Our Eligibility Criteria

Students matching the below criteria are entitled to LEAPS support.

LEAPS Group 1+ Schools

We support any student in a Group 1+ school who has the potential to achieve a minimum of 3 Highers by the time they finish school.

LEAPS Group 1 Schools

We support any student in a Group 1 school who has the potential to achieve a minimum of 3 Highers by the time they finish school.

LEAPS Group 2 Schools

In Group 2 schools, we support students who have the potential to achieve a minimum of 3 Highers by the time they finish school and match one or more of the following LEAPS eligibility criteria:

• student who is first generation in family to apply to higher education or whose parents do not already have a degree. This includes students whose parents may have briefly participated in higher education but did not achieve a degree. (Please note that a student whose parent/guardian/carer has achieved any degree ­– irrespective of mode of study, type of institution, location of study – would not be LEAPS eligible under this criterion.)

• student from a low income background. (For instance where a student is entitled to EMA, free meals in school, or where the family is entitled to a benefit such as Universal Credit).

• student who is care experienced. (By this we mean where a student has been, or is currently, in care. For instance, this may have been in a formal setting such as looked after at home, adoption or foster care, or it may have been in an informal setting such as kinship care and living with a relative who is not their mum or dad.)

• student who is estranged. (By this we mean a young person who currently has little or no contact with either of their parents and/or their legal guardian. They may not have been formally supported with this by the care system or a social worker etc., particularly if the estrangement happened after the age of 16 and they were unable to access social services due to their age.)

• student who is a young carer. (By this we mean a young person who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member who due to illness, frailty, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support.)

• student who lives in one of Scotland’s 20% most disadvantaged communities as defined by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD20). Please check your postcode here.

If you are unsure if you or an individual is eligible for LEAPS support, please contact us for clarification.