A charity has reopened a £100,000 fund open for community pharmacy to access grants supporting low-income households with school costs (June 17). 

The Leverhulme Trade Charities Trust (LTCT) is offering £150 grants per school-age child – for up to three children maximum per household – to those working in community pharmacy to cover costs for school uniforms, stationery and travel. 

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The LTCT director Professor Anna Vignoles CBE FBA was “pleased to bring back” the grant after last year’s success and hopes the support will “give families the breathing space they need during what can be a financially demanding time”. 

The Pharmacy School Essentials Grant is open to anyone working in a community pharmacy such as dispensers, as well as pharmacists or pharmacy technicians registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC). 

Applicants must already be receiving universal credit (or those previously on the now defunct child tax credit) for school-age children aged four to 18 as of August 31, 2025 and have household savings of less than £4,000. 

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The LTCT has opened the fund for its second year and the deadline to apply for the grant is July 1, but it may close early once the funds are spent.  

Vignoles added: “Helping families through life’s financial hurdles is at the heart of what we do. Education is a critical pathway to opportunity and social mobility, and we know that the costs of getting children ready for school each year can weigh heavily on family budgets.” 

The LTCT has been providing financial support for low-income families in the pharmacy and grocery sectors since 1925. 

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The charity is also offering postgraduate bursaries of up to £5,000 a year for students in financial need and have a family member work in pharmacy. 

It has bursaries of up to £3,000 a year for undergraduate students whose family work in pharmacy too. 

And the LTCT has a new vocational bursary scheme worth £1,000 a year for students studying a vocational course at any UK college.