Bursary - do they look at how much you have outgoings or how much you earn

[stripes11]

although we ear, we have a lot of outgoing: motageg etc.
do schools look at how much we ear or at outgoings too?

[Alsoplayspiccolo]

IME, they look at everything; you have to submit your bank statements.

[LIZS]

Both, and any assets such as property and savings.

[PerditaProvokesEnmity]

If they're doing it properly they'll look at everything and decide what is reasonable.

Obviously if you earn several million pounds a year they're not going to say "oh, yes, we can see that your huge outgoings don't leave enough for school fees ..."

I'm sure they'll have indicated that the point of a bursary is to make attendance possible where it would otherwise have been impossible, no matter what changes the family made. They are not intended to bolster your lifestyle if you're choosing to spend your money or use your assets elsewhere.

At the same time, they don't expect you to live in a tent, foraging for food and wearing what charity shops reject.

Btw, be wary of any school that doesn't have a really well established bursary award process. It works best if a fair proportion of the school are in receipt of some form of bursary - not just one or two. (I mean at senior level. They're obviously much rarer at prep level.)

[crazycrofter]

It depends on the school. Dd's school have a transparent and publicised scale of fees, which depends on your taxable income, less an allowance for every other dependant child you have. The award of a bursary depends on academic performance and earning within this scale. So if you earned more than the scale you wouldn't be considered.

Once you get past this stage you then have to declare your assets (if you have equity of more than £300k for instance this gets adjusted for) and also your outgoings, but I'm not sure how these are factored in. I suppose if you declared exceptionally high outgoings they may not even offer you the bursary on the basis you couldn't even afford reduced fees. Have a look at the specifics for the school you're interested in.

Once your child has achieved

[Hoggleludo]

Yes. You usually have to give a very very detailed account of your outgoing. Debts. Assets. Houses. Bonuses. The lot.

Bursary's are money dependant.

[ilovesushi]

Everything. It is very thorough. We had a home visit too.

[topkay]

I think it depends on the school. We are recipients of a means-tested scholarship and we only had to submit a few documents but no bank statements. I don't know if it is different because it is a scholarship (albeit means - tested).

[PerditaProvokesEnmity]

Yes ... Is your combined award for a significant portion of the fees, topkay?

I'm sure there may be a difference in the rigour of the means-testing for say, a scholarship award of 5% or 10% for day school fees compared to a full 100%+ bursary for a boarding school.

What sort of school is it, OP?

[topkay]

It is a significant portion of the fees, yes. I also know a friend at the same school with their scholarship means tested to 100 % and it is the same thing. Don't get me wrong, we did provide a LOT of info regarding assets, income, outgoings etc, but documentation wise, only little was required and no home visit. So I do think it depends on the school.

[Hoggleludo]

Scholarship and bursary are completely different.

[topkay]

Not 'completely' different if the scholarship is means tested @hoggleludo

[PerditaProvokesEnmity]

Scholarship and bursary are completely different.

Sure ... unless a school decides to link them.

[stripes11]

it is a day school in london. thank you for replies.

[Zodlebud]

They do look at outgoings and assets. You might have a big mortgage but if it’s for a six bedroom house that four people live in then that would be seen as excessive. Likewise if you drive a £90,000 car, go skiing every year and two other foreign holidays. A mortgage for a sensible sized property in your local area, driving a normal car and a modest holiday each year are fine.

If your outgoings are reasonable and you earn less than a certain amount (varies by school) then go for it.