Independent school bursaries, how do they work?

[Primlico]

How do independent school bursaries or assistance typically work? What is typical discount one might receive 20%, 50%, 100%? is it ongoing or just to entice students into the system? Is it based on academic and/or sporting/music prowess? It would be interesting to hear from anyone who has experience of this and/or looked into it more closely?

Scholarships are given for academic/music/drama/sport/art prowess. You don't see them in many prep schools, and nowadays the award is likely to be very small, eg 10%. It is basically a marketing tool.

Bursaries are there to help families who would struggle to pay the full fees.

A well run school will have a limited bursary fund, and will require detailed financial disclosure from both parents.

We applied for a bursary for DD as our income level is way below the minimum level set by the school (£40k), but because we don't have high overheads - mortgage paid off, no other children, no debt etc and we have some savings we were refused the bursary. DD passed the entrance exam, but we had to decline the offer of a place. We only received notification about the bursary a few days before the exam, but DD decided she wanted to sit the exam anyway.

What it did do, however, was increase her confidence hugely, so it wasn't a wasted exercise.

Thanks for great answers. Will school's be ready to discuss bursary availability on a first approach or are they looking for the commitment referred to in squidgy12's post (fee & entrance exam). It's kind of chicken and egg. From a (currently impoverished) parent's point of view there's limited reason to consider a school if bursary is unavailable; but presumably from the school's viewpoint there must limited interest in discussing bursaries with every semi-interested parent. Am I thinking too much here? I do admit great hesitation in approaching schools when clearly we have an affordability issue.

A well run school should be willing to discuss its bursary provision and typical award criteria with all enquirers. If you discover for example that it has never made an award over 50% when you know you'd need 80%+, then you have solid information on whether to keep going or not. It's also worth checking about costs not covered by the bursary (possibly lunches, uniform, trips - some include, most don't).

I don't think you can avoid the chicken and egg - you have to apply and be accepted before the bursary is awarded. Your chances will depend on size of the bursary pot, existing demands on it, and other applicants that year (which may not be just new entrants, it could be existing pupils whose circumstances have changed and who may well be prioritised).

You'll need to be clear throughout with DC that a bursary cannot be guaranteed, and that the application is therefore something of a long shot. Then hope for the best.