SLC pays over £5billion in student finance at the start of the 25/26 academic year
The Student Loans Company (SLC) has paid over £5bn in first term Maintenance and Tuition Fee Loan payments.
At the Student Loans Company (SLC), we remain at the forefront of supporting the education sector by providing trusted, transparent, and accessible student finance services. SLC enables more than 1.5 million students each year to invest in their futures by providing financial support to access further and higher education.
At the start of September, we began paying maintenance loans as the academic year got underway and this week we have marked another significant milestone in the 25/26 delivery of student finance to the education sector - paying £2.4 billion pounds in tuition fees to higher education colleges and universities.
This follows the £3 billion that was paid in maintenance loans to students so in total, SLC has paid over £5.4 billion* in student finance in the 25/26 year so far.
We are continuing to make student finance payments to those who applied after the deadline and will have received a minimum level of student finance.
Where a student applied late for funding, we awarded the minimum maintenance loan and their tuition fee loan to ensure they had funding to start their term, their remaining funding is paid to them as a top-up payment once all necessary application details are confirmed. Applications can take up to four weeks to process, so we do encourage students to apply as early as possible.
For students who are starting courses in January, we’re already processing applications and there’s a range of advice on applying at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/students-from-england-can-find-answers-to-their-questions–2
*Please note these are provisional figures. Full year figures are published in our Student Support for Higher Education statistical release which will be published on 27 November 2025.