45% Bursary - how likely

[Justalittlequestionortwo]

Hello there, just trying to guage the probability of DS getting a 45% bursary for year 7 on a joint gross income of £105k outside of the south east? Is this achievable ? Looking at several schools that are mixed day/boarding. DS is county level in 2 sports and academic. Has anyone achieved this / are willing to say if they have secured this in the last year?

@Reswallie80 thank you.

Yes, evenings and Sundays are allowable for outside sports commitments. Our school is full boarding but several boys play Academy rugby for Premiership RU clubs, and school do view this as a positive- but the kids have to be very serious about their sport because the double commitment drives out space for other things, which can be an issue for GCSE and A Level preparation. For the same reason they cannot hold simultaneous sport and music scholarships.

It depends on so many things. Type of school, application process, wealth of school, fees.

You say mixed day/boarding - that’s still prep school in the most traditional system, where children move to senior school for year 9. And prep school bursaries are thin on the ground. (Someone close to me had a boarding prep scholarship of 50% plus a bursary of 50% - about ten years ago, but the school only offered one of those per year.)

Bursary provision might be much greater at a school where yr7 is senior school. But looking at £45k day fees - a 20% scholarship would take you to £36k - which really ought to be doable on your current income. I highly doubt that a school will have the same idea as you about what constitutes ‘sacrifice’.

For a bright academic boy you would probably be better off looking for an academic scholarship and additional bursary application, flagging his sporting prowess (because you are correct, that will be attractive to the school) but not asking for a sports scholarship. That way you are free agents to use weekends to pursue his sports via County. If his academics are strong they are worth more to the school IMO. 45% does seem a stretch but you definitely won't get it if you don't ask!
You could also consider saving now, using your good local state options through to Y11 and re-engaging with the issue at 6th form if his progress is still strong.

If fees are that high I think you have a good chance at a significant bursary on your salary.

No t sure about the bursary but be wary of VAT changing what is done each year

£42k day fees is incredibly high isn’t it

We have a choice of trying him for the feeder prep school for y7 then onto the senior school or we try at 13+ which is the natural entry point for the school. The schools we are really interested in are traditional boarding schools - scholarships/bursaries are available at both entry points.

Most schools publish their criteria for scolarships and bursaries or will provide them if asked. Ours has had to remove all scholarships in the last few years, and bursaries are limited to families with an income under £45,000, and for those families they do go through all your assets and spending to determine what you can afford eg you'd be expected to extend the mortgage if you had significant capital built up there before being considered for a bursary.

Hi, sorry to hijack the post.
I just wanted to ask whether you had any savings or equity.
We have a combined income of around £80k at most. We are freelance, so the income is quite unstable. We do have some equity in our small flat, and we also have pension savings.
When I checked some schools, it seemed like we wouldn’t be eligible for bursaries. However, for example, St Paul’s shows that we might be eligible for up to 90%. That said, it also mentions that the bursary criteria have changed from this year.
Any insight or experience would be really appreciated.

In my experience schools have been inclined to distinguish lifestyle choices from fixed, inelastic income. And the phrase Parents are expected to maximise their income (or similar) came up a lot.

But essentially it depends on the school - and on how much they want your child to attend.