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Original poster

Private school scholarship discounts

32 replies

wintertime2016 · 29/11/2016 17:51

It's my first time posting on here after following several threads so here goes:
My Dc won a scholarship to senior school which clearly stated on offer letter X % of FULL BOARDING fee, they however flexi board which is considerably cheaper. I however noticed that the first invoice only deducted the X % from the FLEXI fee price meaning less discount for us.
My question is has anyone had this experience before, are discounted awards applied as if your child would be paying the dearer full fee or as a % of the day rate/flexi rate. I don't want to look ungrateful or greedy by querying this already generous discount meaning the offer letter was a typo or had assumed my DC would full board?
Any advice or experience of this situation would be appreciated!
Ps invoice is already paid but thinking of future term costs etc

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Original poster
wintertime2016 · 02/12/2016 15:27

Did not intend to come back to this thread as my question had been answered already. But just read your commentleftandright. Firstly just to clarify this is a scholarship so it was earned by my DC in that they were other applicants which they could have offered ie even the full boarder applicants if this was a prerequisite for their awards so it's not a bursary or means tested i.e no financial information is required or requested!
I am grateful, bear in mind if someone enters a competition expecting a certain prize that is what you expect to get when you win so was a bit surprised that's all. If it was being ungrateful as you implied I don't think the first invoice would have been paid without querying surely!!!
Also I understand that some scholarships for most senior schools don't carry any monetary value anyway but just the Scholar title or a very small % so YES we are extremely lucky!!

Thanks for having my back Eventhewind

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StillSmallVoice · 02/12/2016 11:16

One more thing you might want to check is extras. Mine had a generous bursary but anything extra (music lessons, extra help, trips etc) were charged at full whack and they came to quite a lot.

EvenTheWind · 02/12/2016 10:47

Bit harsh, left. OP was asking on here for clarification. She obviously misunderstood and now has to pay more than she expected. She has accepted that this is the norm, which she didn't know before.

leftandaright · 02/12/2016 09:57

I think you should be happy that you have a discount of a flexi fee at all!
My ds's prep school gave him an offer of a scholarship stated as 25% of his termly fees. My friend's daughter was offered 25% of full boarding fee. We had two quite different letters. Difference was they really wanted my son on any terms but my friend they only wanted her daughter if she was going to full board. Had she been day or flexi, then the scholarship would have been withdrawn entirely so count yourself lucky that you were offered a PERCENTAGE discount off FULL boarding yet you have in reality been given a PERCENTAGE discount off FLEXI.
You offer was for a percentage not £££s. I've never heard of ££s being knocked off only ever a percentage applied.
A scholarship is like a contract in a business sense. On paper you were offered a contract : numerical percentage off a full boarding fee. You accepted this. You have then chosen a flexi option so strictly speaking you are not even entitled to expect a percentage deduction of this flexi fee. It all comes down to what was written (precisely) in the scholarship offer letter - and not what you think the letter might be taken to mean.

IcedVanillaLatte · 30/11/2016 14:39

Fairly irrelevant, but I got a scholarship to a private day school (19 years ago Shock) and it was worth a whole £80 a term Hmm Apparently that was enough to pay the full fees at one point, presumable the 13th century or something

itsawonderfulworld · 30/11/2016 14:34

At DS' secondary school, scholarships are also offered as a significant % of the FULL boarding fee. If you choose to flexi-board or be a day pupil, ie not to join the scholars' house, you don't get any discount at all, only an honorary scholarship. This is made clear from the beginning though.

So in your shoes I'd be happy that you're still getting 20% off your son's fees!

ElizaSchuyler · 30/11/2016 10:54

Our initial letter did give a percentage discount but it stated fees only as a day student. Subsequent letters sent afte a new bursar took up post (we have to submit figures every year) have actually given an amount in £ that has been awarded.

We then have another letter sent the first time dd flexi boarded giving us a nightly rate (this worked out at the same percentage)

So schools probsbly all have different ways of wording things.

bojorojo · 30/11/2016 10:22

You could read that sentence to mean they only give discounts to full boarders! Flexi and day do not count! I don't think it says what they mean. Is the scholarship application information accurately worded?

I think it is fair that 20% is applied universally to the full boarding fees, flexi boarding or day. If it was a £2400 discount for for flexi and day, this would be a far greater percentage and not be fair to the boarding parents. That would not be in keeping with the spirit of the scholarship as it would inflate it for those children over the 20% for full boarders. As you are paying less anyway, I would be happy with the bill.

Original poster
wintertime2016 · 30/11/2016 10:16

Also if scholarships were fixed amounts, if fees increased over a five year period and your award was say £2000 off it means your 2000 stays while the fees kept rising, doesn't seem fair surely!

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Original poster
wintertime2016 · 30/11/2016 10:11

I will try and answer all your helpful comments and I think Eliza might have hit the nail on the head.
The letter is probably saying the award would include the full boarding fee if that was our preferred option?
Happy as I said in my first post the invoice is paid but I wanted to query this before the next invoice for next term in case it was an admin error.
I don't know about set amounts but the scholarship awards are anything from 5-50% no mention of set amounts!

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CorkieD · 30/11/2016 09:44

DH's niece actually receiving a lower percentage discount on her flexi-board than was offered for the full board in her scholarship. This was 10+ years ago though.

nocampinghere · 30/11/2016 09:34

discounts are always % off surely?

and actually i wouldn't have been surprised if they offered a lower % off flexi board vs full board.

happygardening · 30/11/2016 03:39

In your letter is the word FULL written in capitals?
It doesnt seem rather unhelpful or inefficient/administrative error that the school tell you how much you would get off full boarding fees knowing your DC will flexi board. Often scholarships unlike bursaries are fixed amounts.
Just curious really but it is an odd time of year to receive your first invoice for school fees?

228agreenend · 29/11/2016 21:33

Ah, I see where you are coming from. It does imply that the value is £2400 (using above figures), and not £1600.

ElizaSchuyler · 29/11/2016 21:02

You are interpreting it wrongly.

Some scholarships & bursaries are off the fees only. They are stating that theirs civets boarding fees too.

Parsley1234 · 29/11/2016 20:07

I think you'll find the % is off full boarding or day so flexi boarding would be charged as an additional option. Is it Cheltenham college pm me if you like

Original poster
wintertime2016 · 29/11/2016 20:04

No mention of pro rata at all

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Original poster
wintertime2016 · 29/11/2016 20:03

Hi 228
Just gone through all the paperwork and found offer letter which reads
"The value of the scholarship is worth X % of the cost of the termly FULL boarding fees"

Did I get my English wrong?

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EvenTheWind · 29/11/2016 18:57

This article, for example, discusses %

228agreenend · 29/11/2016 18:57

I think it would be 20%!pro rota as well.

IT may be worth quoting the wording on the letter so we can see why you interpreted as a lump sum discount, rather than percentage.

Wheredidallthejaffacakesgo · 29/11/2016 18:56

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
wintertime2016 · 29/11/2016 18:56

Thanks Dolly
Saves me an embarrassing email though a bit miffed the offer letter was not clearer in the beginning!

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Original poster
wintertime2016 · 29/11/2016 18:54

Just to add we had been clear from the beginning that the place applied for was for flexi not full

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DollyPlastic · 29/11/2016 18:51

No, you'll get 20% off whatever fees you pay. It's not a cash amount, it's a percentage. That's how they work.