Where to next- if at Prep on a Bursary

[Mistyplanet]

Hi there, I'd like to see if anyone has got any experience or advice regarding public school bursaries and where we should aim for our son's senior school. Obviously i will ask the Prep school headteacher nearer the time but just wanted opinions from here.

DS is at a Prep school on a full bursary. He is a very bright allrounder and especially strong in maths, also sporty, plays an instrument and artistic. Prep school says he has great potential. He's currently in y5 and Im thinking about where he can go from here. From what Im reading on here it is more likely to get large bursaries from larger, wealthier schools such as Eton and are there any others that spring to mind? Its occured to me that this means we are looking at boarding from 13 plus? Or is a local independent senior school going to be able to offer us a bursary like DS is on now? Obviously on all local independent schools webpages it says that they do offer bursaries but if the likelihood of them offering it is very slim I'd like to know now- as its not just a case of us choosing a school which is suitable for DS- if they are unlikely to give a full bursary we would be wasting our time applying? Also ive read that day schools are easier to get into at 11 plus but we had hoped DS can stay at the Prep until hes finished Y8. But then I gather that its only boarding school places that are easy to come by at that stage? My initial thoughts are boarding could suit my DS as hes quite independent and resilient but then I hear of people who were traumatised on here as a result of boarding which put me off. What would you do in my situation? Any advice/ thoughts appreciated.

Re the move at 11 or 13 you don't say where you are based but a number of London day schools run the Common PreTest so you sit the exam at the time of the 11+ and if you secure an offer at that point you stay at the prep for the next two years and move for year 9.

All 3 of my DC had senior school full bursaries. Ring round the schools you are interested in and ask...think about location and the type of school. You are right to think about wealthier schools. The schools don't seem to always advertise though (although mine were a while ago now)

Increasingly secondary independent schools pretest or offer deferred entry in year 6/7 for places in year 9.

Honestly, honestly this is exactly what your prep Head is for! Ask them first.

It is highly likely that, as they gave a full bursary for prep, they expect him to progress to a school they are accustomed to preparing for, on another full bursary. The questions you’re asking here should be swept away by one serious conversation with the Head.

And how old is your son? I’m a bit out of the loop now but you really need to be on top of registration deadlines for some places. Ask your Head tomorrow!

We had a 50% bursary for a full boarder with no obvious talent his prep school head sorted it due to a great relationship they had good luck and yes your right re Eton They are exceptionally generous if your son is what they want

Obviously i will ask the Prep school headteacher nearer the time

Now is the time! I’m amazed your Head hasn’t yet had the conversation with you.

Read! www.etoncollege.com/admissions/entry-to-eton/

Yes I will ask the Prep Head. I know about registering for Eton as well. Just wanted more opinions. Thanks this is helpful!

I’m afraid I don’t have the registration deadlines of senior day schools at my fingertips, no idea in fact. But the boarding application process is lengthy.

Don’t stress too much with trying to predict what he’ll be like at 13. You know him best; for now, gather all the necessary information on likely options and get on top of the admin. Once you’ve visited a few places (preferably in person, obvs with your son) you’ll be able to focus on two or three. But you can’t do anything if you miss the dates!

I'd just be aware that prep schools are a lot less rigorous with financial assessment than senior schools when it comes to bursaries (I'm not saying they're not tested properly but there is more flexibility with income and asset thresholds). Senior schools will not expect you to be having luxuries in your assessment and often discount expenditure on discretionary stuff.

Oddly enough, from observation I’d have said the opposite. Though that may be because our prep only offered one or two bursaries per year, whereas the senior school had oodles of money (and probably recognised that even with the biggest possible bursary, parents would need to spend a fair bit of money to properly support a child through five years there). I’d say the assessment process was equally rigorous for prep and senior, but as senior school fees are so much higher, the incomes of parents applying for bursaries were correspondingly more elastic.

Where do you live? There are number of day schools that offer a good number of full bursaries in London.

About 15 percent of new pupils (excluding the juniors) get bursaries at Alleyns and most of those are full or near full and can be topped up with scholarships (academic, music, sport etc) which are worth an additional 5k.

Dulwich College and Latymer also have a good number of full bursaries on offer and Dulwich College as has 13+ entry without boarding. I think Trinity and Whitfift also have good bursary schemes but I’m less familiar with those.

