Do schools offer scholarships to g&t at 7+?

[wineoclocktimeyet]

Apologies for my ignorance but this is all a bit new to us.

DS2 (age 6 in Year 1) has always been good with numbers but over the last few months he has just blossomed. For example, he knows all his times tables, number bonds to a million! understands algebra, angles etc
He is being given Year 5 and 6 worksheets in class and recently worked his way through his older brothers 11+ practice papers and got an average of 60%. Otherwise he is above average for literacy etc but nowhere near this advanced.

Although his state school is very good and they are trying very hard to stimulate him, he is just one of 30 in the class and with the best will in the world, his teacher cant give him the time he needs. They did talk about putting him up with the Year 5s or 6's for maths but I honestly dont think thats fair on either him or them!

We are not in any financial position to send him privately but I wonder whether private schools offer financial support based on academic potential.

We are in SE London.

(I will of course phone around local schools but would be interested in other people's experiences)

Thank you

[meditrina]

Scholarships are fixed awards based on ability (usually an all-rounder at this age, but very strong in one direction may also qualify). But they may be purely titular or have a token value.

If you need significant financial assistance, then you need to look to schools offering (means tested) bursaries.

[sanam2010]

Yes there are quite a few prep schools offering bursaries at 7+ and above. You usually need an income below £30k though so many ppl are in the unfortunate situation that they earn too much to qualify for a bursary but not enough to afford private fees

[inthesark]

Officially, there are bursaries for those on lower incomes (although different schools define this in varying ways) and then scholarships which tend to be for only 10% or so of the fees.

However, if you go and have a chat to the school, and have evidence of your son's ability, some schools do offer more substantial scholarships on an ad hoc basis. I know of a couple of cases where this has happened IRL, and have seen others mentioned on here. But I think they often come with confidentially conditions attached.

Rather than casting about for scholarships at first, my advice would be to find a school or two that are a good fit for your son, then see whether they are able to help or not.

Also, how will DS1 feel about this?

[wineoclocktimeyet]

Thank you - I'll speak to the local schools.

DS1 is already at a local grammar school and very happy there so I'm pretty sure it wouldnt be a problem.