Asking too much to get a private school place?

[Twentythirdtry]

If there’s a child in a private prep whose parents receive no financial help for this, are they unreasonable to believe they have any chance of securing a bursary for senior school?

• the child is awaiting diagnosis for ASD
• quite exceptionally talented in art and current head believes there’s a chance to secure art scholarship.
• just above average CAT scores (tad below in verbal reasoning) so likely to pass entrance tests

parents are facing mounting debt (including utility bills) funding his current school place, and often go without basic and necessities for themselves. The parents rent, don’t own a car, don’t have any savings capital or investments, have no family to ask. One parent is a full time carer for a severely disabled relative and the other parent earns 45k pre tax with sometimes 100 hours overtime each month.

senior school place would be entirety of fathers post tax income per annum

difference in the child’s academic and social development since moving to prep has been noted by teachers as commendable.

Child did not cope well in State primary due to bullying and local secondaries have a growing problem with knife crime.

given some parents own homes/mortgages, equity, savings, car(s), not in debt etc, and moderate incomes, and are granted bursaries…

would the child be likely to be granted a bursary? If so, would this be likely a large or small bursary/any idea of percent?

The parents have been very foolish to spend all that money on private prep school when they are in rented accommodation. Champagne taste on a lemonade budget. You can't afford private school - if the state school options aren't good, you'll need to move, homeschool or start earning a lot more

First step is to contact and/or apply to the school. There are scholarships can apply for … generally an exam or portfolio or audition depending on the scholarship. Can also apply for bursary … you can find most of this info on the website AND you can call and ask. Certain you could ask school loads of questions about grants etc. they are always looking for bright & talented kids

Schools don’t magically find children for bursary …. Parents, or some organizations help find talented students that could benefit from support.

Scholarship applications usually in autumn of year before admission (or earlier) for yr 9

Honestly yes. It's madness to keep child there. Even if you are lucky enough to get a bursery it's not free space but funded. However talk to the school as they the only one that knows re bursary.

If you are facing mounting debts and can't afford basics/essentials, then that is a huge issue!

What are you including in that...food, bills, heating, shoes that fit, toothpaste, toilet roll?!

Ok so, I know bursaries are reserved for exceptionally talented and academically gifted children. The child in question has been told he could quite possibly get an Art scholarship. Not sure why many seem to have overlooked this?

and to those who say ‘if you can’t afford it you can’t afford it that’s not what a bursary is for’ … on their websites, the schools says that’s exactly what bursary’s are for; the children who would not otherwise wise be able to afford it…? What do you think bursary’s are for if not this? Very confused.. seems a little classist? Only middle class children who can’t afford it, not working class who can’t afford it?

the question here i suppose is how much would his average academics and SEN count against him… even if he were to be art scholarship standard?

and of course no one wants their child to go a schools with rising knife crime, however just the basic primary school bullying lead the parents do what they’re doing to get him away from that.

I’ve seen sports scholars & bursary w below average grades & sen ….

Scholarships don’t necessarily mean any money off the fees - at our local private schools the scholars get extra tuition in their subjects/funding for extra paint supplies etc, they don’t actually get any money off the fees.

I posted up thread that bursaries are being massively reduced right now - my point was that even if somebody in exactly your circumstances got a bursary last year you’re still unlikely to get one this year.

So really only your local schools can tell you anything useful.

There was another similar thread to this recently, whereby the poster sounded like she wanted and expected a freebie private education. If I recall, the child had passed the entrance exams, and the poster was a bit miffed that this didn’t automatically lead to a bursary.

Lots if useful advice on it.

God knows but opting for Private is crazy in those circumstances even with assistance

Christ's Hospital does good bursaries for full boarders - worth checking out? They have a great art dept, or at least did a few years ago. But full boarding may not be a good idea with ASD.
I'd tend to agree with others that it would be better to find a great secondary and move there if nothing acceptable and affordable that's commuting distance.

As someone who has been through the bursary process for dc I would say contact the bursar of the schools you're interested in. I think however things will have changed recently unfortunately with the VAT increase and scholarships will be under scrutiny. I don't think Art will be prioritised generally in the same way as academic, music and sports are (just my opinion) when belts and budgets have to be tightened. There might only be one or two scholarships offered. There are some exceptionally talented dc out there so competition can be stiff.

There is a cost to apply which may be refunded but often not. The scholarship is likely to be low for art so you'll need to know that the bursary can top up to full fees if you can't afford them. Remember it is reassessed annually and there are lots of other costs like uniforms, trips, lunches, after and pre school activities.

It really isn't worth getting into huge amounts of debt for though.

OP I don't think people have overlooked that he's talented at art. But being talented at something is still unlikely to get you a fully funded place - there will be many other talented artists applying for art scholarships. DD has a 25% sports scholarship, she's currently ranked top 10 nationally across 3 different athletics disciplines (she does pentathlon) and plays county netball. She's also top set maths/science/English at a very selective school and likely to get 8/9's at GCSE. Those achievements get her 25%. We fortunately don't need bursary funding on top, but if we did, we'd be unlikely to get more than 25%.

