Hockerill Educational Foundation - Hockerill Educational Grant

Hockerill Educational Grant

You will receive a grant of, as a rule, 500 to 1,250 GBP per year (around 1,030 EUR on average) for teacher training in the United Kingdom. Priority is given to those who teach religious education. Depending on your financial circumstances, the grant may be lower if your tuition fees are lower, or higher in exceptional cases. The grant covers one academic year. If you still need support next year, you can submit a new application. The money is usually paid out at the end of September. Larger grant amounts are paid in two instalments, in September and January. The funding comes from the Hockerill Educational Foundation, a charitable organisation in England and Wales which awards approximately 70,000 GBP annually to between 70 and 80 students.

Who can apply

• What you study: You are undertaking teacher training in the UK. This includes a PGCE (a one-year teacher training course undertaken following an undergraduate degree) or an undergraduate degree that qualifies you to teach. Teachers and teaching assistants attending further training courses, as well as those engaged in academic research into the teaching of religious education, are also eligible to participate.
• Subject: Religious education is the top priority. Other subjects that prepare students for a career in teaching are also taken into account.
• Financial need: You’re finding it difficult to fund your studies. Your financial situation is always taken into account.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. International students who pay very high tuition fees do not usually receive financial support, unless they are nearing the end of their studies and are at risk of being unable to complete their degree due to a lack of funds.
• Timing: The first year of a three- or four-year degree course is not usually funded, although mature students may be an exception.
• Not funded: Training in other professional fields (accountancy, business, law, medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine), counselling or therapy, training as a member of the clergy (provided you do not teach in schools), TEFL/TESOL, as well as subsequent Master’s degree programmes. Emergency scholarships are not awarded mid-year.

How to apply

Please email the Foundation to request an application form. The deadline for applications is around the end of May, before the academic year begins. Most decisions will be announced in mid-July.

How realistic are your chances?

This scholarship is very specific. You must be undertaking teacher training in the United Kingdom, and religious education is clearly the priority, so the pool of eligible applicants is small. If you fit this profile and can demonstrate a genuine financial need, your chances are good, as the foundation supports between 70 and 80 students each year. Apply early, as the funding is allocated before the start of the academic year and there is no mid-year top-up funding.