From September 2020, degree-level students studying nursing, midwifery and some of the allied health subjects will receive a non-repayable and non-means tested grant of £5,000 a year to help with living costs.

Additional support (up to £3,000 a year) will be available for some students in regions or specialisms struggling to recruit, or to help students cover childcare costs. The grant will be in addition to existing student support. Funding will be offered to existing students as well as new entrants.

We spoke to Amaar Zafar who is studiyng Level 1 UAL Art, Design & Media Diploma at South Thames College about his journey as a Photograhy Entrepreneur. 

You are a successful entrepreneur and have your own Photography business as well as studying at College, tell us a bit about your business and what and who inspired you to start?

I’ve always been a creative person and through the years I was able to convey that in many forms. When I was 7, I picked up my first camera, a Sony point and shoot. I remember using it to take photos of things and people around me. Through the years I was always into photography and filmmaking, but lacking any good equipment, it was generally more a hobby. It wasn’t until December 2018, when I got a new phone with a better camera, that I really started to hone my skills and take things up a notch. I’d say the catalyst that pushed me into turning this into a career was the lack of options I had otherwise due to several things going on in my personal life, mainly my long-term illness, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Seeing photography as a way forward I channelled my time and energy into that, starting to use a DSLR a few months later in early 2019, to allow myself to improve and get to a level where I could make money from it. One of the people who inspires me is Peter McKinnon, a Canadian photographer/filmmaker who came from a normal background, but made it big in the industry, due to his passion and phenomenal work.