School Bursary

[J7223j]

Hi everyone

My daughter who is 14 recently expressed an interest in going to a private school, she feels she would do better and is wanting to learn. We would have to get a full bursary in order for it to happen - so far we have viewed the school and filled out the bursary application form. The next step is to go for a taster day. I am just wondering how they allocate bursaries? I know of other people who go to the school who's parents live quite extravagant lifestyles and have bursaries of around 60% (boarding) which would be virtually the same amount in pounds not percentages as we would need for a day pupil place. We don't have that sort of lifestyle - we have been told by the school that she can easily get a sports scholarship of 10% as she is sporty. I know that the school has around 400 pupils and allocates around £2m per year - just wondered what the chances are - we have been told the entrance exam is merely to asses what set she would be put into and that they would require a reference from her current school. Any advice greatly appreciated. We loved the whole ethos of the school we have a relative there already.

100% bursaries are very rare. Schools want parents to make some financial effort, however minimal. If she got a scholarship, of any sort, that would put her higher in the queue for bursaries. Good luck!

Who can tell? It’s up to the school and how they assess hardship. Some schools are quite open about this and others are opaque. Deliberately so. If they are not clear, you can try. It’s normal to give out bursaries for the beginning of y9 not during the year or for y10. I am surprised they have money available at a non standard time. You can but apply or leave it until 6th form.

If there's a chance she could get a scholarship then you'd probably stand a greater chance of getting a full bursary but it depends on the school. DD applied for two scholarships and got them both. One school the scholarship was worth 35% with no bursary, so every single penny we had saved would have gone and we'd have been worried sick meeting household bills, paying for food, let alone day trips, new clothes.. At the other school (which luckily DD desperately wanted to go to) the scholarship was worth 10% but we had to state the amount of the bursary which would permit us to accept a place, we asked for 70% and they gave us 80% plus the scholarship fee, free uniform, school laptop, music tuition and essential school trips. She obviously had to pass entrance exams but the fact she was very enthusiastic and clearly wanted to get involved in music, it made her a strong candidate for the place. DD went started in Sixth form and I think around 50 joined the school, some others have a part bursary but only one other has a 100% bursary.

Like I say, it depends on the school, but if you wanted to PM me I'll give you an idea of our circumstances.

DS's school does indeed have a high percentage of children on 100% bursaries and anyone with a family income of less than £70K can apply.

All schools are different. It might be worth having a chat wioth the bursar as to the likely level you may qualify for.

As it isn't a typical entry point you may find that bursary funds are already allocated. Scholarships for ad hoc entries are unusual but the whole situation will vary by school and demand.

What schools give out at 11, 13 and 16 are not relevant here. Scholarships are already allocated and bursary money may also be allocated too. It is a very individual circumstance so needs individual discussion with the school.

Where did you get your figure of £2m set aside for bursaries? That seems a huge amount and one only a well endowed school with ancient alumni and other forms of income could afford. At 400 pupils that would equate to £5k a year per family so seems a huge amount. Have more detailed conversations with the bursar, if relevant ask questions about whether they take equity in your home into account etc.

I’m afraid bursaries at non-standard entry points (start of Yr 7, 9 and 12) are very rare. Even if she’s only just turned 14, putting her in Yr 9, the funding for this academic year will have been allocated to September starters. You’re probably going to have to wait until 6th form entry.

Online literature and the school accounts show that figure.

Imaginary cat the schools website states bursaries applications have to be by a set date each year, however upon initial discussion with the school I was told that my daughters entry to the school did not have to be at the beginning of an academic year and that it would be better for her to start asap given the stage she is at. (she would be transitioning from the scottish education system to the english). We have been very clear from the beginning that it would only be possible for our dd to attend the school if a full bursary was given.

Yes, we had a similar conversation with the bursar about our DD applying to a £20k a year school. I hope it doesn’t end the same as our conversation but they did say after turning us down and investigating every nook and cranny of our financial that it would be appropriate for me to cycle 12 miles to work and back each day to save the cost of commuting and thus in their opinion we could afford more of their school fees. A friend whose ex DH did this job in times past said bursars were ‘honour bound’ to encourage more people applying as it showed that their school was desirable so it was a good and easy stat for the school. She also said he liaised with other school bursars and in less desirable schools any bursaries out of the usual round were often out of a real need to increase the results for that year and so it could play into your DD’s favour if the latter but do look deeper into why they may be so keen to offer a bursary at a rather unusual entry point.

It depends on the school. Firstly what bursary you qualify for on the means testing part. Then it comes down to what is in the pot and how they allocate it. Some schools might share it across as many as possible, others might go down the list and allocate it according to need until they run out.

The £2m is no guarantee, again it depends on what that's for. At for arguments sake £20k a year fees, that will only cover 20 pupils for 5yrs of school each.

The only way you'll find out is by asking the bursar how they allocate. And assuming they are a registered charity you might be able to hazard a guess from their publicly available financial records, iirc it's the charity commission.