Bursaries for needy pilgrims

Generous financial help is available to anyone who needs it to walk Student Cross - and you don't even need to be a student in Higher or Further Education.

Simply tick the box asking for SCA support when booking online for Student Cross and you’ll be contacted by the leader of your preferred leg/route for further details. They'll do the rest.

If your financial circumstances change after booking and you need help, you can still ask your leg leader about a bursary at any time before or during the pilgrimage.

The Student Cross Association

The Student Cross Association (SCA) is a registered charity (charity number 1019313) which exists to raise and disburse funds to needy pilgrims to enable them to walk Student Cross.

The SCA provides two types of grants for needy pilgrims walking Student Cross:

• Fixed grants: These are given annually to help students, unwaged or low waged pilgrims. The amount given is determined each year by the SCA based on available funds and acts as a subsidy to the full cost of the walk for students/ unwaged/ low waged pilgrims*. For Easter 2020, these fixed grants are £70 per student/ unwaged pilgrim and £35 per low-waged pilgrim. The SCA also gives grants to families who need financial help to take part in a family leg of Student Cross. All grants are made on behalf of qualifying pilgrims directly to their leg, allowing the leg to charge lower fees for unwaged and low-waged pilgrims.
   
• Direct bursaries: Where necessary, individual pilgrims can apply (via their leg leader) for this extra bursary. It can help with things like travel costs to and from Student Cross pilgrimages, meeting the cost of necessary equipment such as sleeping bags or waterproofs, or in special cases, meeting the total cost of the walk for students or unwaged pilgrims. If accepted, the bursary will be made on the individual pilgrim's behalf to their leg.

In special cases the SCA can also provide loans to individual pilgrims or to a leg.

*Please note, the advertised price for Student Cross to be paid by unwaged or low waged pilgrims is calculated to be roughly the full cost minus the SCA fixed grant.

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