is the start date for your entire course, not the year you are in currently.

Course end date

This is the date you expect to graduate.

Where will you live whilst at university?

Please select all that apply (hold ctrl to select multiple options)

If 'Other' or you can provide more detail please specify here:

Term time address:

If this is unconfirmed at the time of application please write "To be confirmed", or if the same as above please write "Same as home address".

Do you have any dependents?

NoYes - 1Yes - 2Yes - 3Yes - 4+

Personal Statement

Why did you choose this course and university?

2000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

How would you see your career/studies developing after you complete this course? What are your hopes for the future and how do you think you will be able to contribute to society in the future?

2000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

Why are you applying for support? Tell us about any financial challenges and how this funding would help you succeed or make the most out of university.

2000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

What else should we know about you? What are your hobbies, interests and commitments? Please include any charitable, sporting or community work you are involved with and hope to continue to enjoy whilst studying.

2000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

Academic or Professional Reference

Please upload a reference from someone who knows you through school, university, a mentoring or access programme, a social worker or personal advisor, or from a job or volunteering role. Please do not use a relative or friend.

Your reference should be a separate document - if from a school, university, or local authority it should be on headed paper - and should contain a brief statement (max 1 page) explaining:

- how long they have known you

- in what capacity they know you

- why they recommend you for this grant

- who they are (an email signature can be useful here)

Why do we ask for this?

We are looking for a reference that adds some extra insight to your application, so please consider who is best to ask for this.

Supporting Reference

Name of referee:

Contact email of referee:

We only contact a small number of referees for verification. This information will be deleted after processing and never shared.

Education Details

Please tell us about your education to date, any schools, colleges, and universities you have attended, the qualifications you obtained including the subject and the date.

Final secondary school:

School/College attended for sixth form or equivalent

Highest Level of Qualifications achieved at Secondary School / College

Please only include the highest level of qualifications you received e.g. A levels, Scottish Highers or Advanced Highers, International Baccalaureate etc.

Type of School

StateGrammarIndependent

School or College Region

(e.g. North East, London, South West, International)

We hold an ongoing partnership with the Jack Petchey Foundation to increase the number of students we can support. The below is for our records only and will not impact the assessment of your application.

Have you ever received a Jack Petchey Award or been involved in a Jack Petchey Programme (e.g. Speak Out)? If so, please provide some details about your involvement and when it took place

College - if relevant and what were the highest qualifications your received (for what subjects and the dates):

1000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

University - if relevant and what were the highest qualifications your received (for what subjects and the dates):

1000 character limit (including spaces). This is a maximum limit for the software we use - you do not have to use all of the characters.

Finances

Please complete your budget on the Excel template provided and upload it here. Important: if your budget does not show a shortfall, (that you will need more money than you have available in the coming year), you are unlikely to reach the interview stage. You must use this template to submit your budget.

Please do not upload a .numbers file as we will not be able to access this. There are various tools available online to convert a .numbers file to an Excel file.

Your completed budget will show you what your annual projected shortfall is for 2026-27. Please add that number here:

Please enter numbers only - do not use £ signs or commas

How much of this shortfall are you asking Leathersellers' to fund? (max £5,000)