Would private schools expect us to remortgage before offering a bursary?

[Tootandcomeinagain]

Hi - seen a lot here about bursaries and wondered if anyone has remortgaged for school fees - we live in a 700K home (all paid off) in London. Salaries 90K gross. Potential school fees are 12K a term so 72K a year for 2. Would we qualify for a part bursary or would we be expected to remortgage? Do they look at the home first? Id be interested in any bursar views as there have been a few posting?

This is obviously very distressing for you.

I feel you will only be content if your children secure places at the top schools (where bursary will not be from your investment) and is affordable for the school without any cost cutting or sacrifice of standards.

If however you must attend a regular or regional independent school (who are struggling financially and your fees will go into the pot) I don’t feel this would be a good fit.

The government are working to support SEN but this is now a rapid shift in resources so it will take time to ensure all children receive the education they are entitled to.

Best of luck for your family. If you do have to attend a state school I would strongly recommend giving people a chance, you may be pleasantly surprised just look at the success of others at state who have posted above. Look to the majority of our NHS incredibly intelligent, hardworking people. Children can survive, be successful, integrate and reach their true potential. Statistics show, more so than the school, the parental and home influence nurture high achievers.

Expecting a private school bursary for 2 children when you live in a £700k house with the mortgage paid off is a real cheek! I’m sorry - I think it’s greedy.

Bursaries are for people on low incomes, not people who think they’re entitled to subsidised luxuries when you easily have the means to remortgage if you wanted to.

Over Half of all bursaries are non means tested.

Thats the problem with independent schools, not VAT.

😂😂😂 OP you have made me laugh- no you can’t get a bursary with that asset- cheeky as anything and hilarious post!!!! We could have all paid our mortgages off and asked for a bursary 😂😂😂😂 what a funny post and entitled

Well if they’re not means tested then anyone can clearly apply. But the OP is looking at a means tested bursary. Only on MN do
you see relatively well off people trying to get bursaries.

There are a tonne of things I would try before going down a route of applying for a bursary under the OP’s circumstances. Even moving out of London would give the OP much more money to use. It just comes across as expecting other fee paying parents to subsidise them so that they can sit on their capital which imo, is unfair.

Since the VAT thing, private schools in my town have tightened their bursary criteria right up, also.

Many of the senior staff at independent schools have no mortgage yet their kids still receive 50% bursary (fee remission ‘discount’) as do their friends, their family, long lost cousins twice removed… Over half of all independent school bursary are non means tested.

There are other posts on here somewhere where there is a link to the report. So OP and the positive responses to OP is common place amongst those with ‘access’ to the administration.

That’s called a ‘perk’. All jobs have perks.

When their business is doing well and can afford them. 🤔

None of this is a reasonable argument to justify a well off person with huge assets expecting to receive charity.

I don't think any of you seem to understand how this works, in a number of different ways. It's really extraordinary.

Don’t u know your council tax goes to all SEN kids inside your borough ?????

I have NO issue with state
no issue with nhs . Don’t put words into my mouth .

I just wonder why all scholarships based on merit have disappeared .

now they digging holes 🕳️ for themselves deep enough to invite all calculating financial parasites swimming to loopholes .
in the name of “ bursary “

My council tax pays for SEN kids to go to private schools?

So if u don’t want to give money to hard working kids .

why should I give money to poor kids ?

being poor has financial reward more than working hard ?

Why would a private school want to jeopardise themselves by giving bursaries to ‘parasites’?

charitable business rates relief?

Why u ask me ?
call ur council !

Welcome to U.K.

The vast majority of SEN funding comes directly from central government, not council tax.

?

A means tested bursary as per “charitable status” is such a benefit for the school. The candidate will be assessed as gifted. This is morally acceptable. Resulting in meeting charitable obligations whilst contributing to the results of the school.

The greatest cost at independent school is the staff. They can no longer afford staff perks. When they reach a point that they no longer need to annually increase fees for full paying families then and only then they are in a strong financial position to offer “perks” a downturn in business immediately perks should be restructured or removed.

Independent schools are closing and merging due to simple overspend. Staff fostering a champagne lifestyle on lemonade budgets. Unsustainable. Many more regional private schools will close.

You begrudge this? The private schools that children with SEN go to are specialist schools which only the most disabled in society would get places at. They also are only available via council agreement. Don’t listen to goady posts. It’s the summer holidays after all 😉

No, of course not. I have a SEN DC myself at an independent school, which we fund privately, not the council. I was making a point at the ridiculousness of that poster.

Yes, this is a tricky one as it’s great for staff retention if they have DC at the school themselves. But I do agree in the main.

U r welcome . U just realised today that u miss out .