A WOULD-BE student has started a fundraising page to pay for his first year at university as he says he feels let down by the system.

Glen Taylor decided to follow the apprenticeship route as he pursued a career in engineering.

He completed a BTEC Level 3 and then a HNC Level 4, the latter he completed while on the job.

It is hoped that the end of a HNC, which is funded by the employer, that the student will be offered a job. Glen, however, was not so lucky.

Despite never before applying for student finance, because he has already completed a Higher National Certificate course, he is not eligible for a student loan to cover the cost of his first year's tuition.

He is hoping to study engineering at Newcastle University but is now faced with the challenge of finding £9,000 to fund his first year of studying.

Glen has tried to find a job to try and fund the course but due to the pandemic he is having little joy.

"I have applied for Tesco but if someone has experience working for B&M and the other person has a qualification in engineering, they are going to choose the person with the relevant experience.

"I have been unemployed for the last year or so."

He completed his HNC at Carlisle College last July and has been looking for work ever since.

The number of years for which you are eligible for funding is calculated by adding the length of the course you are looking to study plus one year, with the years of previous higher education study then deducted from the total.

In Glen's case this means he is only eligible for a student loan for three out of the four years of his course. Ironically, he says, had he failed his course it wouldn't have counted towards the calculation, meaning his whole course could be funded.

He also chose to do his qualification part-time to allow him to study on the job. This decision also left him with one less year of student finance.

The restrictions are set Under the Education (Student Support) Regulations 2011. Glen believes the rules disproportionally affect those on lower incomes.

A spokeswoman for the Student Loans Company said: “SLC is responsible for the administration of student funding and repayment policy as directed and agreed by the UK Government and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

"SLC provides information and guidance via a range of resources to explain student finance.We have reviewed Glen Taylor’s account and, due to his previous two years studying for an HNC qualification, the funding policy has been applied correctly and he is eligible to apply for three further years of funding.”

For the fundraiser, visit www.gofundme.com/f/first-year-tuition-fee.