Unfair scholarship

[Pegaroo]

So, I’m using you as a place to vent…I think I might be being unreasonable but I see this as unfair.

my children are at an independent school. It’s not a school that will set the world alight but it has small classes and I feel me children are seen.

For a little context to afford school I have reduced the size of my house, changed cars, gone back to work and will be sacrificing holidays for quite some time. My choice and I do this willingly and I see the value…..this bit isn’t the issue.

i feel let down with the way way is chucking around scholarships and bursary’s to preferred families without there being any competitive process. this has been happening for a while and it hasn’t bothered me so much. But the latest story involves a family whose oldest child has attended the school for 1 year and whose father has been removed from the home.

it appears that this child and its sibling(not even started school yet) have been given school life scholarships…..such a huge some of money . In my mind there are 1000s of children in poor circumstances without even 1 parent who cares, why should these 2 children who have a home and when the youngest starts school the mum will return to a well paid job get such a hand out. I feel that this should have been a scholarship that any child in need should have had the chance to benefit from.

ultimately my fees ( and others) pay for this and I keenly feel that a disservice has been done.

i have no recourse to complaint as there is no external body that I know of who can do this.

feeling rage.

Do the school not publish the process for applying for scolerships? If so, doesn't that mean that anyone can apply?

Tbh, I thought most scholarships at private schools went to kids whose parents would send them anyway. Aren't most scholarships just a reduction in fees rather than 100% of fees paid.

Resenting help for a child whose father was abusive seems very small minded. He and his sibling may not otherwise be able to attend , even if his mother worked ft, and you cannot possibly know what he has witnessed. Sounds like idle gossip. Scholarships are discretionary but if the school is a charity its policies and finances should be transparent and handled by Trustees to whim you could complain.

YABU, why scholarships are accepted is a private matter and should not be the business of anyone else other than the school and family. I would hope that you do not have the full facts and therefore your concern that there is a disservice is not warranted.

I think you need to look at whether this education is affordable to you, can you apply for financial assistance but getting angry at upset at the situation of others is not fair.

Scholarships are awarded for merit, and are unrelated to family income

Bursaries are means tested awards, not necessarily connected to merit but only awarded to the pupils the school really wants to have.

I think you may be confusing the two things.

its absolutely fine for a DC from a rich family to secure an honour because they are talented. in many schools, most awards are now token amounts, or purely honorary. This is because so many schools have removed funds from scholarships and fund bursaries instead.

However some, especially older, schools have endowments with strings attached, and they may be unable to reduce the amount of the award. some schools are just plain richer, and can afford awards between 10-30% (it's very rare for scholarships to be higher, though I can think of a couple that stay as 50%)

Fees do not (in the vast majority of schools) get used to find either scholarships or bursaries - its an entirely separate pot.

Jealousy is a really ugly emotion.

If you don’t like your fees being used in this way you can always take your child out. Many schools will have trust funds set up from previous pupils, other generous benefactors from which some specific scholarships/bursaries will be paid from

It happens all the time. Some, not all, families play the game really well and reduce their income, change circumstances, etc. I think rather than get upset about it, just emulate their actions and work the system to your advantage. Good luck.

I assume you mean a bursary which will be means tested and applied for. Most bursaries are not funded from fees but separate donation and fund raising pots. Some schools achieve their charitable status by offering bursaries.

Schools will have set criteria for bursary awards. If you belive you qualify or may do so ask and apply for one rather than butch about someone else getting one when presumably you don't know their financial circumstances.

If you don't qualify and can't afford the fees then that is your choice as to whether you go without else where to continue to pay for education.

You only have half the facts so there is no point in getting worked up about it. You don’t actually know what has or hasn’t happened.

You are taking part in the unfair private education system and you complain because... it's unfair? it's called last stage capitalism, baby. Enjoy your privilege.

Your post reads like you are just jealous that you weren’t clever enough to get your kids scholarships.

whose father has been removed from the home.

Some kind of real trauma
Why are you jealous of that?

You cannot possibly know all the details of other family’s circumstances.

A state school system exists if you don’t like or can’t afford the entirely unnecessary system you’ve opted into.

Wow, body-slam!

True though 😁. Clues in the name - private - they can do what they like your choice to buy into it (or not)

whose father has been removed from the home.

This is not a minor thing.

It sounds like yoh are sati g your are jealous because these kids some help, after a trauma involving their abusive father.

It also sounds like you think you not going on holiday for a while, is the equivalent or even worse than what happened to that family? That you feel you are more deserving.

But that can't be right, can it? Because only absolute dick would think this? Have you badly worded the op?

I don't think it would be unreasonable to ask for the school's policy on awarding scholarships and bursaries, particularly if the school is a charity. Most schools have clear policies on these matters, as the value of such discounts is significant and could be a concern if applied inconsistently/unfairly.

As others have mentioned, a scholarship and a bursary are different awards, but mostly set by criteria by the school.

At DD1's private school, there is a scholarship which is awarded by the headmistress which is usually set aside for girls coming from the state sector, probably so the school can justify charitable status. Maybe also to encourage girls to apply.

I understand that you are making sacrifices to ensure your children get a good education, but have you thought about making a bursary application? Depends on the school, but you may qualify for a bursary.

Maybe she misses those trips to the Maldives flying business class on BA.

But op could only see if it was applied fairly if they also share the exact reasons it was given.

Its likey that op knows part of a story. Or is entirely wrong.

Sounds like a bursary based on current financial circumstances and traumatic circumstances. I'm sure there is more details that are not public knowledge including paying if circumstances change

I am struggling to find any sympathy to be honest.

Your children are already being given a massive leg up the ladder because you can afford it. The vast majority of children who come from homes that could not even begin to scrape together the money to pay just a few weeks of private school fees are already behind your children in the queue.

You have the means to take advantage of a very unfair system. Lucky you. Don't complain about a system already skewed in your favour.

I wonder if they ask if you are taking holidays or not?

It could be a trust. My old school had some very strange trusts which had been in place for centuries. One was for a child living within a certain group of streets and with a certain surname. Another was for “the youngest son of a sailor’s widow”. The school has the funds but can only grant the awards in these circumstances. They are not sourced from other fee-payers. I always assume that they were set up initially by a “mysterious benefactor” with a particular child in mind and have then just rolled on down the years.

I would recommend you ask if there are any others available!