Is a 60% Bursary to a private sixth form a stretch?

[khadija123]

Hello! My daughter (year 10) currently attends a state school, and is really eager to join Queenswood school for sixth form (a private school). Myself and her dad think that Queenswood is the perfect fit for her, and she also thinks the same. The only problem is that we would need a 60% bursary - minimum 50%, to be able to send her there. Her dad and I are divorced, he's a comfortable earner and I'm on UC. We think that my situation will help us get a bursary - but we're not sure on the percentage. Does anyone have any experience with bursaries at Queenswood? And is 60% a stretch? Also, do you think there is anything she can do to boost her chances of a bursary e.g impress at the interview?

I’m more and more puzzled, @khadija123. If you and / or your daughter have built up such close relationships with the pupils and staff of this school, then surely you must know more about her prospects there than random posters on MN - given that we may be responding based on existence of other independent schools?

She already has lots of friends and has built positive relationships with the admissions staff and head of sixth form at Queenswood, which makes her really excited about the fresh start and support she would receive there.
How?? 🤔

(I wrote ‘experience’, not ‘existence’ in my post above!)

If you got a job you wouldn’t need a bursary?! Problem solved!

You clearly have no understanding of how the bursary system works, so let me educate you. I’m on Universal Credit because I have a disability, not because I’m caring for a 14 year old child. When I get called in, I do work - but like many disabled people, my income isn’t consistent.
My daughter is applying for a bursary because she deserves to - not because we’re expecting charity, but because she’s earned the right to be considered. Bursaries exist for students with talent ,drive and financial need, not just for people who fit neatly into your narrow worldview.
Maybe next time, before making smug comments about someone else's life, educate yourself.

Unfortunately no-one "deserves" a bursary.
Many bursaries come out of surplus from fees ie they are funded by parents who both work FT to pay fees without a discount. That's why the Q about why you don't work, my husband and I both work in order to scrape the money for fees.

I don't begrudge anyone a bursary but that's why you will have to prove you can't work/justify why not.
It can stick in the craw a bit when people who don't work state that their child deserves me to pay for their bursary.

That's why the financial assessment is so rigorous and that's why they expect you to have exhausted all avenues of funding the fees yourself, including working FT.

Saying that, a disability would be a valid reason in my opinion.

To be fair OP you did state you were on universal credit while seeking full time employment that would work around your daughter, implying that once you had a full time job you would no longer be entitled to universal credit.

Its hard to advise when your situation is unclear - for example I assumed you had a younger child, others assumed you weren’t working full time to look after your older dd and if that was the case they rightly advised the school would expect you to work full time due to the low care needs of older children.

I understand that bursaries come from school funds, often supported by fee-paying families. But let’s be clear: bursaries aren't handed out based on entitlement - they’re awarded to students who show promise and face genuine financial need.
I do work when I can. I’m managing a disability, which limits how consistently I can take on work.
My daughter is not asking anyone to "pay for her." She’s trying to earn her place on merit, just like any other bursary applicant. If the school sees potential in her and believes she would contribute meaningfully to their community, then she does deserve to be considered. We know we do not deserve a bursary.

Honestly I can’t see you getting anywhere near 50% if your Dads dad earns well.

Our experience is that you’d both be expected to forego all holidays, only have a cheap car, remortgage your home, and almost all of your accessible savings before being considered for a bursary. You’d also be expected to both be working full time.

Our school is very open about the fact that if you get a bursary and then go on holiday or turn up to school in new or nice car, other parents won’t be amused and you’ll be at risk of loosing the bursary.

I have 2 children on 25% burseries each. Our joint income is 70k a year. They also achieved academic, music and art/drama scholarships each. We all worked very hard over 2 years to get those scholarships and make them more attractive to the school in order to get a bursary.

No matter what the website says, no school is going to give a bursary to a run of the mill student when they could fill that place with a full fee paying one. You nave to be able to offer something to the schools - either stellar academic results, county/national sport/grade 8 music for 6th form. it’s even harder now to get bursaries due to the VAT - thanks Labour!

