A GIFTED student forced to flee her home due to domestic violence has pleaded with the Scottish Government to allow her to study in safety in Glasgow.

The 20-year-old and her mum left Brisbane, in Australia in June last year, fearing for the lives and the pair have has been living in the city ever since with close family.

Ann, who was too afraid to give her real name, had been accepted for a prestigious art and design degree course at Griffith University in Brisbane but was forced to abandon it.

She has a British passport, her mother is originally from Glasgow and generations have lived here.

However, Ann has been told by the Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS) that she does not meet the criteria for funding for the HND she has already started at Glasgow Kelvin College, which costs £1200 a year.

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Prospective students must be resident in the UK for three years or more to qualify for funding.

Glasgow SNP MSP John Mason has taken up her appeal case and has urged the government to show discretion, given her “distressing” circumstances.

Ann, who is living in Carmyle, said: “My mother and I have left a severe domestic violence situation. We had to leave unexpectedly one evening in June to come home to family where we would be safe.

“My entire family on both sides are from here, my parents left the UK for work purposes,

“My hope is to move forward through hard work and study to build a happier life at home with family and friends.

“However, because of my extensive travel growing up (my father was an engineer and we moved about) SAAS has decided not to offer funding for the course I’m currently studying at Kelvin College,

“Due to being the breadwinner with no assets, I am unable to be approved for a student loan from the bank.

“Because I’m a British citizen with a national insurance number, registered to vote etc, depending on the day, I can be classed as an immigrant or Scottish to the education system.

“More than anything I just feel lost and without hope at this point.”

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Ann who was a finalist in the Royal Queensland Art Society’s youth competition has had work exhibited in Brisbane had hoped to use the HND as a stepping stone to a degree course in Glasgow.

John Mason, SNP MSP for Shettleson, said: “I have met Ann and her mother and heard about the distressing background of why they are now living in Scotland.

“And of course I agree that policies, rules, and regulations need to be in place for student fees as for everything else.

“However, it seems clear to me that there should be flexibility for cases like hers.

“Rules and regulations can only go so far.

"There always needs to be room for exceptions and room to show that we care for individuals.”

A spokeswoman for Glasgow Kelvin College said: “The College is unable to comment on the individual circumstances of any of our learners.

“The Student Awards Agency for Scotland apply agreed criteria as laid down by the Scottish Government. “Nonetheless, should a student fail to meet these criteria initially, the College works to provide appropriate support to those students going through the appeals process.”

Last week, the Scottish Government announced it was to change rules to allow interpreters who worked for the UK armed forces in Afghanistan to go to university or college in Scotland.

The move rectifies an anomaly which saw more than 300 former Afghan interpreters shut out of support to become students, unlike their Iraqi counterparts, or most refugees.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We have sympathy with anyone who finds themselves in difficult circumstances because of their personal situation.

"However, this is a matter for the Student Awards Agency Scotland, who have to consider all applications objectively and within a strict set of eligibility criteria.”