Scholarship/Bursaries

[MeltorPeltor]

If a school offered a scholarship/bursary for 'sport' what would you reasonably expect them to look for? It would be for year 5/age 9.

Scholarship, not a bursary. Sorry, I'm tired!

Exceptional fitness, probably a regular club even county squad player although some sports only formally recruit at y4 . Usually aptitude for more than one sport. Not many schools offer scholarships at y5 , they tend to be at 11+/ 13+ and don't always carry significant monetary value.

Agree at Y5 is odd age for scholarship as most are 11+, 13+ or sixth form.

Would be thinking it's a marketing ploy - we'll call it a scholarship so you feel they are really talented and need the extra support this school can offer. In effect we'll give you 10% reduction and fill our empty places. Sorry I'd not be convinced unless there is something we don't know about the child such as they are already preparing for Olympics.

Agree it is an odd age for a scholarship - so unless it is a very well known prep I would see it as a marketing ploy.

At that age all round fitness, involvement in a range of sports and the right mental attitude ( determination, resilience, wish to win) would be what I was looking for. Parental attitude and a family history of achievement in sport would also be important: if Mum was a national level sports player, dad is a sports coach and older siblings are involved in sport, you will probably have a winning combination.

Dont expect more than 10% off the fees.

County level squads at preferably two sports.

Very rare at that age to get anything. I know maybe two kids ever who got get something like that at that age. Both of them have ex professional sport parents who have played for England. Plus they are outstanding outlier amazing at catching a ball 😂

13 is the normal age for sports, and it's only 5/10%.

County at least.

Do counties run teams for 9 year olds? Seems very early. At our senior school, some extra coaching was provided but scholars had to turn up for all teams as required. They also got free kit. No reduction in fees.

I think most counties run under 11 squads so would be a good indication they were talented if they were in the squad as a 9 yr old.

My daughter plays under 11 basketball for the county (and was picked for the region) at age 9 but she was the youngest in the squad by some margin. She has also been selected for the girls performance development programme for cricket. Her chosen high school offers sports aptitude places so will be interesting to see how she gets on in October.

I know 2 county level 9 year old and one who was on an Olympic programme run by the national governing body for his sport from age 8. Obviously those are teams for that age group.

Yes, counties have under 11 squads. My daughter was on one, but she still wasn't good enough to get a sports scholarship (not that she applied for one, as she knew!). At a top school, you have to be seriously amazing!

Whether there are U11 squads depends on both the sport and the county.

I suspect that schools which offer early sports scholarships do so in the hope of attracting gymnasts.

If there isn't anything that suggests that's the case in this school, then I would expect the school to be looking for an all-rounder with excellent fitness, who has active hobbies (usually club training, but not exclusively so as they know that at this age it's as much about what the parents know about a sport's training structure as the interest/aptitude of the DC) and who shows themselves a pleasure to coach during assessments.

But do think carefully, if you have a DC who is on an elite development trajectory via a sport's governing body, will the expectations on a sports scholar help or hinder that path?

This ^^is a very good point about those on elite pathways not having the time for school sports at that age where some sports are concerned

I agree with others that the young age is unusual and could well be a marketing ploy to fill empty places, (or indeed up the image of the school). I wouldn't get carried away with the kudos, 'boastability' or competitiveness of a scholarship. My concern would be whether I would want my child/ren to attend that school without a scholarship, what I could expect from the school, and what the school would expect from the child and parents in exchange for any scholarship. Are you wanting to apply for a scholarship OP or set one up?

It's a very old, well thought of school so unlikely to be a marketing ploy, it was his Grandfather's school and DH nearly went there but chose to board nearer to home.

Yes, discount would be 10% but every little helps.

I thought it an odd age too but it's always good to be prepared ahead of time, sadly my sporting ability doesn't go much beyond riding club show jumping!

SpeakOutMum it's the school I'd like my children to attend.

Prep schools generally don't give scholarships as far as I'm aware. You would need to look at the school's requirements.

My DD has got a scholarship in music. While I'm sure she must be at the required standard, during her first interview (which we were present at) I'm sure her enthusiasm got her through, also the fact she knew her stuff and what she actually wanted from the scholarship, ie what experience it would bring her. She didn't sit down after her music audition as she was happily relaxed and answering questions.