Your dd could be a chorister!! How can we fund this amazing opportunity?

[nixcross]

My dd has been for a pre voice trial for a place as a chorister and been told she has a good chance. We are unable to pay school fees and she only gets 10 percent off. Has anyone any good tips on how and where to apply for extra funding?

Ask them about a bursary. It's different to a scholarship as it's means tested. Best of luck.

help with fees

If you can't afford the fees then may your daughter can join an Royal School of church music choir. There are loads around the country and no need to send your child to private school. Infact ds earns a nice amiunt of pocket money from weddings.

My DD is a Chorister and at her choir the girls come from a wide range of schools both State and Private. If she easn't so committed we might have sent her to a local Church choir instead (which has a slightly lower commitment). There are also possibilities to join County Choirs, or Music Academies Saturday schools.

If she can get a scholarship she's much more likely (highly) to get a bursary.

My son is just in local chuch choir and there is still quite a commitment. Often he sings twice on a Sunday and then there are weddings on Saturdays sometimes as well. He has choir practice on Friday night and choir practice at 9am before the Sunday service. A serious RSCM choir is a lifestyle.

We stopped my son trying out for the local cathedral choir because of the extreme commitment required from parents with ferrying to services and practices. Also we do not live in a cathedral town so I would have to drive.

The sheer time commitment is why so many cathedral choir schools are boarding. I did not want to send my son to boarding school at eight years old.

This website here suggests that there is some funding through the government Music and Dance Scheme www.chethams.com/study/fees

M&DS info www.education.gov.uk/b0068711/mds

It all depends on where you're planning on sending her, but the school should be more than familiar with all the funding options.

I would research funding before building your dd's hopes up. I recall another thread on MN where a dd got a chorister place with 10% off fees but was unable to find any other source of funding. Not sure what happened.

10% reduction doesn't sound much for the huge commitment you will be making. I assume it is a day school rather than boarding commitment which means you will spend a huge amount of time ferrying to practices, services etc.

Ds is a probationary chorister (year 4) and could be a day boy at this stage but even now it is a lot to fit in - practice before school every day. Evensong and practice after school two days a week plus music theory and two instruments. On top of that he has a normal school day. He boards 3 nights a week (his choice) and I'm pleased as he would struggle to fit everything in if he wasn't boarding.

He has a scholarship that gives 50% off boarding fees plus one set of instrument lessons. That means I pay the equivalent to day school fees which is manageable and is slightly less than his previous school as all meals are included and I have less travel costs.

Hope it works out for you Op. All mine are/have been choristers, but we don't have a choir school so they dash into town after school 2-3 days a week and on sundays . Thank goodness for good public transport!