Launched in April 2011, the aim of the Armed Forces Bereavement Scholarship Scheme is to give the children of those who have died in the Service of their country a head start in life by enabling them to obtain a university degree or further education training.

Government funded, the scheme is open to any child whose parent died while serving in the Armed Forces after 1 January 1990, and the parent’s death was deemed to be attributable to their Service.

The scheme will provide a further scholarship to enable an eligible bereaved child to stay in further education in order to obtain the necessary qualifications to secure a place at university. It will then provide a contribution towards the cost of a first undergraduate course at a publicly-funded UK higher education institution. The university scholarship contributes toward both the tuition fees and maintenance costs.

Further education scholarship costs are set at £1,500 per year. The university scholarship will be up to £8,240 in academic year 2010 – 11 and will be adjusted to provide an equivalent level of support for all applicants across the UK, as tuition fees vary according to the place of study.

The scheme has been backdated so that applicants can apply for funding for study from 1 September 2010 and applications may be made for scholarships for further education or university courses attended from this date.

The award of a scholarship will not depend on the financial situation of the applicant or their family and should not preclude a recipient from applying for other financial support, such as university funds.

Eligible children from overseas will be treated as resident in England for the purposes of these scholarships and payments will not be liable for Income Tax.

Full details of the scheme, including the application form, are available from: www.GOV.UK/MOD, enter Education Scholarship Scheme for Bereaved Service Children in the search box.