Apply

You can ask EWS Educational Trust for a grant if you are:
i) undertaking a higher education course or if you excel in a sport or the arts or if you have special access requirements through a disability, special educational need or other circumstances and if you* or your
ii) parent, step-parent, grandparent, spouse, partner or civil partner work or worked in the UK rail freight industry.

*Please note that the Trust does not generally support professional development that an employer would normally be expected to meet.

To apply for a grant
You must register an account before you start your application. On your account page – also called a dashboard – you will be asked to choose the type of application you wish to make.

It is important that the potential beneficiary registers the account, the only exception is when that person is under 16 years old, then a parent or guardian can register the account on their behalf.

You must apply using one of our forms
i) Educational if you are undertaking any type of higher education, academic or vocational
ii) Sporting and Artistic if you excel in these fields and the assistance you seek is not linked to an educational course
iii) Special Access if you have a requirement for support relating to a disability, special educational need or other special circumstances. If you have special access needs and are undertaking higher education you should use the Educational application.

To qualify
You will need to produce
i) personal details of the person connected to the rail freight industry
ii) employment details of the person connected to the UK rail freight industry. This must include either a copy of payslip, pension document or contract of employment.
View the full Eligibility Criteria here.

The forms
To complete your application form you will need some supporting documents and evidence which can be uploaded as PDF, JPEG, GIF or PNG files.

Stage one and two of the forms are the same for all types of application, they ask for the details of the close family member and the applicant. You will need to provide evidence of the close family member’s employment in the UK rail freight industry.

The other stages of the application forms cover why you are applying for grant, your education or achievements to date and your hopes for the future. You will be asked to provide evidence, for example documents relating to your educational course, your involvement in an activity, letters of support, your exam results.

You can change the type of application form you are using from your dashboard, the information provided in stages one and two will be saved but everything else will be lost when you change forms.
You don’t need to complete the form all in one go. You can fill in any part of the form, save and exit, then return to it later. You will have to complete all mandatory fields before being able to submit your application for consideration by the Trust.

What Happens Next?
Your application will be checked and you will be contacted if any further information or evidence is required. It will then go before the next Grant Committee for consideration and you will be advised of the outcome.