Scholarships / Bursaries Independent School

[Bruce2]

Hi
Looking for any advice….

we live in a grammar county and my daughter is struggling keeping up with general class work so know she’s not at a grammar ability.
she has ADHd and ideally needs small class sizes as she’s completely lost in a class of 30.

I fall into a bracket where I earn an ok amount for living in south east but by no means wealthy… I privately rent as no savings for deposit for a house and drive a 12 year old car that’s been paid off for years. Don’t go abroad etc

my question is - can anyone offer experience of advice of what would be the acceptance criteria to be eligible for a bursary? Not a full bursary, I would be willing to move to a smaller house to be able to afford some contribution towards fees. I’m also a single mum and although their dad works, he doesn’t contribute financially to the kids as he’s in debt and trying to pay off loans, overdrafts and credit cards….

my daughter is on a performance pathway for her sport and trains 18 hours a week and loves her sport so wondered if that would help at all also in terms of scholarships?

Just looking for some realistic, honest thoughts

Thank you in advance

Yes it's definitely worth you applying. Schools vary massively on how much they offer so research lots within commutable distance and phone them up to chat to their registrar straight away. The sooner the better, the deadlines are early and strict. Get on their radar. Its often first come, first served.
Would you consider her boarding or flexi boarding?

Yes would definitely consider boarding/flexi boarding.

Thank you for the advice, I’ll give some a call tomorrow and see what the process is and when to start applying

Definitely give it a go, also most have sports scholarships so that sounds good as well.

The sport might help for a scholarship if the school values that particular one and there are some available at the point she applies. However be conscious that they may expect commitment to representing the school and attending their coaching rather than allow her time for existing training and competitions/matches.

Also state boarding schools might be worth looking into(some are day/weekly boarding).

Sports scholarships might not give much reduction in fees though. Bursaries are competitive and often go to the academic dc. It’s tough.

Thank you everyone, really appreciate you helping a mum out here
I feel I’ve let her down quite badly, I (very stupidly) believed her primary school when they told me she was “expected level” in learning but when I dug deeper I find out she’s 2 years behind in her spelling and just about coping with day to day work.
hence why the 11+ is a pointless effort for her.
I now fully think they’ve not raised any issues as then they’d have to properly deal with them.
Really feel like a terrible mum for not picking up on this sooner
I work full time in one job and have a little side hustle as well as two other children so she’s slipped through the net on all accounts.
just need to try make it up to her now

many thanks again everyone

It’s really hard as the first child to understand all the 11 plus. However the demand is decreasing as it’s so expensive. Is there any grammar schools / state schools that is a good fit? Is your child severe regards sen so much so would need an EHCP? As that can get you into a grammar school / independents and paid by the LA but takes 2 years at least).

What ever sport she is training in (18hrs) gym? Swim? Etc try and target those schools that are passionate about the same sport as she is probably at the top of her game and would accept a lower score if she is getting the medals in the sports.

Sports scholarship ~ 20% which was nice and not massive considering everything.

Equally class sizes can be large in private girls 24/ 25 in a selective girls schools so not much different from state but the assumption all the kids can keep going at the same pace.

Adhd - medicated? Maybe your child could benefit or not (deprending on her views / your views)

Bursary I think that’s the way to go depending where you live as some schools do 100% plus - target the schools with the sport that your daughter is into this is probably the key if national / county level.

good luck

Try Millfield, Bryanston, Rugby, Cheltenham College.... start googling... there's so many. I think best approach is to make a spreadsheet of all the co ed boarding schools and start phoning them to determine the likelihood of a bursary. Then once you've got a shortlist I'd just go ahead and visit them and apply to however many you csn afford the registration fees of.

Also co Ed/girls boarding school league tables are a quick way to get that list!

Are the other two dc older or younger. If younger, will there be any issues not being able to send them private if they also can’t do 11+? With three dc it’s tricky to be paying for one - even with a bursary/scholarship you could still be paying a lot now that fees are so high - because the others will lose out in other ways, especially if you’re already not having holidays. It’s worth investigating, especially with the sports angle and that might just be her thing in state anyway, not every child is academic but she’s got something she loves and excels at.

All great points

thank you again, I’ll start making a list

my children have large age gaps between them so only ever be one at a private school at any given time if that was the case…. Maybe the only bonus of having such large gaps!

she would never qualify for EHCP as needs not severe enough. Enough that she struggles keeping up but not enough she needs one of that makes sense….

really glad I started this thread as you’ve all given me food for thought xx

I'd personally spend the money on tutors, not private school fees. The extras are crazy, and it's not always nice being the poor kid. My youngest has dyslexia and I sometimes wonder if he also has undiagnosed ADHD. At one point he had two evenings a week spent with tutors. We're now down to one evening a week.

thank you so much

I haven’t worked out how to find private messages yet but I’ll figure it out today xx

From my general understanding, most schools can offer bursaries for a household earning less than £100k, as a guideline. But each school differs of course and would advise if you got in touch

It's also worth getting her a tutor to help bring her up, good luck!

I imagine that ability also plays into it. That’s why the bursary decision process is vague on any school website.

There is a finite pot and great competition so I’m sure the school looks at the applications and prioritises who to give the funds to. So the stronger an application the better?

@Bruce2 Please be aware that many schools are cutting back on bursaries. Many schools have to fund them from fee income and that’s a struggle right now. Also top schools will be looking for top academics to access the money. They want bang for their buck. Hence they really want very bright or extra talented dc. It will be very competitive. Do not under estimate the difficulties you face.

is your daughter medicated ? if not, it could massively help her coping with the day to day work, also I don't think being behind in spelling is such a problem if she is doing ok in the other subjects,