Very bright 9 year old

[ColaFizz]

My daughter is 9 and is currently achieving L4 in english (11 year old average). Is it worth me pursuing a scholarship to a school which is more apt at her high achievments or am i just being a bias mum? (Most private schools take bright children for free, as long as they fall within the top 25% ability range and pass an entrance exam)

After reading a thread on Mumsnet about a poster whose bright DD got a scholarship to a private school, I encouraged my friend, whose son is gifted/mega brainy to look into doing the same.

She found that the scholarships offered by all the private schools where we live - and there are loads - were only 10%, 20% off the fees.

I'm afraid the notion of a scholarship = free place at an expensive school is something that belongs in Enid Blyton books these days unless your DC has a unusual talent for sport or music.

Scholarships aren't worth much now but quite often they do give the holder priority for means tested bursaries so they may be worth looking at depending on your financial circs.

And the 4b "average" for Year 6 isn't something you want your child to aspire to TBH. It means they are doing OK - nothing more than that.

We've got one boy in Y6 on a Level 6b for English and he's the cleverest in his year group. The work that makes the two levels difference is utterly amazing.

Level 4 is the expected level for a child at KS2 but many are working at that level earlier so it isn't exceptional I'm afraid but well done her.

ColaFizz, go to the open days for the grammar schools in your area, and also local comps. Get some of the practice papers - Bonds verbal reasoning and non verbal reasoning. Ask for a meeting with your dd's teacher, and if her teacher thinks it would be worth trying for a grammar place, then practice those papers like mad with her. And seek advice about what other 11+ practice to do.

And don't be discouraged. The world is full of anxious or competitive parents keen to put off the competition

It's all very well telling another parent that their child should be happy, not pressurised etc - it's true. But never more so than when that bright child might be entering the same selective exam

This thread is now full of people who have not even read the thread but are keen to tell you how ordinary your child's achievement is. True, it isn't that rare - but it also shows that she is bright. . And she may well be doing extremely well in other areas of the curriculum. Good luck to her!

Sorry if been said. Scholarship does not mean a free place, usually a discount 15-12%. A bursary means a free place and is often means tested. Your child would have to be not only academically gifted, but an 'all rounder' ie: musical instrument, sport etc possibly get a free academic scholarship

A bursary does not necessarily mean a free place either. They are means tested so they may only offer a percentage off the fees, although if your income is very low they may cover full fees. They also tend to be quite competitive and you child will need to have done very well in any entrance tests or have some outstanding ability in another area which makes the school really want to have them above another student paying full fees.

I know, this is what i wanted to know and to be sure about, thanx every1 :)

But if she passes the 11+ with a good mark she could get into a state grammar school.

ColaFizz

Schools normally give some/all of the following scholarships

Academic
All rounder
Music
Art
Drama
Sport

If you wanted to get an academic, you would have to excel in all standard subjects maths, english, and one language, you would also have to show outstanding potential in the other subjects that the school has to offer.

All rounder would be that you have a sound academic ability in all subjects plus you are likely to feature for the school in the teams, and have a role in the school production, and be a member of the school orchestra and give everything the school has to offer a go.

Music would normally be grade 4 or 5 at yr 7, and grade 8 for sixth form.

Drama would normally be grade 4 or 5 lamda exam, plus shows outside of school for example local pantomime.

Sport would be minimum county level at yr 7 if not national.

Scholarships can be anything from 5% to 75% and is up to the school.

On top of these scholarships you can have discounts for siblings/forces etc.

You can also be means tested for the difference between the scholarship and the fees this is called a bursary.

Some schools set the qualifing aspect for a bursary as low as a household income of £17,000 per year (earn above this no bursary), but the case with all schools is if there's equity in your home expect not to receive a bursary. If you have anything that could be sold (shares for example) expect no bursary.

As they say there is no harm in trying, just make it realistic for your daughter, and ensure that if she doesn't pass, she knows you weren't set on it, and life will continue.

Hope this helps.

If you are near a grammar and your child is bright, then certainly put her in for the exam to see if she gets in for secondary - tbh think you'd be mad not to. But bear in mind a lot of parents tutor their kids like mad in preparation for the 11plus.

State grammars are free for everyone, you don't necessarily have to be in the catchment at all, but most kids are tutored these days. In areas with grammars, comps aren't proper comps anyway, so tend to have worse results for all kids than proper comps, so if I had a kid who was bright and, crucially, good at exams, and lived reasonably near a grammar, I would definitely try to get them in.

you can check out -- City of London School - they do give upto 100 % scholarship

That'd be just a tadge inconvenient from Yorkshire

Nonsense. Not if she's truly dedicated to her dd's education.

Camp, where did you get the information about 100% scholarships from at City of London? Their website says that their scholarships are worth typically a maximum of £1,500 per annum while their termly fees are over £4k. I guess you could top that up with a bursary but in order to qualify for a 100% bursary your family income needs to be less than £20k and in order to qualify for anything at all less than £50K. I think in order to get all your fees paid, you would need to be exactly the right mix of poor, extremely clever and lucky, not impossible but probably not a very likely outcome for the OP. Oh, apart from the slight commuting problem!

I think in order to get all your fees paid, you would need to be exactly the right mix of poor, extremely clever and lucky, not impossible but probably not a very likely outcome for the OP. Oh, apart from the slight commuting problem!

And in full time employment or looking. My ds has a combination of scholarship which is 25% of fees and the rest topped up by a bursary. He is very very clever and articulate.

I am working part time and trying to get more hours as I am expected to work full time and have an income below 17,500, which I do .It is about half that.

BursarIies and scholarships are extremely hard to come by and fiercely competitive.

Ds also has to meet certain obligations and expectations to continue to get support.

HTH

?State grammars are free for everyone, you don't necessarily have to be in the catchment at all?

Just to say, this isn?t necessarily true, either, I?m afraid, it varies from place to place. Where we live you not only have to pass the 11+ exam but also have to live within about 6 miles of the grammar schools.

Its true in that you don't necessarily have to live in catchment. Some schools will be filled just from catchment (as in your area) but in others the way it goes is that every child in catchment who passes the 11+ gets a place, but then there are some 'residual places' left over. How these are allocated varies - some simply give places purely on the basis of the highest exam scores, others also factor in how far out of catchment the child lives. I guess this happens mostly where the school is in a smallish town with a large rural hinterland - we live 25 miles from DDs school.