Appealing bursary decision - worth a go?

[PonderLonelyAsACloud]

I will start by saying that we haven't been notified of the outcome of our bursary application but will likely hear in the next couple of weeks. I am nervous that we may not be offered enough of a discount to make it manageable to send DC to the school (secondary, currently at state primary, starting Y7 in Sept).

We have tried to manage DC's expectations throughout the admissions process. They sat the entrance assessment today and I think they would absolutely thrive at this school. If they don't get offered a place or we're not offered enough of a bursary, there's a decent state school that we would be happy with. But the private school is really incredible and I'd so love the opportunity for DC.

So, in the event that DC is offered a place but the bursary offer (if any) isn't enough to make it affordable, I'm keen to hear whether there's any experience or examples of people appealing and being offered a greater discount.

Just to add, I am well aware that VAT will make bursary pots even more stretched and that offers will have been carefully calculated, and competition will likely be very high, so we are assuming that this isn't going to work out for us, but really just trying to think through scenarios and hearing others' experience would be really helpful. Thank you

It’s not an an appeal per se, in the way that the state school system has an admissions appeal process. But you can have a conversation with school if they offer, say, 50% and you need 75%.

Schools vary in their approach and some would rather give four 25% bursaries than one 100% bursary in order that four kids get to go who wouldn’t have done otherwise.

I know of a child who had two 110% bursary offers, and others with very significant bursaries. I also know they discussed with the schools what would make it possible for them to accept the offer (eg needing funding to enable travel to school). So I would suggest a conversation with the school, if it isn’t the level you need.

If your DC is a boy, you’re more likely to be in with a chance. Unfortunately, girls schools are usually less well funded for bursary places, for historical reasons.

I disagree with those who say bursaries are only for certain types of people. They have conditions set by the school, and if you meet them you should get one. I wish you the best of luck.

It doesn’t seem to have done you much good going to private school though if you haven’t got a well paying job out of it.

That is a deep response!

Surely success ( doing well) is in many forms.
Success can be measured by other factors than high levels of pay.

Success can be about job satisfaction, high interest, using a talent and fortunately a satisfaction in helping and serving others, even though pay is low. Thinking public sector, education staff, care staff, some NHS staff etc.

There are plenty of well paid jobs that do not pay enough to cover the full cost of a private education.

(OP has said more about her job upthread)

I really wouldn't get your hopes up. I work at an independent senior school. Most of the bursaries we give are small, 10% or 20%. We do give 100%, but mostly at Sixth Form to kids we know will get at least 3 As/ A*s.

Our staff discount is only 25%, which now will be eaten up completely by VAT, so it's not an option for staff anymore. Like many schools, we are now aggressively recruiting from overseas, particularly HK/ China.

Some very wealthy schools, with loads of assets, are in a different position, but for many schools, bright middle class kids aren't really the target market anymore, and we definitely aren't in a position to fund them.

Absolutely worth having a discussion with the bursar if your child is offered a bursary and it isn’t sufficient. Lots of people do this with scholarships and bursaries. Some may hold a couple of offers in their hand and utilise this to try and get more from their preferred school. Others will just explain they need x percentage to make things work. Sometimes schools may not be able to offer more bursary, but will be able to offer things such as free school lunches/music tuition which may make it worth it.The worst that will happen is they say “sorry no”.

If you find yourself in this position I would try and have a meeting with the bursar (remote or in person) to explain your situation. I would also go armed with information to explain your position.

I think you’ve had a hard time on here OP. Lots of posters inferring that if you ask for a greater percentage then you are taking money from some poor destitute child or you are being greedy asking for 75%. Many private schools offer free places or large bursaries. To me it seems far more logical that you would need a large chunk of fees then say 10-20% where I would be thinking “surely if you can find the other 80-90% you can make other savings, work some more hours for the other 10-20%?”

Lots of big private schools (like Westminster) are trying to go needs blind on places. So that any child who needs a bursary/free place gets it.

Historically (and one of the arguments used to stop assisted places) was that the students who got bursaries (and old style assisted places) were not getting to the poorest students. They were predominantly going to middle class families who were often cash poor but asset rich, or knew how to play the system (so were directors of company’s with a salary of 12k, but then also getting big dividend payments).

This is why most schools now get companies in to do background checks for bursary applications and so hopefully if your child is offered a bursary it will be at a level which means you can take the place.

Well you can ask. But if it will only work if they offer 75%, what happens if they drop that to 50% next year or the year after that?

At our old private school you only got a bursary if you were extremely academic/very high sport/other level AND had low income - they went through your finances in forensic detail. You have to qualify for a scholarship before applying for means tested bursary.
It is at the discretion of the school, but there is likely to be a firm criteria/process and of course you can ask but unlikely at the level you need. To maintain the bursary, the student is held to a high standard academically and in whatever area they received the scholarship, and in behaviour.

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Re. the comment that my private education hasn't done me much good, and with thanks to the PPs who responded to that point: My private education was wonderful and set me up for an incredible career - I went to an excellent university (worked at a paid job throughout to support myself) and went on to do a Masters in a highly specialised field (took out career development loan to enable this) - and am a recognised global expert in what I do. It's not well paid, but it is important, meaningful work and I have no regrets about my path. I am not financially 'successful' but having not come from a well-off background I don't find that the most important thing.

The school outsources the bursary application process to an external company (as one PP spoke about) - they know our financial circumstances inside out (cash and assets - or lack of) - so I guess it will come down to a combination of a formula and the competition for the funds.

My DC is incredibly bright, and is applying to an academically selective school. I would be so happy if they could have the same opportunities I did, but am not able to provide that without help.

