If you have been offered the opportunity to repeat a year of your course or top-up from Ordinary Degree to Honours degree, which is also classed as a repeat year, you will need to consider the financial implications. These may be as follows.

You will normally be entitled to Student Finance for one extra year, in addition to the standard course length. However, if you have already repeated a year, or done previous study at Leeds Conservatoire or elsewhere, you will not be entitled to an extra year’s support; unless you had compelling personal reasons (CPR) which usually means ill health or bereavement for which you can provide evidence.

You will need to apply for student finance for the year you return to study in the usual way on the Student Finance England website, you will need to ensure that you change the course details and year of study as appropriate. It’s very important that you do this as soon as the application process opens for the next academic year, which will be around late February to early March, as otherwise the entitlement could be incorrectly calculated.

If you are providing evidence of CPR to Student Finance, you will need to quote your customer reference number on all documents. The evidence needs to be independent and show how the ill health or other event affected your ability to study in the academic year you are repeating.

When you apply for your Student Finance, you are asked for details about your proposed course of study. Please ensure you select “LEEDS CONSERVATOIRE” as your course provider from the drop-down list, and then select the exact correct course details, which will be listed in the courses drop-down. Also ensure that you select the correct year of study.

If you have already completed an online application or a form PR1, to apply for support in the next academic year, you can make changes to the course details by logging into your online account.

Student Finance England will then decide whether you are entitled to an extra year’s support. If you have not yet applied for support for the next academic year, you should do so as soon as possible after the application process opens, indicating your intention to repeat the year.

Please note that “Student Finance” means tuition fee loans, and maintenance loans.

See the latest tuition fee for Home (UK) students.

If you are repeating partial credits i.e. less than 100 credits, the fee is charged on a pro rata basis, but you can still receive the same living costs support, providing you are in attendance and enrolled on a full-time course. Contact us to find out your exact fee (details below).

If you are returning to study after a suspension, but not repeating a year you:

• You should apply for finance for 2025-2026, using the customer reference number you already have. Do not create a new account.
• Update the provider and course details as detailed above, ensuring you select “LEEDS CONSERVATOIRE” as your provider, and the exact correct course and year of study.
• Submit your application and wait for a new entitlement letter.

If you transfer from one course to another course, which is of the same length, without repeating any years, your funding eligibility shouldn’t change. You should change your course details on your Student Finance account and this will generate a new entitlement letter showing the correct details.

However, if you subsequently need to repeat any years of the new 3-year course you would not be funded, unless you had compelling personal reasons (CPR) for the repeat. Please ask us for further advice before transferring to a course which is a shorter length than the previous one.