Teacher training bursaries and scholarships

In England in 2026/27, trainee teachers on fee-funded postgraduate courses can get a tax-free bursary of £29,000 in chemistry, computing, maths and physics, £20,000 in design and technology and languages, and £5,000 in biology and geography. In chemistry, computing and physics you can apply for a £31,000 scholarship instead, and in French, German and Spanish a £22,000 scholarship. Other subjects, including English, history and primary, have no bursary this year.

Amounts by subject, 2026/27

Subject	Bursary	Scholarship (instead of bursary)
Chemistry	£29,000	£31,000
Computing	£29,000	£31,000
Physics	£29,000	£31,000
Mathematics	£29,000	None listed
French, German, Spanish	£20,000	£22,000
Other languages, including ancient languages	£20,000	None listed
Design and technology	£20,000	None listed
Biology	£5,000	None listed
Geography	£5,000	None listed
All other subjects and primary	None	None

The amounts are set each year by the Department for Education and can go up, down or disappear depending on how recruitment is going in each subject. They apply to courses starting in the 2026/27 academic year. If you are applying for a later year, check the new figures before you commit.

Bursaries and scholarships are different

A bursary is automatic. If you are on an eligible course in an eligible subject and meet the nationality and residency rules, you get it, paid by your training provider. You do not apply separately.

A scholarship has to be applied for through the subject body that runs it, such as the professional institute for physics or chemistry or the relevant computing or languages body. Scholarships are worth more, and they come with extra support like membership, events and resources. Selection usually involves an application and an interview or assessment that tests your subject knowledge and enthusiasm. You get either the scholarship or the bursary, never both.

Who can get one

You need to be on a fee-funded postgraduate course leading to QTS: a university-led course, a SCITT, or fee-funded School Direct. You also need to be eligible for student finance support, which generally means being a UK national or having settled or pre-settled status, with some other categories included. The DfE guidance lists the exact eligibility rules.

If you train on a salaried route, you cannot get a bursary because you are already paid. Instead, the school employing you receives a grant at the same per-subject amount for salaried School Direct and the postgraduate teaching apprenticeship.

There are two other payments worth knowing about. Undergraduates on maths or physics degrees with QTS, including “opt-in” QTS courses, can get a £9,000 bursary. Veterans who train to teach eligible subjects can get a £40,000 veterans’ bursary.

How it is paid

Your training provider pays the bursary in monthly instalments during the course, not as a lump sum. If you leave the course, payments stop, but you do not normally have to repay what you already received.

Because the money is tax-free, a £29,000 bursary goes further than a salary of the same size. A salaried trainee paid the unqualified minimum of £23,732 would take home noticeably less than that once tax and National Insurance came off. The take-home pay calculator shows the exact figure for any salary.

You still pay tuition fees on a fee-funded course, normally with a tuition fee loan, and the bursary does not cover them. Repayments on that loan come later, through your salary, once you earn above the threshold for your plan. For most people taking out their first loan now that is Plan 5, which starts at £25,000 a year. See student loan repayments for how deductions work.

Choosing between a bursary and a salaried place

For trainees in the £29,000 subjects, a fee-funded course with a bursary often leaves you better off during the training year than a salaried place, even after fees. You also have a lighter teaching load than salaried trainees. The trade-off is a larger student loan balance.

In subjects with no bursary, such as English or primary, a salaried route is usually the better deal financially, but places are limited. Teacher training routes in England sets out the options side by side.

The bursary is meant to get you into teaching, not to keep you there, and there is no requirement to teach in a state school afterwards. Once you qualify, you move onto the main pay range: M1 is £34,069 from September 2026 in England outside London. If you are looking at maths in particular, how to become a maths teacher covers the subject knowledge requirements and what the job involves.