To apply for an assisted place?

[pollypopsocks]

DD is youngest in her class (state school) but has always been in the top group, she is very driven and intelligent and I would love her to be able to go to private school but we can't afford it. Has anyone applied for an assisted place and what happened?

I don't have any experience to offer, but I would imagine it differs greatly from school to school. As they are independant, they can choose their own rules on admission so they are bound to all be different.

I would start by looking at some individual schools websites and requesting the prospectus from a few, then calling and asking the procedures for the ones you like the look of.

It sounds like she's doing really well where she is though
better to be top of current school
than bottom of new school iyswim? Might upset her changing

I mean when she goes up to secondary

I see nothing wrong with it as a plan but do bear in mind that she will have to be exceptional to get a scholarship. There are always far more applicants than funds so only the absolute creme de la creme get the places, so perhaps you could look into state schools and the grammar system too.

The assisted place scheme was abolished in 1997.

Nowadays you need to apply for either a scholarship (highly competitive, often not worth much), or a bursary (means tested, variable amount - can be a significant proportion of the fees, but not necessarily - and reassessed regularly).

Each school will have its own rules for bursaries (partly depending on how many children are already receiving assistance and how big the pot of money us). You will need to enquire of each school individually about its scheme and eligibility criteria. It's probably worth having frank conversation early on with the bursar at the schools you are seriously considering in order to find out how the land lies.

What I said before still goes, but you would be applying for scholarship places. Remember though that there are very few 110% scholarships around at the moment, even 50% is quite good. And you would still need to be able to afford all the extras, as there are alot more extras than there are at state secondaries.

Maybe a grammar school would be an option?

Most scholarships and bursaries only represent a 25% reduction in fees, so not quite the golden egg that people think they are, plus usually only a very few offered per school. Good luck if you choose this route, but be realistic...

Do check on the activities/trips etc the school provides. These can add huge cost financially and if you cannot afford the kit/extra costs then your daughter could feel left out and miserable.

Obviously in this current economic climate private schools are also tightening their belts and many have reduced their bursaries. So Meditrini speaks lots of sense in being upfront.

YABU

Why can't a clever kid go to a state school?

If she is driven and intelligent she'll do well in almost any school.

Indigo makes a good point.

In my year at senior school, which was considered crap at that time, was a girl who was v intelligent and driven. She got top grades in the county and was the first person in a generation to go to Oxbridge. She has just been named as one of the top women entrepreneurs in the country and her new business (launched at the height of the banking crisis) is doing amazingly.

To the right sort of person, it really doesnt matter where they go!

Oxbridge is not a flash University. My previous employers daughter went their she did not have exceptional grades, nor was she even exceptional. Just sounded posh Oxbridge, it isn't any better than say Surrey University, Bath, Bristol, Warwick etc.,

'Oxbridge' is 2 unis not 1!

No-one gets in these days without at the vv least AAB. More likely A*AA.

I know a few Oxbridge graduates and it is very different from other RG unis. One on one weekly tutorials, weekly essays, much higher standard of work required etc.

A lot of top careers (law, city etc) are dominated by Oxbridge graduates, it gives you a life-long leg up.

Haha at Oxbridge not being a 'flash Uni'.

Fabby are you thinking of Oxford Brookes? Oxbridge is Oxford or Cambridge and they are a bit flash actually.

why not call round the local private schools you had in mind and see what's on offer? I went to my local school and then won a scholarship at 11 which paid full fees throughout. it changed my life although it is true to say I would have done well if I had attended the local school, I was always very driven. My parents moved my brother as soon as he wanted to, when they saw the difference.

Look at the private schools in the area and visit then and look into their bursaries. Some offer only a few bursaries others are more generous. Some only offer bursaries to girls who pass the scholarship exams so these would be girls not just in the top set but top of the top set always. Others offer them to anybody that gets a place and just depends on your financial means. You have to be on quite a low income probably less than £20-25k to get a full bursary in most schools but they are sliding scale - they won't pay for books, uniform, trips etc...

Um, yes, Oxford and Cambridge are "flash" if that is what you want to call them. Incredibly competitive - there is no way someone without "exceptional" grades would get in.

There are some subjects where other unis, particularly places like Bristol, Warwick etc are going to be far better than Oxford or Cambridge, but overall, the Oxbridge unis still come pretty high up the rankings and their degrees are still held in high esteem.

Postgrad courses aren't quite so competitive in terms of grades. I went to Oxford as a postgrad and I didn't have straight As at A-level.

Agree with the poster who said you might be thinking of Brookes - decent uni (I did my law conversion there) but not Oxbridge standard.

"Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status"

Even 25% scholarships are means-tested. You mostly need an income below 40k per year and no assets to have any chance. And I would really think twice about whether the investment in fees is worth it. I am btw an Oxford tutor and IMHO private schools do ONE THE WHOLE offer better grounding, but they also tend to stifle initiative AND THEY OFTEN teach to the test. IME, some very famous well-respected private schools are not ideal for the very clever.

I was won an Assisted Place not long before the scheme was abolished and it was probably one of the best things that ever happened to me.

One thing to bear in mind if you decide to apply for a scholarship/bursary, is that fees are not the only cost - school trips, uniform, books etc at my old school were on an Extras bill sent out each term and this alone often ran into the thousands.

Many private schools are phasing out scholarships in favour of bursaries to maintain their charitable status.

Bursaries are supposed to just be means tested, not ability based. BUT the schools are able to have the final say when it comes down to who they would like to offer assisstance to. If your child is exceptional they be more inclined to offer help than to another child who is average ability on the same income.

I know of a child who is exceptionally bright who's family earn a lot more than 40k who have just been offered 30% reduction in fees for september.

If your child is exceptional I would certainly apply for bursaries as well as scholarships if you earn less than 60k.

Fabby.. as others have said... there is no such thing as "oxbridge" University.

OH went there (Oxford), and everyone has exceptional academic grades and often an exceptional talent in something else such as a sport as well

AAA is most certainly not enough to get into Oxford or Cambridge, and much less AAB and there is no chance.

I worked in an idependant school and there was 1 scholarship avaliable into year 7 - 8 and another avaliable for year 9 onwards. anyone could apply (including those already at the school) but it didnt pay all the fees... + there is the super expensive uniform to buy and all the other extra costs.

an inteligent child will do well at (almost) any school, though it does appear that those who get into oxbridge are more likely to have been independantly educated..... I did NOT go to an idependant school, and 4 or 5 people in my year went to Oxbridge. All of OHs Oxford friends (that i have met) have clearly been super super intelligent.... some actually a bit can i say this? wierd!

I really second the need to consider ALL the costs of private school - even if you get a bursary. Cost of uniform will be hundreds of pounds, plus trips, travel to school, music lessons etc. Then all of DD's friends will have a boat or a pony or a swimming pool and go skiing twice a year and how will she feel knowing she can't have any of that? (Fine at 11 but as a teenager? In my experience the kids getting financial assistance stood out massively. Not necessarily that we were treated differently, just that it was always obvious.)

I would apply but make sure you don't just accept a place because you think if its private it must be better - the quality of teaching isn't necessarily better - and the atmosphere in different schools varies hugely. And she would have to start again in terms of friends. You've got to balance up lots of factors not just potential cost.

Bananamash, it ain't always so. My DS was offered scholarships at two schools - came second in both sets of exams, and both schools are v. competitive - no bursary, though. I think the schools get people's hopes up unfairly.

I've seen bursaries advertised that include the cost of essential extras such as uniform, books, travel, sports equipment but they wont pay for trips or music lessons.