Sports scholarship East Sussex/Kent

[Toolatefortea]

Wise mumsnetters - we have a sporty, bright, but lacking in confidence yr 5. We are coming from a small state primary where he is top dog and has been for a number of years, but obviously don't know the standards at private schools. We think he is talented, deep down he knows he is, but struggles to admit it publicly! We are currently looking at schools in the East Sussex/Kent area for yr 9 entry (he is already down for a local prep near us further West for the interim two years). We don't know the area well but are planning a move to be near my aging parents so I am coming to you for advice. We have been told (and are fairly confident) that he would be sports scholarship standard if he continues the way he is. The thing is, we need the scholarship to help with finances, but don't want to put him in an 'easy scholarship' school just for the sake of it. Competitive sport makes him do better academically and if he finds himself in an 'also ran' school sports wise, or one that hands out scholarships willy nilly - (he will need to feel he's there on genuine merit) then we think he'd be demotivated.

I'd therefore be very interested to hear your opinions on the sporting abilities and level of scholarship competition at the following schools... we need to find one somewhere in the middle, as far as how hard it is to get a sports scholarship is concerned. So, from East to West (I think...?!)

Brighton College
Eastbourne College
Bedes
Battle Abbey
Claremont
Ashford
Kings Canterbury
Tonbridge

Hope my rambles make sense and thank you in advance!

Sutton Valence are strong at sports, i have a family member on a sports scholarship there (who is in the county team for his sport). the selection process was rigorous although i have no clue how many are awarded or what the competition was like.

How does bursary work please.

I am on low income my daughter has Lamda, violin, siging and she is grade 4 on.all.of them.

She is autistic and dyslexic so I don't want to pressure her with a scholarship.

It depends on the school. Each school has its own bursary policy, which you can usually find on their website. Read this first, if it’s available, then call up the Admissions team and ask for further information, or a conversation with the Bursar. If you wish to apply for a bursary, be aware that they will dig very deep into your personal finances, albeit sensitively and confidentially.

you should really check specifics for his strongest sport. If it is hockey, why is Sevenoaks not on your list?

My experience is that competition can be slightly less at the more academic schools bc about 3/4 of candidates may be eliminated based on their academic results and then your son will only compete with those who have passed the academic exam.

To give you an example, DD applied to various sports scholarships at coed schools, schools that have 1,000+ applicans. Some of those schools only invited those applicants who passed the written exam to the sports scholarship assessmen whereas he "less academic" schools invie everyone for he spors assessmen.

you'd have 90-100 sports scholarship competitors in the "less academic" schools but "only" 30-40 in the ones that only invited those who passed the first round exam.

Another observation I made is that it's hard to predict how "hard" it is to gain a scholarship. Our experience was that the schools that compete nationally and are top in sports had a very transparent, professional scholarship process so while he standard was high, it was still "easier" in the sense that it seemed predictable and fair. Some less "competitive" schools could be quite erratic - some of the decisions seemed a bit random, or the coaches weren't as good or there were some subjective elements (coaches favouring those they knew from outside clubs or the junior school and so forth). DD got a scholarship from a "harder" school that has a lot of Olympian alumni but did not get it from some "less competitive" schools where the process wasn't run in the same professional way.

So my experience was that it was quite hard to predict where they were going to be awarded a scholarship and one of her friends with a pretty much identical profile had the same experience.

Not Battle Abbey as a pp said. This not a sporty school. The prep is brilliant for swimming, with an amazing swim teacher. Try St Andrews/ Eastbourne College or Bedes.

You also need to be a little be careful re the right sport for the right school. One of the large public schools near me makes the right noises about being open to a range of sports but really wants high level cricketers and those quirks will affect your chances.