Bursary experts, please help?

[Bursarymum]

My two dds get bursaries at a local prep school. The older one gets 50% and the younger one gets 25% plus a sibling discount. When they were given the bursaries I was told that they would be very unlikely to be reduced unless our circumstances changed, which they haven't.

I have just had a letter from the school which says that my older dds bursary will be 25% for next year and the younger one's will also be 25%. I am panicking because I don't have time to find another school for them - and will not be able to keep them there unless they continue to receive the same level of support.

The school is not oversubscribed - in fact the class numbers are low. And my older dds class has dropped from 12 to 10 last term. She is doing well academically so there is no reason for them to find any problem with her that I know of. The school also advertises it the fact that you can apply for bursaries on its home page.

I am just wondering if you experts have ever heard of this happening? I cannot get hold of the person in finance as he is not there today. The person I spoke to on the phone said it may be a mistake. But I am very worried. Any advice?

I've seen various people on mn who have more than one dc with a bursary.

I think I see what you mean. Which is basically that the school offers bursaries at a level and quantity that other schools don't, because it is desperate to get more children through the door.
The upside for the parent is that you benefit from those bursaries. The downside is that the school is financially insecure, and you may now have reached the end of the road, or close to it.

Yes I agree. It certainly is unusual for a school to offer bursaries from reception. I was not going to apply for my younger dd at all but wait until she was older if I felt it would be right for her - they suggested it. At that time only 6 children had registered for reception. I suppose if something seems too good to be true then it probably is!

Incidentally, we initially paid full fees for the older dd until I split with my DH. I was then given the bursary. At that time they were not advertising the bursaries. That seems to be a recent thing.

I have sent an email to the school and have also contacted the LEA who say if we want a place from Sept there is no point applying til Summer half term. I will just have to wait and see how things pan out.

Well at least you know you have addressed the issue. I hope you get an answer which allows you to move forward.
Do let us know how they respond....I'd be fascinated to see how they either backtrack or try to justify such behaviour,
Best of luck to you and your girls.

If getting a good state school place is a priority would you be willing to take one before September, even though you'd need to give a term's notice and may forgo some fees ? Especially thinking of your Yr5 who might find the transition more tricky.

Good point LIZS. Once you have heard back from the school (or even now if you've decided you've had enough of it) you could contact the local schools direct. If places come up, I'd grab them right away, because they don't hang about in the good schools. They often won't hold them for more than a week. Sounds scary, but could be the best chance of getting where you want. As someone mid key stage, there may well be places at some. Of course, there might be a place for one of your girls and not the other. Tricky.

It looks like you were given unsustainable bursaries, and the school is now having to face reality, hence the step change. If they tried to honour their promise to you, they would surely close.

Thanks, I will let you know what happens. I can honestly say that if I had known the truth of the situation 12 months ago when I was signing the admission forms for younger dd, there is no way I would have started her there. I mistakenly thought that because they had offered her a place with support they must be fine financially.

I am unsure what to do. I feel as if I have lost confidence in the school generally. But I am also worried about moving the older dd right now because she has had some issues with her mental health. A wrong move could be very bad for her. I think she will need a few months to get her head around the idea of moving. But OTOH it could be good for her. She has been at the school since she was 3 so it's all she knows.

Has her MH issue impacted on attendance or education ? Were school supportive ? The cynic in me wonders if this is their way of managing her out if so, why otherwise withdraw financial help with just a year to go. You do need to move her sooner rather than later though , with a positive spin, so she is well set up for secondary.

No, I am sure it is nothing to do with that. She had been anxious and not sleeping at home and was also quite depressed. I went into school to ask whether it was affecting her work and they said not and that she was doing very well. She has not had any absences either. The school has a number of children with SEN so I doubt they are prejudiced about something like anxiety.

And in terms of her behaviour, she's regarded as a model pupil with excellent manners so no issues there.

Hi everyone. A quick update as promised. I wrote to the school and I got a letter today which says they will be able to give my older dd a 35% bursary but that this so the highest they can possibly go.

So now I have to decide whether I can manage a 15% increase. It sounds as if they really are in trouble and seems like a reasonably fair compromise. I will certainly be looking for a new school for both of them the year after though.

What do you all think? Do I accept and carry on for another year? Year 6 is quite an important year isn't it?

Hi. Glad they have offered something at least. I think you could probably push them up to 40% but it depends on if you want to do this.

If Im right in remembering your oldest is Year 5 now, I'd just put up with it for the final year. They have got you over a barrel really. However, I would be looking to move the youngest sooner rather than later. It is still early days for her and a change wont be too problematic. Get on the waiting lists now. There may well be movement before the summer. If she moves by September, that will save you some cash to pay the increased fees for the older one.
Whilst you don't have much choice for the older one, I would think you need tobe exiting ASAP for the you get one. This school is not to be trusted. And I think I would've honest when withdrawi g the younger one about the reasons why. They need to appreciate that their behaviour towards bursary parents is counter productive.
Best of luck for both girls.

Thank you Chocolate. The only reason that I am reluctant to move the younger one right now is that when she started school in September last year, she was behind her peers but because of the small class size she has really caught up. She had glue ear which caused a bit of a language delay. Her command of language has improved in leaps and bounds. I felt that if she was to stay at the school until the end of year 1 her reading and writing skills would be better in place for her to move to a possibly bigger school where the teachers won't have as much time for her.

But yes it would be best for my older dd to stay until the end of year 6. Otherwise she is going to have to move twice. I will definitely move them both at the end of that year though.

Really can't decide what to do about the younger one. If she was fine academically then I would move her now I think. She is a very happy and confident child and is very sure of herself. I think she would have no problem settling into a new school.

Basically I have until the end of April to give notice to avoid being liable for autumn fees. What if I give notice and then no school comes up for September?

Having had two children at a private school that closed unexpectedly for financial reasons (announced on a Thursday at 8pm by email, school closed two weeks later at the end of the term), I would definitely recommend that you jump before you are pushed. The scramble for new schools was horrific, many of us said that those were the worst two weeks of our lives, and I, for one, really mean it. Thankfully both my children got places at the same new school, which has turned out to be fantastic, many others had very difficult experiences in the early days at new schools.

Gosh Chemenger. That sounds awful for you! Were there signs that the school was not doing so well before it closed?

In retrospect there were signs, we knew numbers were dropping, but nobody suspected the extent of the problem until they dropped their bombshell. Some parents were owed tens of thousands of pounds because there was a discount on fees paid in advance. I would never pay more than a term in advance now, no matter what the discount!

Yes I've been thinking about that. A friend of mine has paid up until year 10 for her dd who is in the same class as mine. I hope for her sake the school doesn't close.

I would now be very suspicious that discounts for forward fees are an attempt to solve a cash flow problem.

I wouldn't see advance fee schemes as a sign of problems. All of the big name schools do it. They either offer discounts in that you pay at the current rare rather than the increased rate each year, or are composition schemes, which don't protect against fee increases but the money grows by an amount each year. They are tax efficient methods of paying.

Clearly some small schools may offer discounts and be on dodgy financial ground. Many large independent schools are absolutely fine and there are good savings to be made by payi g in advance. But it is buyer beware!

Bursary mum, I understand you are anxious about moving your younger daughter. You will still be anxious in a year. Sooner is easier than later. Moving at the end of Yr1 only gives a year until KS1 Sats and adjustment time for a new school. If you think you will need to move, sooner may well be better.....but it is scary, I can see that.