independent schools

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When do you start the process of applying for a scholarship and/or bursary at independent schools for Y7/senior school entry?

It's a very long way off for my DS but I want to plan ahead, especially if I feel he made need a tutor or extra support in order to pass the entrance exams. I live in a rural county and the secondary schools nearby do not have a lot to offer IMO and two do not even offer sixth form. I know a lot can change in the coming years but I have always had a preference for independent education for my children.

Are scholarships usually 100% of the fees and exactly how much am 'I' expected to contribute for a bursary?

Sorry fat thumb strikes... I bet if you google school name bursaries their website will give you info. I'm in the north and in my area there's only one school which really does bursaries, website says full for parents with income 80k. Scholarships at other schools are, as others have said, in the 10-30% range and only a small minority of kids get offered one. So TBH I wouldn't pin your hopes on getting much help.

Taking salaries out of the equation you need to consider other issues like equity in your home if the school you are applying to takes that sort of thing into account. We applied for a bursary for a day place at a school that is 20k a year. However we had too much equity in our home and so fairly enough we didn't qualify. We made the choice we wanted to stick with our family home rather than downsize, plus we had some amazing grammar options which made the choice much easier.

you earn over 65k and want a 'scholarship' for your child so that they don't have to attend the local schools and you don't have to pay?
Have i got that right?

A friend of mine said that a colleague of hers managed to get scholarships for several of her children and I assumed they were full ones.

Have you asked them? full scholarships are very unlikely.

At a local school (N London), the top music scholarship is 50% off fees, then there are a few at 25% and several more that give free music lessons. I know someone who got a scholarship to another N London school, her parents were thrilled at the financial implications then found out it was £250 a year off the fees.

Here are some examples of bursary criteria:

NLCS: www.nlcs.org.uk/750/admissions/assistance-with-fees

This one : www.channing.co.uk/admissions/financial-assistance/ says it is unusual for a bursary to be awarded when family income exceeds 4x school fees, which is about £21k. You can see that they will look at your savings, property, what holidays you take etc.

Another one here with a lot of detail about what they look at www.st-margarets.co.uk/attachments/article/6/Bursary%20Policy.pdf

"Financial Limitations. The amount of the bursary award is not influenced by the level of the academic ability of the child but by the extent of need. Each case is assessed on its own merits and awards are made accordingly, subject to the School’s ability to fund them within the context of its overall budget. It is recognised that judgements about what sacrifices a family should make to pay school fees will be personal. However, the School has a duty to ensure that all bursary grants are well focussed and so, as well as current earnings, other factors which will be considered in determining the necessary level of grant will include:
o The ability to improve the financial position or earning power of the family. For example, where there are two partners, both would be expected to be employed unless one is prevented from doing so through incapacity, the need to care for children under school age or other dependents, or the requirements of their partner’s work.
o Opportunities to release any capital. Significant capital savings and investments would be expected to be used for the payment of school fees, as would equity values in houses.
o In cases of separation a contribution to be made by the absent parent.
o Contribution to household costs by other, wider, family members, any adults
unrelated to the child or by outside sources.
o Where fees are being paid to other schools (or universities) the School’s grant will take into account such outgoings.
o Acknowledging that others might have a different view, the School considers that the following would not be consistent with the receipt of a bursary:
 Frequent or expensive holidays.
 New or luxury cars.
 Investment in significant home improvements.
 A second property/land holdings.
It is also recognised that, in addition to academic ability and financial constraints, there may be other circumstances which should be considered. These include:

 
 
Where a child has siblings at the School.
Where the social needs of the child are relevant (eg: may be suffering from bullying at their present school).
Where a parent/guardian is terminally ill or is unable to secure permanent employment due to poor health.
Where a separation has resulted in the child having to be withdrawn from the School adding to the stress of coping with the parents/ guardians separating."

This is dd2's school, they give at least 100% bursary a year and several lower ones. The one in receipt in the year above owns their own home and both parents are working but the mother has been ill.
The recepient of the full bursaries to the public schools own their own homes and have not had to release equity.

Christ Hospital school has 75% on bursaries from 5% to 75%.
At dds previous school there was definitely one set of parents who had managed to play the system in getting a bursary, they had lots of money, clever accounting maybe.

Sorry, typo in my post about channing 4 times fees is about 65k not 21k!

Sorry, typo in my post about channing, 4x fees is about 65k not 21k!

I had a typo too . Christs give up to 100% bursaries with 75% on one.

Here's another one - from the Habs girls website:

^Financial Assistance. A number of awards are available each year for entry at 11+, and may also be awarded for entry at Sixth Form. Awards are made to those families in most need and whose daughters would most benefit from attending the school. Financial Assistance awards are made on the basis of an assessment of household income and means and all awards are subject to annual review. They are not academic awards but applicants must have reached the required standard in the entrance examination and interview for the offer of a place to be made.
Free places may be awarded where total assessable household income is below £25,000. Where a free place is made available, and a girl uses the school coach service this will also be subsidised. The ceiling for eligibility for financial support is approximately £70,000. Between these two figures contributions towards fees will be on a sliding scale.^

I think your chances of getting any meaningful bursary with a household income of 65-100k is small.