A note of caution -
scholarships, especially at girls schools are in the region of 5-10% usually. There are exceptions but that's the usual level so worthwhile but not game-changing

It's worth investigating with the school to see what's possible, it really varies a lot between schools depending on funds, but best to frame it as a longshot because that is a lot to ask for and her dad might well be expected to fund more. It was unclear why you weren't working which is why several people got the wrong end of the stick and while I hear your righteous indignation, this is partly what people are getting at about it being an intrusive, in depth process - if you're asking for £££s, people will want to know all kinds of details and you can't get defensive about it. Well, you can but it's not going to help. If you want something you can't afford, there's a lot of hoops to jump through and sacrifices to make. Worth a shot, but definitely worth focusing on the back-up plans as more realistic, and it's no bad thing in the grand scheme - 6th form goes by in a flash, it's not even two years as the second year gives way to exams so swiftly, and if she's aiming at top unis, then coming from state school is no bad thing these days thankfully due to widening participation, so switching to private at 6th isn't always the boon one might think, in some ways you're ticking the wrong box without getting the benefit of the private secondary education. But good luck! Hope she lands somewhere that she's happier and can thrive.

That all sounds quite draconian, @woolflower! At ‘our’ schools, both prep and senior, they only cautioned against evidence of extravagant / luxury holidays. And there was no question of remortgaging one’s sole, modest home. Both schools were significantly wealthy, though - and I think they preferred even bursary children to have lives somewhat in common with their peers. So there was no stipulation against ‘ordinary’ holidays.

At DD’s school we got 20% bursary on a combined income of 60k. This was 4 years ago, it might have changed a bit. It possibly also depends where in the country you are, I have a friend in Oxford who got 50% off fees on nearer 100k, but we live miles away from anywhere so the numbers were lower.
Even if you are unable to work, if your husband earns upwards of 100k I don’t think you’d get anything, let alone half off.

@khadija123one more question, to which I may have missed a previous answer - are you looking for a boarding or day place for your daughter? That obviously makes a huge difference to the fees, and thus to the likely level of bursary.

Schools expect both parents to work so you need to get yourself off UC and into a job.

We are looking for a day place

He earns around 70k

Would they be expected to sell their clothes and wear sackcloth and ashes?
And live off bread and water?

My DD got a free place at a girls school based on being a girl who would benefit from the education but parents unable to afford fees. DH disabled, me SAHM/carer, no questions asked about why I didn't work. Just financial statements. We had to provide bank statements which showed benefits.

OP, I don't have anything new to add, but I think you should consider scheduling a meeting with the school's bursar.

The information below is from a boarding school situated far away from here:
"Bursary awards are intended for lower income families and are available to help those parents and guardians who would not normally be able to afford the full fees. This helps ensure that pupils at our school are drawn from a diverse range of backgrounds. All bursaries are means-tested. A child must have an offer of a place to join us before applying for a bursary. The level of bursary awarded depends upon the degree of assistance required. This is assessed upon a declaration of income and assets and will be reassessed annually. Once offered, the bursaries are reviewed annually. They usually remain in place for the duration of a child’s time at our school, unless there is a change in the family’s circumstances."

I really don’t think that adds anything to the relevant school’s bursary policy document, freely available here:

https://www.queenswood.org/admissions/bursaries/

I don’t think it’s draconian, the examples in the information booklet are a family in a house that’s mortgage free, and a family that has £300k equity with a child that only has 2 years left. With the view the remaining 2 years can easily be covered with a small-ish remortgage.

In the run up to VAT being brought in they tightened up the bursaries and scholarships so everything is now means tested quite stringently. So if your parents have a higher income you can get a scholarship with no financial benefit, but the same scholarship with parents on a low income might get 100% fee covered plus extras like trips. Worth also noting the scholarships are granted before any means testing.

This method would mean I doubt OP would get much of a percentage. The view would be, it’s 2 years of fees (say £60k?), if you have enough money to cover 50% then you need to find £30k in total. Which the school is likely to suggest is at least partially possible to find by working full time, taking out a loan or freeing up any equity.

As I replied to previous poster who questioned this method.

No they wouldn’t, but they wouldn’t give a bursary to someone who’s got £100k’s of equity in their house, is not working out of choice, and is not making the some sacrifices as many of the other parents who are paying full fees.

If her father earns well (what is “well” out of interest?) then he will be expected to pay the fees.