If you're looking for 100% funding, schools are looking for children with exceptional talent in something (which your DS may well have) but also the academics. By all means get in touch with the schools you're interested in and see what they can offer, but you need to be realistic and do the financial planning for whether you could afford (say), 50% of the fees.

An art scholarship might be some free paints and a lesson or two. Might even be honorary. @Twentythirdtry Given that possibly 90% of parents cannot afford private education, how do you think schools should choose? They might be ok with art. Sport is considered vastly more prestigious for advertising purposes. That’s why cricketers and rugby players end up at private schools. They are actively recruited. Artists? No. Not really. So it’s clutching at straws to think schools that are bereft of bursary funds can be anything other than extremely choosy. Why choose a SEN dc who might take up even more resources? Or an average dc who won’t be going to Oxbridge (probably!). It’s not just about who doesn’t have money. It’s about the child as well and what they bring to the school. It’s bang for their buck.

Obviously have a go but the hill is steeper than it was before. You could stop the pressure on dc and yourselves and be realistic of course.

a bursary and a scholarship are different things though?

a scholarship is usually a small discount tor reflect the contribution of his talents

a bursary is a financial package that you need to meet certain financial criteria to qualify for

have you been told by the school that you will be able to get a bursary for achieving an art scholarship?

I don’t think art scholarships are that common- I’ve never seen one- are you sure it’s an option at the school you’re targeting?

It can be confusing but there is a very big difference between scholarships and bursaries.

My DC applied for a music scholarship at secondary. It would have entitled them to free music lessons in that instrument.

Scholarships these days are usually a small percentage off the fees if that.

The only way to get substantial fee reductions is bursaries and these are very competitive and completely based on academics.

The art scholarship might get him 5-10 % off fees. The only way to get more than that is bursaries which from your description he won't get.

Look at state. Consider moving.

Bursaries are aimed at those who could benefit from the education and opportunities at the school but are financially or socially disadvantaged. One local school has funds allocated for the benefit of children of tenants of a local Housing Association so might be worth exploring specifics at the school/s in mind, Another is working with children at a state school consortium to identify possible future candidates.

Whether a talent for art would override average academics sufficiently to meet such criteria may depend as much on the mix of candidates at the time and direction of the school as the individual's circumstances. Majority of schools will value academic prowess and sporting excellence more highly than drama, art or even music, and seek to facilitate those students first. An art scholarship is typically worth relatively little, say 10% max with enrichment activities.

Okay, so apply for the art scholarship then? At our local schools, the scholarships are for money off (£1000 a term etc), free lessons etc, not totally free tuition.

Bursaries will probably decline now too, because the schools will (correctly) prioritise the existing pupils whose parents have been hit with the VAT increase and are struggling, rather than some random new student. They'll also go through the finances with a fine tooth comb and may not be impressed that one parent is an unpaid carer. Maybe this parent needs to go back into the workforce?

Did you also have another thread on this?
I work in the private school sector and to answer your question yes average academics and SEN will count against him. This is not who the school are going to be prioritising for financial aid. They want students who will produce top exam results. I think surely you must know that already.

Id consider moving to an area with a state school that has a good art department. Or send the child to part time / evening / weekend classes at a local art school / college. You are obviously in a city if you have all these prep and private schools nearby.

Its not realistic to go without “ basics and necessities “ , by which I am assume you mean food, hot water, basic toiletries, clothing etc . What message is it sending to the child that his parents are not eating or wearing worn out clothes so that he can go to private school?

That 15-18k a year you are spending on school fees would be much better spends on a minimum decent standard living for everyone plus extra activities / support for your child at state school.

The majority of students at art school / collegein the Uk have been to state schools , it’s perfectly possible. As are most children with ASD.

Reduce it to its core: this child has exception abilities in art, average / below average in everything else.

Considering the competition for places at whichever school this is, do you yourself believe that this particular child will be the most deserving of a free private school education?

Are you asking too much? Well yes, whilst a few children do get full or at least substantial scholarships each year they are extremely rare. Rather than trying to fund a school that you cannot afford, use your efforts to get your child into a decent state school and fund extra curricula activities or family activities. If your child is one of the tiny minority that get that scholarship, that's amazing but you need to be realistic

At our school gifted in art/music might get you an art/music scholarship. The scholarship is extra 1-2-1 lessons at lunchtimes.
Bursary is 10% max.
Each child also has to score highly across the board in all areas (academically selective school) and if grades drop the scholarship is removed.

Private schools want to attract bright kids for bursaries who will boost their GCSE results. Art is a very small piece of the academic picture. It’s one gcse and then one a level. Artistic talent won’t help the school in the league tables.
ASD can get more challenging to manage as public exams loom. It’s not a reason for a bursary in any school I’ve been in.

@Twentythirdtry

Art scholarships are rarely more than a token, most scholarships are money off eg 10% but extra tuition in that subject. My dc is an exceptional musician but 25% was the typical scholarship, there were just a handful worth more in the country

Thank you. This is a really well thought out response with the info I was looking for. I don’t know if I’m kidding myself, and I know I probably am, but I couldn’t help wondering… or hoping. Oh well!