My DD went to an independent school at 11 and I did no tutoring for the exams at all. I just expected her to get in based on her 11 plus score in our County 11 plus exam. She did not need familiarisation for Maths, English and VR or an interview. She was perfectly able to do this, despite coming from an average primary school, because she was capable and an interesting child with plenty to offer the school and a great personality. I had faith in her abilities. Most schools now try really hard to spot the over-tutored ones. She got a 6th form scholarship, worth £0, but we would not have qualified for a bursary at any point.

I still think some schools are not rich and do expect very high educational attainment for their bursary money, be it art, music or sport or academics, and a fairly low income. I have never heard of one which would think £105,000 was low! Why would it be value for money for the school, or indeed defensible as charitable organisation, to give £000s every year to parents who could afford the fees if they tried? Other people are scrimping and saving to pay fees and do not get bursaries. The only thing to do is to check the bursary policies with the schools.

Bojo I think NVR does need familiarisation. You need to know the techniques, just as you need to know how to spell non phonetic words before you can spell them correctly. Being able to do them accurately at speed under pressure is a measure of intelligence. Being taught how to do them isn't a sign of lack of intelligence. NVR is a very different skill from anything they ever learned at school. VR is more obvious.

microscope the reason I assumed it was full scholarship for 5 children (the 6th one - middle child apparently - didn't get a scholarship and they paid) was because their mother is 'just a teacher' at the local secondary school that we are 'all' trying to avoid. I can't imagine 5 x £10,000 being spent per year assuming they got a 30% bursary. Unless said friend is telling a porkie although I have no reason to think this. We are certainly NOT in an affluent area. Many of those going to the independent schools have parents who work in agriculture.

I did look at one website of another independent school which is about 50 minute drive away and NOT on the bus route at all and they claim to give up to 30% bursaries - not 100%.

Beginning to lose faith now. Certainly our income would make a bursary unlikely and it is becoming apparent that 100% scholarships are the thing of make-believe fairytales!

Luckily DS has a while yet, but I like to scope out the future in case we need to re-think plans such as a house move. I have looked again at local state secondaries and it isn't so bad afterall, at the moment.

There is NO WAY we can afford 2 x £18,000 fees for our children even if I do go full time.

I think there is a huge middle group, who are too well off for a bursary but can't afford fees. Two lots of fees on a household income of £100k is very tight unless no mortgage. This has probably come about because school fee inflation has been so high in the last 20 years.

There are often sibling discounts for multiple children. Dc school starts at 3 attending simultaneously, others might be from 2nd child. Sometimes certain professions like clergy or forces get additional discounts, depending on the profile or affiliation of the school.

microscope I think we fall into that bracket perfectly.

We are not disadvantaged enough in terms of our finances to be awarded a bursary or scholarship yet with a household income of £75k and a mortgage, we won't earn enough to pay £36k a year AND afford our mortgage and other outgoings - the 'usual' that everyone else has including ensuring our parents are financially looked after due to personal circumstances.

Indeed.

However - looking at one website is hardly thorough research.

And 100% bursaries are (I guarantee) certainly not the stuff of fairy tales.

36k a year? for one child to attend a private day school ?

18k day fees in the regions seems unusually expensive tbh. Is that net or gross, bearing in mind this is paid out of taxed income? You will need to look at several.

Read again Ada ...

micro sorry but the often repeated line that people are too rich for a bursary and too poor for fees is utter rubbish. I've never heard of a bursary scheme that wasn't on a sliding scale, and ime a lot of the full fee payers will also be making significant sacrifices to pay fees.

Bursaries are for people who can't actually afford to pay full fees, not to enable people to access private school whilst still enjoying a high standard of living.

I also think it's great that scholarships are now of negligible financial value, and bursaries are the only way to get a high reduction in many schools. That way the large sums of money are targeted at those that need them, rather than wasted on dc that could pay, or on those who wish to have their cake and eat it.

School friends' dc attended is currently 13k pa (similar rural area, many parents in agriculture related jobs). Don't forget to allow for extras like lunch and transport.

oh right two children ....I didn't see that, was still going on what OP put in her OP about her DS.
Sorry but if you cannot afford private school then use the local school.
How do you even know if your children will be suitable for a bursary or scholarship?
Have u thought about Christ's Hospital at all?

Op, the fact is that you say you have always had a preference for private education for your children but unfortunately that preference has not translated into action in terms of even finding out basic information about the bursaries and scholarships available at your local private schools let alone financial planning. If you are reliant on not paying school fees then a lot of information gathering, financial planning and consideration of all options will be required and also to be considered is the unique talents that your children can bring to any school in return for the funding you need. Sorry but think a wake up call is needed here.

7% of people go to private school. The majority don't. It is not an option available to everyone and the squeezed middle are priced out the market in many cases. Focus on your other secondary options as well, including moving house. We moved rather than spend £250k on school fees for our children over the course of their education. We have invested that money differently.

Good luck.💐

micro sorry but the often repeated line that people are too rich for a bursary and too poor for fees is utter rubbish.

lurkedforeve1 we will have to agree to disagree.

A family with an income of £100k from a single earner, who is paying pension contributions of say 15%, will take home about 50k per year, about 57k in total if it comes from two people.

Educating two children privately on that, even assuming 15K per year fees with no other expenses (and many schools fees are more than that) doesn't leave much to pay the mortgage and other bills. Yes, I know, people live on much less, cut your cloth according to your means etc etc etc. It still remains the case that school fee inflation is often 5-10% per year and bursary thresholds and wages haven't kept up with that.