Discretionary payments
25.—(1) In respect of any period during which the student repeats any part of his course, the authority shall not be required to make any payments under regulation 17(a) or (b) but may pay in pursuance of the award such sums (if any) as they consider appropriate, being sums not exceeding the amount of any payments that would, apart from this regulation, be payable to that student in respect of that period.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), paragraph (4) shall apply in the case of a student who–
(a)has previously attended a course of higher education being–
(i)a course of up to two academic years' duration, in the case of one designated by or under regulation 10(1); or
(ii)a course of two academic years' duration, in the case of one not so designated
(ignoring any periods of unpaid service or research or of practice, undertaken as part of the course of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (g) in the definition of “periods of experience” in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 5 and, in the case of a sandwich course, periods of experience) or has previously successfully completed a part-time course corresponding to such a course as is mentioned above “the previous course”); and
(b)holds an award bestowed so as to be held, in respect of a course designated by or under regulation 10(1)(a), (d) or (e) being a course ordinarily of more than one year’s duration (“the current course”).
(3) Paragraph (4) shall not apply if the current course is for the degree of Bachelor of Education and a subject thereof is–
(a)physics, chemistry or mathematics (or a combination of those subjects); or
(b)craft, design and technology; or
(c)business studies; or
(d)some other subject the study of which the authority are satisfied fits a person to teach in schools any of the above-mentioned subjects.
(4) Where this paragraph applies, the authority shall only be required to make payments under regulation 17(a) or (b) in pursuance of the award in respect of the current course–
(a)where that course is ordinarily of not more than two years' duration, in respect of the final year of the student’s course which, in the case of a sandwich course, includes periods of full-time study;
(b)where that course is ordinarily of a greater number of years' duration, in respect of that number less two of the final years of the student’s course which, in the case of a sandwich course, includes periods of full-time study;
but, in respect of any other year of the student’s current course, they may make such payments as they consider appropriate not exceeding those which would, apart from this regulation, have been payable under regulation 17(a) or (b) as aforesaid.
(5) In this regulation any reference–
(a)to the ordinary duration of a course is a reference to the period ordinarily required for its completion by a student who is not excused part of the course on account of his having attended a previous course (ignoring any periods of unpaid service or research or of practice undertaken as part of the course of the kind mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (g) in the definition of “periods of experience” in paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 5 and, in the case of a sandwich course, periods of experience);
(b)to the final year or years of a student’s course is, in the case of a student so excused part of the course, a reference thereto after taking account of the consequential reduction in the duration of his course;
(c)to a person’s having attended a course shall be construed as provided in regulation 12(6).