Good luck making your short list to discuss with the Head

I went to see the head of our preferred school myself. We were then offered a decent bursary (60%). You need to have a meeting with your own Head ASAP.

I’ve been told by a reliable source that independent schools often don’t have many bursary applications as people assume they won’t qualify. So apply apply apply

Thankyou everyone for your insights. We are near to London. So it sounds like we do have options from what I'm reading here. I feel a bit more informed. I'll arrange a meeting with the Head.

My guess would be that if you're already on a full bursary at prep you are likely to qualify for a good level of assistance from most schools that are able to offer it. Agree that year 5 is the time to really start looking, though we struggled with that concept too. Bursars are usually quite approachable though sometimes they insist "fill in a form then we can let you know".

I know you've said you've already booked an appointment with the head but I just want to encourage you to tell him you want to get the process going now. Year 5 is the time to be not just thinking about but actively starting the application process for the major 13+ entry pubic schools if you want to give those a shot.

PUBLIC schools. What a typo.

It’s usual for Prep schools to start preliminary discussions about senior choices in Yr4. If your school hasn’t raised the issue yet, I would ask for a meeting with the Head, because now really is the time to be thinking about this. Many key open days have already happened early this term.

A key thing people are paying for with Preps, is….prepping. This involves advice and guidance to parents about options and routes, as well as prepping the children for entrance processes. So make sure you are getting this info.

I’m sure that given you’re on a full bursary, next stages and funding of them have always been on your mind and this isn’t really the first time you’re thinking of it.

As has been said, many schools now test in Yr6 even for entry at 13+. It is called pre-testing. Some will offer a bursary/scholarship to a linked Prep from 11+ if starting at 13+, which could be a boarding Prep. Some will give a bursary for your child to continue in their current prep, although probably not if they already have a full bursary until 13.

The fact they already have a full bursary is probably a recommendation, as usually these are only given even at Prep stage to very academically able children.

Yes, you need to decide if you want day school or boarding and to transfer at 11 or 13. Full bursaries can be available to any of the following, but it is true, that larger schools with historic foundations often have more funds available. Your Prep Head should know this stuff, especially as a Head of a 13+ school, who must be sending students on at 11 and 13 to both day and boarding.

Lots who board from 13 seem to recommend boarding from 11 in a Prep that is a boarding Prep. That’s something to consider.

If you need several meetings with your Head, just ask and push if needed to get the advice you need. Visits in person to schools are on again, so you should be able get some tours to help you decide and Bursars at the senior schools will usually be very happy to discuss your precise financial circumstances and be honest about what could be available.

All the best….sounds like a bright future.

Thankyou to each and everyone of you for your invaluable help and information, Im going to take some time later on this week to read the advice given again in detail but already I feel alot clearer on the process. To the 2 previous posters and others who mentioned DS's age- DS is actually in a lower year group than y5 but I didnt want my OP to be identifying so I said y5 instead - but I have understood now that y4 and onwards is the time to be researching these things and meeting with the head to discuss potential schools. Thankyou so much for everyone's time its been really useful having these replies.

@EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues I think that might be specific to your prep. There are a lot more children than you think at preps on "bursaries" and not because they necessarily filled in the forms properly but they have lobbied the bursar at the right time. Senior schools have more donated funds to cover bursaries but prep finances tend to be more precarious and they will offer discounts to people to fill spaces in classes as 40% of fees is still better than an empty space. This is obviously not all schools but I worked in a finance office covering a number of prep schools and it was very enlightening... If you want to move your child to a prep around year 3 or 4 and there's no waiting list there is a usually a deal to be had.

[quote loantopil]@EdmontinaDonsAutumnalHues I think that might be specific to your prep. There are a lot more children than you think at preps on "bursaries" and not because they necessarily filled in the forms properly but they have lobbied the bursar at the right time. Senior schools have more donated funds to cover bursaries but prep finances tend to be more precarious and they will offer discounts to people to fill spaces in classes as 40% of fees is still better than an empty space. This is obviously not all schools but I worked in a finance office covering a number of prep schools and it was very enlightening... If you want to move your child to a prep around year 3 or 4 and there's no waiting list there is a usually a deal to be had.[/quote]
That’s very interesting though I imagine only really applies to schools struggling to fill places