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Original poster

Non-existent bursaries

83 replies

Nobursarymum · 06/04/2018 23:44

Our family is badly off. My DD is very bright and talented in an all round kind of way. The comprehensive she goes to is not great, and is not challenging her.
So we looked into the possibility of her moving to one of our local good reputation private schools, by way of a bursary.
When I wrote to these schools, to explain our interest in the school, but that DD would need a bursary to enable her to attend, the responses were beyond frosty. Although the schools advertise bursaries of up to 100%, 2 of the schools didn't even respond. When I pressed one of them, I was told that they didn't offer bursaries. That was despite the fact that their website clearly stated that to enable talented children to attend the school, they offered bursaries of up to 100%. They also claimed that they had not seen 3 emails from me because 1) 2 of them had got lost in the vast number of emails the admissions officer of this small undersubscribed private school received, 2) 1 email had not been received because their email account was full.

It seems to me that schools are advertising bursaries - including 100% bursaries - in order to satisfy the Charity Commission. But without any intention of actually offering a bursary to anyone.

Was I stupid to take them at their word, and enquire about the possibility of a bursary? Is it common knowledge that these statements on websites are no more than window-dressing?

OP posts:
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waterside · 19/04/2018 18:37

can you move her to a good state sixth form?

Rudi44 · 18/04/2018 20:26

I think it depends on the school but our school tests for chosen A levels at 6 th form entry. They interview as well and whilst a talent would certainly help even just outside interests and a knowledge of current affairs would help demonstrate that the applicant is interesting and well rounded.

okdok · 18/04/2018 18:44

Yes, I would let her full board. I think a problem is that she has no startling talents. If aiming for 6th form entry, would they test just her A'level choice subjects? North east would be best, but would be flexible if accessible by train.

ifonly4 · 18/04/2018 15:07

Are you prepared to let DD full board, that way she'll have more options? Which area(s) are you considering? They're maybe some on this thread whose in receipt of a bursary from a school in the area and can let you know which school they were successful with.

ifonly4 · 18/04/2018 15:03

I think you'll stand a stronger chance if applying for Year 9 (shells) or Sixth Form. If she is really bright, applying for a scholarship might be the key, there are lots of scholarships out there, academic, all rounder, sports, arts. If she gets a scholarship and they really want her, then they're more likely to offer a bursary.

Look out for open days and look then. That's what we did. DD was very passionate about wanting a scholarship and this came across. On the open day DH made it very clear that a private school had never been on our radar (until DD suggested it) and she would only go if we had a good bursary. She applied to two schools, one offered a massive scholarship but no bursary, luckily the one she wanted was the one that gave us both. Her bursary includes fees, loan of laptop, free music lessons and support and full time boarding. Even on a full bursary, you'll have to supply all the stationary, pay for housekeeping, course books and mine needs a variety of smart clothes for evening functions - luckily we've got a lot of these in sale or when she's seen something cheap on Asos, New Look, BooHoo.

DairyisClosed · 15/04/2018 17:40

Bursaries are usually offered to families already at the school. Or children who sit the CE and show academic potential but these are rarely 100% unless or is a big public school.

Teddingtonmum1 · 15/04/2018 17:34

Op getting a bursary isnt impossible , but its not going to be easy, youve got to have a thick skin & sharp elbows . my ds got a substantial bursary from yr 7 , but it was like a mission to get it. I think the first thing is you can't be embarrassed to talk about money ie lack of it to the burser, once you get your foot in the door you have to have a frank talk about what level of support you would need ie no point talking to a school which only gives a 30% max award when you need 60% . my son passed the entrance exam but then it was a wait to see if the bursary would be enough , it wasn't but i went back to them and luckily they were able to up their support. you've got to be determined , getting a decent bursary is like the hunger games you've literally got to fight for it .... may the odds be in your favour !!!

CraftyGin · 13/04/2018 16:57

Most schools with spaces will anticipate enquiries around the secondary school allocation day, and will spring into action. They will also know that most enquirers will be expecting bursaries.

