Petition Student Loans for National Diploma

Laine Theatre Arts students study a 3 year Level 6 National Diploma in Professional Theatre or Dance. The course is accredited by the Council For Dance Education & Training and accredited by Trinity College London. Our fees are £16,512 inc VAT (£5,504 per term, not including living expenses) Our problem lies where our borough council class our course as a 'Higher Education' so we are unable to claim housing benefits, but our course is designated as 'Further Education' so we are not eligible for a student loan. For students aged 16-25 this is an unreasonable amount of money to be expected to find without any financial help from local or national authorities. We need the government to allow us to have some form of financial assistance in the form of a student loan!