I do wonder about the 10% bursaries and as others have said, whether a couple of grand discount is ever 'make or break' for families being able to accept a place. But spreading the available funding between more families to enable more children to access the opportunity is very legitimate...Tough decisions incoming for schools and families alike, no doubt.

Thank you to PPs who shared their experiences, have read each reply with great interest. Each school will have such specific circumstances, I understand, but this has given me some hope that a conversation may be worthwhile, if it comes to it.

They will offer bursaries to the best performers on the entrance exam.

In our school this has decreased dramatically since Covid and VAT. They simply don't have the funds.

They will have looked at your income and decided that you can afford X. I think they would expect you to make sacrifices before offering more.

But at the end of day it comes down to how much they want the kid!

And yes, usually the bursary would be awarded to the children with scholarships. So the scholarship is 20% and the bursary the remaining 80%.

That's what my DC had.

To be honest, as a new family you really don't have negotiating power. The only families they are likely to increase are those already connected to the school with change of circumstances

OP, schools vary tremendously in what they offer and how it’s calculated. My DD had a scholarship and a means-tested bursary - if I had won the lottery, she would have kept the scholarship, but as I was a single mother working term times only for a lowly paid job, I got full remission of fees. As others have said, though, they went into my finances in forensic detail, and every year I got a letter to the effect that my DD’s academic progress and contribution to school life had been sufficient for her to continue receiving both scholarship and bursary, so it’s never unconditional.

Also I’m pretty sure OP said their other half was an emergency worker too? I’m sure the dude upthread with the sassy comment then won’t ever need the services of the hard working NHS staff, heaven forbid he gets treated by such an unsuccessful chap ;)

@Shooperpooper Indeed! :-D

The other factor is.. do you really want your child to be the poorest child in school? I wouldn't want my child to be worst off, comparison is the thief of joy as they say and if you're only able to pay 25% fees then there will be a lot of families enjoying a much nicer lifestyle

It is hard to generalise as each school sets its own rules based on its available resources. But, if I were you, and your son does not get a sufficient bursary/scholarship I would just state the situation - thank you for the offer of this bursary which we would love to accept, but financially we are unable to do so as it is insufficient to cover our costs - or whatever.

If he has done well enough academically on the test (or he has other major talents that might bring glory on the school - music/sport/drama etc.) they might reconsider. Nothing lost by telling them the situation.

My GS has a large academic scholarship and it is clear they see him as an ambassador for the school and value his presence.

My GS is at a private school on an academic scholarship and he is now 15 and has had no problems in that regard - the school is more diverse than one might expect. I think things have been changing in that regard, except for Eton etc.

The school will allocate the available bursary funds according to their own criteria which will vary from school to school, but the only point in appealing would be if you think any detail in your application was misunderstood or inadequately communicated.

The amount of bursary you "need" isn't an absolute objective figure. Your household income is X and you reckon you need to keep Y% of it to meey living costs so think you only have X*(100-Y) available for school fees. The school's policy may well be that you should be expected to tighten your belts further and make ends meet on less. That's not something you can appeal. If it were, the school would be allowing a busary recipient hoisehold to enjoy a higher standard of living than a household deemed too wealthy to be eligible at all.

Even if your assessment of your needs is correct, if there are 12 applicants who pass the exam who all need 75% bursaries to attend, and there's only enough in the pot for 3 bursaries, they will probably make offers with 75% bursary to 3 and may offer a token 10% or 5% to the other 9 (in full expectation that they will decline unless they have a grandparent willing to pay)

But don't fret too much. You may get the offer you need.

DC might not be the poorest...although I assume would be amongst the least well off. I was the poor kid at my school, the other kids didn't seem to care, maybe the parents did but I never knew about it. But I'm sure not all the kids would care about whether DC wears designer clothes etc. Or maybe that's naive of me.

It's definitely something to have on our radar and consider though. As are the additional expectations of maintaining exceptional academic performance and behaviour in order to have bursary renewed each year. No current concerns on either, but we haven't hit teenage years yet...!

No pressure then 😭😂
will you update us OP on how you get on? Would be interesting to know.

On the performance point, that’s explicitly not a criteria in the school my DC attend, for bursaries awarded on entry. The bursary FAQs make it clear that they reassess the financial position each year, but there are no conditions other than those applicable to all students, and the bursary continues (subject to annual financial assessment) for the DC’s time at the school. So again, different schools do things differently.

Think of it as not an appeal….but a discussion with the bursar.

Many who are offered a bursary will discuss the amount offered. The bursar will expect to have these conversations. They will have a defined pot which they can use and will expect to up the offer to a small number of people, in most schools. However, especially at the current time, they are unlikely to offer much more or to many people because of constrained funds.

So, if you get an offer of 20%, don’t expect it to rise to 75%.

You are more likely to get a significant bursary from a rich school and if your DC is one of the very top performers in the entrance exam….which you are unlikely to know or be told. If they have done very well, they are likely to be offered a scholarship and bursary which will push the remission to a higher level.

The reality is for many each year, that the bursary offered isn’t big enough to allow them to attend. This is often the case for those who on paper have enough income for a 100% bursary…but school funds aren’t enough. Like everyone else who doesn’t go to a private school because they can’t afford it, the person offered too low a bursary is in the same position.

The error is to think having a lower income or income within the bursary threshold, entitles you to a fee reduction which will allow you to access a school place. Quite simply, it doesn’t. Many will apply and qualify on income levels and pass the exam, but not be offered enough to attend.

All this said, there might be some flexibility and you might be able to get any offer upped a bit and it won’t hurt to ask….but don’t expect a signifant uplift.

OP your child might not know they are the poorest until it comes to school trips. I was in a group who never went on the skiing trip or the cultural trip to the USA or the trip to Africa or whatever else because my parents could just manage the fees but nothing else. That's when you realise you are 'different'.