Rudi44 · 13/04/2018 10:58

My daughter was offered a percentage bursary and a percentage scholarship. We enquired after our secondary school allocation which we were disappointed in. I was honest at the outset saying we couldn't afford full fees and as part of my enquiry attached a reference from her primary school and a reference from her sports club. They contacted me back within the day suggesting she come and sit the exam.
My experience of other schools were similar, only one did not reply

Ifonlyus · 12/04/2018 09:23

What year is your dd currently? Are you in an area with other state secondaries that are within reasonable travel distance that are better than your dd's current school?

It sounds to me like you've resigned too quickly to staying at the current school you don't rate for your dd. Have you explored other state options?

Gruach · 11/04/2018 22:57

Forget the school with the misleading website. And please don’t imagine you would have to re-mortgage your only (presumably modest) home!

I’m sorry it’s all left a nasty taste - but this honestly is not the definitive bursary seeking experience.

Original poster
Nobursarymum · 11/04/2018 20:33

What I gathered from the situation was that the school does not actually offer significant bursaries, though it may very well reduce fees slightly for parents in difficulty, and that the wording on the website is window dressing.
It's by the by now. I realise that approaching a relatively small school, which may not have a trust or whatever behind it (I don't know what the circumstances of the school are, but this does now occur to me), was not the best idea, regardless of what was said on the website. I won't do that again, unless our circumstances improve and we can afford to pay most of the fees. Would nonetheless not now be keen to approach that school again.
We do have equity in our not at all valuable house, but very low income. Releasing the equity in the house would be financial suicide. I don't dislike DD's state school to that extent, and we are also partially home educating, which makes a big difference.

OP posts:
ThankstothebursarymyDSs · 11/04/2018 11:38

“You will be expected to release any equity in your house”
Not necessarily. Basically there will be significant variations depending on the individual school.

CraftyGin · 11/04/2018 11:03

There will be a completely separate policy for teacher fee remission.

We only have the OP’s side of the story here. It is fairly inconceivable that a school, registered as a charity, will not offer bursaries. More likely, the schools in question do not offer bursaries to new entrants in non-foundation years.

Successful schools will have a strict and robust bursary policy, often administered by an external company to ensure fairness and confidentiality. They will be forensic with your finances. You would be expected to release any equity in your house, have modest cars and holidays, and to sell anything of value such as jewellery and artwork.

Less successful schools will be much more lax, as they will be eager to fill places, and any contribution the student makes to fees will be welcome.

ChocolateWombat · 11/04/2018 09:26

You've had a bad experience. They shouldn't say one thing in their website and then something totally different on the phone. Of course you're annoyed by that.

Do you know, I'd email again and politely point out that you're confused following your conversation about bursaries - admissions officer said school doesn't offer them but website clearly states it does - quite what it says if you like. Ask them for clarification, because you simply can't understand how you can be told one thing when the website says something else. In your position, I too would be annoyed and I would pick them up on this, rather than just feel irritated on here.

And fortunately, not all schools are like this. Smaller schools with cheaper fees are unfortunately more likely to be unprofessional with their bursary policies. They have less to give and are more desperate to attract candidates, so might be a bit misleading. The bigger more established schools often will have a clearer policy, a big pot of money and an established mechanism for dealing with queries. There are lots of testimonies on MNbof people getting partial or full bursaries.

Don't let your view of the whole sector be coloured by this. Don't decide that the system is totally closed to people currently outside it - it's not true that bursaries are all given to teachers kids or people who the school know - lots of schools really do want to widen access and you and others reading this thread shouldn't let this experience, which is undoubtedly bad and not excusable, decide the whole sector is bad.

Original poster
Nobursarymum · 10/04/2018 23:17

The thing is though, Crafty, if you've read the thread - I did read the bursary policy on the school website, which very clearly said that bursaries were available (up to 100%). But when I contacted the admissions officer (they don't have a bursary officer) asking if we could discuss the possibility of applying for a bursary, she simply said (after ignoring the first 2 emails, which she subsequently said hadn't been seen, though they went to her email address) that the school didn't offer bursaries (at all, not just not to us).

OP posts:
DullAndOld · 10/04/2018 20:36

i had that experience with a couple of prep schools in North London, some years ago,.
They go on about inclusivity and bursaries for 'bright' children but i think it is just lip service. if they have any bursary money (and dont forget a lot of smaller, newer, schools dont) they probably give it to a teacher's kid or something.

