How accessible are bursaries for private school fees?

[Icouldstillbejoseph]

Seriously considering private school for the DC. Obviously worried about being skint forever the financial commitment.
We are just 'normal' parents, not high-earners at all. Pretty much my entire salary would be for the DC education.
I just wondered if anyone knew anything about bursaries etc?

Hah! I remember asking my DM a few years ago whether she had anything left after paying my school fees. (My DF paid the mortgage.) Her tone of voice, when she replied "not much" was the ultimate definition of dry...

But I know times are harder and fees astronomical now.

Seek out the websites of the schools you're interested in and see what they write. Then go and visit and see what they say. There isn't a definitive answer - it depends entirely on two things - how much the school wants your particular DC and how much money they have available.

Thanks - I understand it depends on the desire for the child - but I'm considering starting DS at 5, when he starts school. I'm thinking surely they can't want a 5 year old much?!

Hmmm... Personally I'm not sure any 5 year old needs private school much - unless the alternatives are so truly dire that no child should be at the school. Where's the benefit? You can't know a huge amount about a child's talents and interests at that stage - or whether you will want to pay for academic advantage, or dancing, or rugby genius.

Why not let your DC find their feet at the "local" school - by 7+ they'll pretty much be telling you what kind of education they're going to need from then on. (Sorry... Perhaps you're in some London enclave where everyone signs up at birth?) From experience I would say it's perfectly feasible to hold off until you can make a really informed choice for a more mature child.

And there aren't many bursaries for tinies. They're rare - but wonderful - for prep level. Important amounts usually happen at senior level.

I have thought about all of the above.
Basically the infant school here is fine, the junior school is terrible.
The private school I'm looking at doesn't really accept into the juniors bit, you pretty much have to start at 5 or at senior level. Hence why I'm thinking to start them at the beginning

Bursaries at 5yo are very rare. You need to look at the websites if the school/s you think would be a good fit for DC and find out if they offer them at all at that age (if not, when they do begin - there are sometimes more at 7/8yo and many more at 11+ and 13+).

You need to have an early talk with the bursar about how they make awards (how they assess income, typical thresholds, and what size awards they offer - not much sense in persisting with a school who have never offered more than 50% if you know you need 70% to make it possible), and also how it fits in with the entry procedure.

Also, have another think about what you want in a school. Are you sure you cannot find it in the state sector where you are? Even if offered reduced fees, it can still be a major outlay and you need to look at schools from both sectors before making decisions.

I think they are rare at that level. Some scholarships though prepare a child in 2 or 3 of the last years of prep school for private boarding at 13+ (as 13 is too late to get them ready) so worth looking at those. What about trying go get a promotion at work or you and your other half taking a second job or even teaching in a p rivate school? One of ours only paid 15% of private school fees from age 4 - 13 because his father taught in the school and then won a music scholarship for his next school (although the latter was not particularly much off the fees). We paid for the girls in full. having paid for full time childcare for 3 under 5s though the private school fees just kind of morphed from that so it was not a huge difference or blow so manageable - we had got used to massive cost because of children from having tiny babies with very expensive childcare on a full time basis.

Can you live on your other half's salary if you pay the school fees? If so, you are unlikely to qualify for a bursary.

Bursaries for 5 yr olds are few and far between. We got a very substantial one for our 7 yr old DS (many moons ago) at a very posh prep but in retrospect not only was my DS very obviously extraordinarily bright we also had very influential connections with DS's at the school and we met the criteria "nice parents who wouldn't scare the horses", well at least that's how we came across!
These are the questions you need to answer: where do you live, would you consider boarding later in your DC's education, how good are you state fall backs (primary and secondary) if you fail to get the bursary.
Most schools want something in return for offering a substantial discount, we've averaged 66% of boarding fees, the obvious thing is academic excellence, but many will offer financial help to talented musicians/sportsman. Only a few stick there necks out at prep level to anything but academic potential at senior schools it's easier but generally exceedingly competitive. Some will offer scholarships with means tested bursaries attached and a very % will offer stand alone bursaries.
You will need to be determined, happy to repeatedly discuss your financial situation in great details, not have any substantial assets, and have the balls to ask bursars for help, and not be devastated if you don't succeed therefore a good state fall back us essential IMO. I personally think the golden days of substantial bursaries are over, schools simply cannot afford it, so if you don't have a good state fall back frankly I would make moving into an area with one my Humber 1 priority then look for a bursary.

