Posting for traffic and hopefully a quick answer. DS is currently on a CertHE course (1 year) and has a student loan. He's applying for full degrees at the moment but no guarantee he will get any offers to start in September (it's performing arts so based on auditions rather than exam results). He's really stressing about finances ( we can't afford to pay tuition fees on top of his accommodation etc) as I'm sure I read somewhere that you can have a maximum of 4 years tuition fee loan but they have to be 4 consecutive years without a break). But Student Finance website implies you can have a break as maximum loan is length of current course +1 year minus however long you've already studied at higher level, which for him is 1 year. It doesn't mention anything about the years having to be consecutive.
If he doesn't get any offers for September (unlikely, but you never know with that industry) would he still be able to access tuition fee loan if he had a year out and was successful in getting a place to start in 2027? He's really feeling the pressure (it's audition season and he has 3 in the next week), so it would reassure him to know if this isn't the last chance saloon so to speak. Anybody who knows the definite answer would be so helpful!