ThankstothebursarymyDSs · 10/04/2018 20:31

Definitely read the bursary policy on the school website. DS’s School encouraged you to details your financial situation even before registering so that they could give you an indication of the potential size of any potential bursary on your current income assets. Thus not wasting anyone’s time or raising hopes only to have them dashed if the proffered bursary wasn’t large enough but I suspect this is uncommon.

CraftyGin · 10/04/2018 20:11

So that communication doesn’t turn into the train wreck, as it has here, it is wise to follow a certain pattern...

  1. read the bursary policy on the school website to know that you have a chance and what is in store.

  2. contact the registrar by telephone and have a tour of the school

  3. register your child for entrance exams (paying the 25/50/75) and fill out and submit the bursary application forms

  4. receive an offer of a place for your DC and go ahead with the bursary application

  5. await the decision of the trustees as to the level of your bursary

  6. accept your place ASAP.

Original poster
Nobursarymum · 09/04/2018 20:42

Thank you everyone for your advice. I will do some research about possible schools next year, so that we can decide whether to try again for 6th form level, not focusing so much on local schools. Although DD is bright and keen rather than super brilliant academically, she is developing her academic strengths in a couple of subjects that interest her particularly, by spending quite a lot of time on them on an extra-curricular basis, so if she wants to take those for A'level (likely) presumably that might help. I feel that she has a lot going for her personality wise too - lots of comments in her school report about how enthusiastic she is, how kind and helpful with other pupils, etc.

OP posts:
lilybookins · 09/04/2018 09:23

I think most super selective DO give out from the bursary pot according to exam performance. That’s how it was explained to me at the two schools we applied for. So the highest performers got first dibs on how much % they’d need to attend the school and it gradually worked down. The good thing was that they would only offer a bursary level which meant a child could realistically attend the school
We did apply to apart a GDST school too who offered us the highest bursary on offer (they said) but at 30% was completely unrealistic - As far as i remember when looking GDST schools were the least generous but maybe that’s just London schools ? Anyway, I was probably a bit harsh before so I wish you luck - it’s a hard system to navigate at times

AnotherNewt · 09/04/2018 09:20

Not all admissions departments are like that. And I would find ones such as you describe off-putting too.

Gruach · 09/04/2018 09:18

I posted this on another schools thread, (confused between the two,) so might as well put it here too.

I wonder if schools realise just how many prospective parents are put off by their first contact with the applications department. Ideally one would only pursue applications at places with flawless admin and eager, alert, sensitive people answering the phone. But in real life ... Voicemail not picked up and responded to. Misspelled emails. Misdirected letters. Staff who ignore or forget the crucial piece of information you’ve shared with them. Inflexibility over dates for visiting. Etc.

And so often this apparent administrative flakiness a) hurts the feelings of anxious enquirers but b) has no bearing whatsoever on the experience of actually attending the school.

You do need either a thick skin or a devil may care attitude.

MissWimpyDimple · 08/04/2018 21:51

Also, see if there are any GDST schools in your area. They tend to have generous bursaries

Ohwiseone · 08/04/2018 21:22

Hi op, lots of really good info and help here if you want consider sixth form entry.
As I said further up the post, my dds school offer outstanding scholarship/bursary help to girls from state school post GCSE with a specific scholarship aimed solely for them.
You would prob need to start showing interest in year 9 and register for an open day for year 10.
As others have said, calling the bursar or admission dept should be your first port of call. I actually spoke to my dds schools admission dept and registered interest when she was in year 5 for a year 7 entry so definitely the earlier the better. Admissions dept at dds school were clued up about the entrance exams, scholarships and finances and infact I was directed towards the bursar only once we’d have an offer of a place and the bursary was granted about a month later (think it was the March before entry in the Sept)
In the meantime if your dd was to follow some extra curriculm activities such as DofE, sport, music, volunteering etc then the school would look in favour of an all rounder.
I don’t know where you are in the country but I am in the south and I could perhaps direct you towards my dds school which as I said offer some amazing scholarship/bursaries for state entrants into the LVI. (Dds school is boarding and day - the day is long but she loves it and will be going into the last term of year 9 when they go back after Easter)
Best wishes