Thank you all
I think we could survive on DH's wages as we manage ish when I'm on mat leave and not earning at all (took a few months extra, unpaid) but I'm assuming the cost of the children grows as they do....

Also another thing to bear in mind. It's one thing being able to afford the fees and quite another being able to afford the added extras, clubs activities etc.. And let's face it uniform could quite easily run into hundreds depending on the school.

and fees increase as you pass through the school. 2.5k a term for reception can easily become 6k a term by the time they reach the secondary school. They tend to rise above inflation too, so add another £££ per year on top.

The size of the bursary you might be offered will vary considerably from school to school. Ours doesn't expect us to live on value beans and clad ourselves in Primark, others will expect you to literally live on the breadline. Many days schools wont offer bursaries to those with a joint income of more than a certain amount, £40k PA is the figure oft quoted on here. Boarding schools know that to even remotely afford it you've got to be earning in well in excess if 100k. All will expect you to work once you DC's reach a certain age unless you have a jolly good reason not too; disabled children or the increasingly common problem of dependent elderly relatives.
If you're in the SE Christ's Hospital which takes at 11 mainly from state schools has a very large bursary pot. Others to look at in the SE are Colet Court/SPS, Whitgift, City of London, Eton is increasing it's bursary pot all the time and offers a special scheme for those from the state sector, as does Harrow, Magdalen College Oxford is another to look at and Win Coll. There are others of course but Im mainly familiar with the SE.

If one of you could take an extra job at weekends say - £200 for a Saturday = £10k a year that sort of thing is possible to help with fees, just work extra hard. It is what a lot of us do.

Can you point me in the direction of a Saturday job which pays £200 a day?

Yes, the fee for a children's party around here is £200, plenty of the better entertainers get two every weekend throughout the year.

My children's father taught for about 10 - 12 hours on Saturdays at about £40 an hour.
I do a lot of paid writing and would earn the £200 in an hour.
Consider retraining too.
Or just go for a lower rate if that's all that can be had and perhaps take in a lodger and share a room with the children.
There are all sorts of ways to make extra money for school fees if you need to.

Yes you can work Saturdays and Sundays as well and let's not forget take no annual leave or work somewhere else in your annual leave, but no school is worth damaging your marriage/family life over.
Also factor in the cost of child care if you work loads of hours and you may find that if your paying child care and tax at 40% especially if you can find that job paying you £200 per day on Saturday that your not going to come out much better off for all your effort.
OP it's the constant drain on your finances that I think is the biggest problem it's easy to survive whilst on mat. leave because it's only for a short period but 13 years of fees is a different ball game all together. We are nearing the end, the light at the end of a long tunnel, frankly it will be a relief when it's all over. I don't regret it but it has been a constant issue in our lives.

I do have scope for promotion at work and I do have a job where I can work extra shifts, or nights, or weekends if I choose to increase my pay

It just feels a bit daunting to make that commitment to all that money - although I guess it is no different to a mortgage in reality

Yes, that's exactly how I feel - I know we are not going to have much money and I'm going to have to work a fair bit for what we do have
keep playing the lottery

I can cover mine, I don't earn £200 a day though (I wish!).

In your shoes, I would aim for Y7, and save until then. There is a lot you can do yourself to enhance your childs learning and zest for learning, museums, travel, activities, music, tutoring from Y4, introducing good books, etc.

Well, it is different to a mortgage in that if you pay off a mortgage, you own a saleable asset and will likely see that money back (and often more).

Think of it as an extension of nursery fees

If we had our time again I too would probably not start paying till yr 5 at the earliest if my state options were doing what I wanted and definitely not till yr 3 even if my state options weren't that great.
If by yr 6 a bursary was realistically looking highly unlikely I wouldn't hang it out in a prep that goes to year 8 thinking it gives them a good start for secondary, it doesn't, cut your losses and move schools and house if necessary and go back to the state sector.

If there was a suitable state school here I wouldn't be paying at all. Year 7 is a good time to start a private school. It doesn't apply for all children though, so match the school to the child. If you need a small nurturing school for an artistic child and you're offered a place in a huge whopper that specialises in PE then the chances are that they won't be happy.