If you receive UK Free School Meals or have received them in the last six years, please upload a letter from your UK school/college confirming that you receive(d) UK Government-funded free school meals.
| IMPORTANT: The letter must specifically state that the meals are UK Government funded. If you provide a letter that does not mention "government funded", we will need to ask you for another letter that does. |
Only UK Government funded Free School Meals are eligible. Some schools have their own schemes & bursary systems. Free school meals via these schemes are not eligible unless you are also eligible for UK Government funded free school meals (see below for more detail)
We can also accept documents showing either your or your guardians' eligibility for one of the UK benefits that qualifies you for government-funded Free School Meals.
Please be careful, however, as the eligibility criteria for Free School Meals have changed this year - please ensure that you send a document from the correct list below.
If you are currently eligible for government funded Free School Meals, an evidence document showing any one of these benefits can be uploaded:
| What | Note |
|---|---|
| For current eligibility: Universal Credit | For the 2026-27 academic year Universal Credit gives eligibility for government-funded Free School Meals regardless of income. |
| Income-related Employment and Support Allowance | |
| Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 | |
| The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit |
If you are demonstrating eligibility for government funded Free School Meals at some point in the last six years, an evidence document showing any one of these benefits at the time can be uploaded:
| What | Note |
|---|---|
| For eligibility in the last 6 years: Universal Credit with an annual net earned income of no more than £7,400 a year (after tax and not including any benefits you get). | You must have applied on or after 1 April 2018. |
| Income-related Employment and Support Allowance | |
| Support under Part VI of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 | |
| The guaranteed element of State Pension Credit | |
| Child Tax Credit | Only if > you’re not also entitled to Working Tax Credit > you have an annual gross income of no more than £16,190 as assessed by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). |
| Working Tax Credit run-on | This is paid for 4 weeks after you stop qualifying for Working Tax Credit |
| Income Support | |
| Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance |
STEP 1: Please scan and save your Free School Meals eligibility document as ONE pdf file on your computer. The file should not be larger than 3MB. If you need help with scanning, we recommend that you use a scanning app such as CamScanner (you can use your phone as a scanner) ask a friend or relative who has a scanner, or ask your school.
STEP 2: Please save your pdf on your computer with the file name following this example:
For the fictional Elizabeth Cooper applying for Natural Sciences (Biological) with UCAS Personal ID 2590182452, the file name would be
4.5-NaturalSciences(Biological)-COOPERElizabeth-FreeSchoolMeals-2590182452
Please make sure
> there are NO SPACES
> you use hypens
> there is the number 4.5 at the beginning.
> if you are applying for Natural Sciences, please write NaturalSciences(Physical) or NaturalSciences(Biological) in all cases.
STEP 3: Please open the pdf on your computer. Scroll all the way through, checking that the document you are sending is all there and legible.
STEP 4: Please upload your pdf using the UK Free School Meals document upload tool
If we have a problem opening the file or there's something wrong with the document you have sent for some reason, we'll let you know (as ever).
Thank you for your help in sending your document following our instructions - it helps us to process everything as efficiently and accurately as possible.