Financial Help / Bursaries

I can only talk about boarding schools where £15 000 is a drop in the ocean when it comes to fees. Due to recent good fortune I've now got £7000 in the savings having previously had £35 I declared it straight away and our school weren't interested.. Every school is different there is no universal policy but at my DS's school 5% of you assets will be taken into consideration. As they say do the math! As far as I understand at my DS's school when a bursary offer is being worked out its just a number crunching exercise you earn A, 5% assets of your are B and you monthly expenditure is C we are only asked about mortgage/rent, insurance, pensions and cost of other family members, not utilities, council tax, food, petrol (a big expenditure for us as we're rural) C is taken from A and B the total is D that puts you in an income band and that income band tells you what reduction they will offer you.
Owning a house is not a reason why bursaries are turned down we all have to live somewhere, rent is expensive and some equity in a house is normal as 100% mortgages are no longer available. Most bursars are realistic and are happy for you to live in an averagely priced for you area three/four bedroomed house (assuming you an average family) with 25% in equity but frankly I cant see any bursar agreeing to offer you financial support if you live in a £1.3 million house which must be way above the average for your area (unless you live in Belgravia and even then i think they would expect you to move to a cheaper area) with £1000 000 in equity.

A friend applied for a bursary she had a second home they told her to sell it and pay the fees with profit from the sale. "But its my pension money" the reply was simple "what is most important to yoiu a pension or your DC's education?"

I do not see how you can be servicing a 300K mortgage on an income of

I'm not a parent with a child in an independent school but I very much doubt you'd get additional support with £15,000 in the bank, whoever it's owed to - you're sitting on it, they'll take it into account.

Every school will be different. Ask them. The worst that they can do is say no.

Is there any prospect of recovering your former income?

Because if not, then downsizing the house makes sense for wider reasons than school fees.

It won't do any harm to ask the school. But if they have allocated all their bursary pot for this year, then there may well be nothing they can do - though they may be able to offer deferred fees if your DD is in an exam critical year. This will cost you more in the long run (they will add interest) but that might be worth paying of you are seeking to avoid disruption during GCSE preparation.

Schools may have some tolerance for equity in a house if remortgaging just means a different unaffordable bill. But probably only to cover a short term crisis. In the longer term, moving house or state school might be the only achievable options.

I think moving house would be a good idea.

And still be wealthier than 98-99% of the population with 500k in the bank.

SILLY POST OP.

Sell the house, move to a 600k house in a grammar school area.