The Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA)

An EMA is an allowance which is worth up to £30 a week (paid fortnightly) for students who decide to stay on at school or College. You may be eligible for EMA if:

• You are aged 16, 17 or 18 years of age on the 1st September 2009;
• Your household income is £32,400 or less;
• You meet the residency and nationality rules set out for the EMA Wales Scheme; and
• You attend an eligible course at a school or College which involves at least 12 hours or more study per week.

The table below shows how much you could be eligible for, based on your household income, before tax :

• Bonus payments of £100 will be paid, to those who achieve set goals in January and July of each academic year, with the possibility of an additional bonus paid in September/October for those who are returning in the second or subsequent year of study.
• Students will sign an EMA Learning Agreement with the College during the first few weeks of term.
• Eligible students will receive EMA upon achieving full attendance, commitment to the course and progress in their studies.
• Payments will be made directly into students' bank accounts.
• EMAs will not affect any other benefits student families are receiving.

To apply you will need to complete and EMA Application form.  These forms are available from all Coleg Llandrillo Cymru Campuses or can be downloaded from the Student Finance Wales web site.

For further information, you can contact the Student Finance Office at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru at the Rhos on Sea campus on 01492 542330 or 01492 542345, or alternatively email emaandalg@llandrillo.ac.uk.

Information can also be found on the Student Finance Wales web site by emailing EMAWales@slc.co.uk or by calling the EMA Wales Customer Services Team on 0845 602 8845.