Finance for Secondary

 DFE have now released scholarship and bursary amounts for 2026-27

 Please see table below

We address below how the money works on both unsalaried and salaried programmes.

UNSALARIED SECONDARY PROGRAMMES 2026

The trainee pays the university tuition fees of £9,535.

Scholarships are available in a limited number of subjects. These are competitive and you need to apply to the relevant professional institute. If you are awarded a scholarship, you cannot also receive a bursary. A 2.1 or 1st class degree is normally needed but scholarships could be awarded to someone with a 2.2 in exceptional circumstances.

Government Bursaries are automatically available (subject to eligibility) in some secondary subjects listed below.  The eligibility conditions normally relate to your degree level (you need at least a 2.2 or alternatively a masters or PhD) and your residency status. A bursary is like a grant and does not need to be paid back. Bursaries are administered by our partner universities.

The DfE is again extending bursary and scholarship eligibility to all non-UK national trainees in languages and physics for 2026-27. 

For the official information about bursaries, scholarships and loans, including detailed footnotes on eligibility please visit www.education.gov.uk/get-into-teaching/funding             

Student Loans are available for unsalaried trainees in all subjects, subject to the same eligibility criteria relating to residency and degree level.                                                                                

SALARIED SECONDARY PROGRAMMES / APPRENTICESHIPS

• Trainee pays no fees                                                                                                                            
• The host school employs the trainee throughout the training programme, paying them a salary. Salaried trainees are not entitled to bursaries.                                                                                                                                                       
• Trainee salaries are commonly (and cannot be less than) Point 1 on 'Unqualified Teacher Pay Range' which is revised annually but usually not published by the government until the month when you start (September).  This salary varies depending on the location of the school, eg Inner London, Outer London, Fringe London etc. As a guide, the figure for 2025-26 for a school in Inner London is £28,343 and for Outer London it is £26,7789. This salary would be subject to taxation.

Inner London Boroughs

• Barking and Dagenham
• Brent, Camden
• City of London
• Ealing
• Greenwich
• Hackney
• Hammersmith and Fulham
• Haringey
• Islington
• Kensington and Chelsea
• Lambeth
• Lewisham
• Merton
• Newham
• Southwark
• Tower Hamlets
• Wandsworth
• Westminster

Outer London Boroughs

• Barnet
• Bexley
• Bromley
• Croydon
• Enfield
• Harrow
• Havering
• Hillingdon
• Hounslow
• Kingston-upon-Thames
• Redbridge
• Richmond-upon-Thames
• Sutton
• Waltham Forest