Anna's story

Anna is approaching the end of Year 13 and is studying A levels in biology, geography and ICT. She plans to move on to university after this to study conservation and ecology, as she would like a career that is based on geographical sciences.

Throughout Years 12 and 13 Anna has benefited from receiving a full Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) of £30 a week, which provided financial support during her two years of study.

'Having an EMA has helped me with transport costs as well as paying for textbooks and extra revision aids.'

Not only does Anna receive £30 a week, but she also gets bonus payments for attendance and achievement in her subjects, which she feels has helped her commitment too.

'EMA provides me with that extra bit of motivation to attend all my lessons; I also see it as a sufficient reward for all my hard work and studying.'

If you are worried about money and are eligible, an EMA may be able to help you out. Not only can it motivate you, but it can also provide much needed financial support for things like books and travel, enabling you to continue in education after Year 11.