Bursaries for independent schools

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Does anyone know how little do you need to earn to be eligible? Our local independent school offers a bursary scheme for 'those who would otherwise not consider private school for financial reasons.'
DH earns a good salary, he's a civil servant which means he won't be getting a pay rise and will essentially be getting a pay cut due to increased pension contributions - I'm not moaning we're very lucky thta his job is currently safe, but we couldn't ever contemplate affording private school fees. We don't go on holiday abroad, caravan in Cornwall at easter and visit family in Summer. So its not like we have a luxurious lifestyle or have major areas we could cut back on to afford the fees. But on paper our salary looks good.
Is it worth applying for a bursary or do we have to accept that we are too comfortably off to be helped but not wealthy enough to afford the fees.
Am only considering this as an option as we have a secondary school which is on the borderline of going into special measures and looking for optional back up if we don't get a place at school 5 miles away out of catchment which is a decent school. DS is very bright and needs a school which apsires to more than just a couple of GCSE passes.
Don't want to start a private school debate just wondering if anyone knows about this at all.

Colet Court offers big bursaries if you a) qualify and b) they want your child. End of.

If you have any seafaring background - father/mother or grandfather/grandmother of the child having served at least 2 years in Navy, Royal Marines or Merchant Navy plus a few other seafaring organisations - then the Royal Hospital School, Suffolk offer generous means tested bursaries. www.royalhospitalschool.org and 01473 326294

How long should one wait on average for confirmation of a bursery and what are the average percentages of receiving an 80% one? How are they truely worked out????

When we applied we filled in reams of forms and had to back it all up with relevant paperwork and documents.

There is alot more to it than your salary.

We very nearly did not apply because we had recently sold our own home and we're temporarily renting, with a significant lump sum from the house sale sat in a bank account. We assumed they would see we had X in savings and tell us to take a run and jump.

In the end I sent a covering letter with the forms explaining what that lump sum was and that because we intended to use it for buying our next home, we could not afford to dip into it for school fees. When we were interviewed later by the bursar he explained it was not a problem at all, and they were treating it the same as they would have done if we had still lived in the house. The amount although large to have in savings was actually less than a 1/3rd of the cost of a small 3 bed semi in an average area. The bursar explained it would be different if we lived in a house worth hell of alot of money and didnt wish to downsize to something more modest.

That is just one school though. Independent schools are independent, run privately all with their own rules.

If you dont ask you dont get. You have nothing to loose by applying and I would start by asking for a chat with the bursar.

Good luck.

We have had to wait anything between 5 days and about 2 months for confirmation of a bursary. I would suggest if you haven't heard anything after a couple of months to ring the bursar and ask whats happening especially if entrance exams are about to be sat. I would not put my DS in for the entrance exam if we still had not heard about the bursary its not fair on them. Also if there is a a deadline for deciding about another school. In my experience bursars are human they understand the situation.

Hello happygardening,
From what I understand a bursery has nothing to do with an entry exam as it is purely on ones financial situation,yet exams were given and then the bursery process went ahead .I wonder why schools do that if it supposedly has nothing to do with academic ability ??

Well they aren't going to give you a bursary if you fail the entrance exam so it would be a waste of time to go through the bursary process first!

That aside, there are only a limited amount of burasries and they will give them to the most able.

Exactly!

We got our bursary before my DS sat his exams. Infact we were given a provisional offer the year before so that we could see whether or not we wanted to go ahead with the place he'd been offered (which we had been offered a year before that).
In my opinion bursaries are in many schools are another word for scholarship. You only have to read their websites and their eligability criteria to see that. Ultimaltey the most selective and usually the most weathly may be the only one following the open access idea in the way the Charity Commision wants them too. My son could easily have got a scolarship into a slightly less academic school but that was not what we/he wanted and I think places like St Pauls Eton and Winchester are aware of this and therefore are much more organised and not waiting for a child to sit the entrance exam/CE before making their offers.

OK - I am marking my place in here as people have updated with lots of interesting stuff since I was last here...

Happygardening, we were given provisional bursaries from Eton and Winchester after DS had been offered a conditional place (Y6) but he had not sat the entry test (Y9) - is this what you mean?

Are you saying that DS was given a bursary regardless if he'd passed the test? That seems odd.

Colleger yes he was offered a provisional bursary but had to pass the entrance test. When he was first interviewed and assessed 2 years prior to the entrance test we did not have a bursary offer. But I seem to recall that we could have applied even before he was interviewed to get an indication of what they would offer and thus decide if we want to go ahead with the admission process.
What I'm trying to say, and not very well, is that I would not have let him sit the actual entrance exam if we had not had a firm offer of a bursary. When I was looking for a bursary for my older DS most said they would give an answer before he sat CE. My DH feels that those that dont are not really serious about widening the access or are only offering very small bursaries. And bearing in mind most want you to stump up at least half a terms fees 18 months before you start I think they should be processing bursary applications well before CE.
The problem obviously arises in schools (mainly those which start at year 7) where you sit the entrance exam first and then wait to see if you've got an interview and then apply for the bursary on hearing if you've got a place and only have a limited time to make a decison if you want it or not. If you are in this system children often sit three of four entrance exams so in the mean time maybe turn down places at other schools whilst waiting to hear.
I suspect in the future this whole system will have to become more transparent it would appear that the Charities Commision are increasingly unhappy about the way in which many of these schools are running their bursary schemes.

the idea that you can't get a decent musical education in a state school is laughable - either didn't look hard enough or live in a very bad area. No one expects to get the actual instrumental lessons in school - any child with any merit will have to have their instrumental lessons outside.

at sugertones post!

Happygardening, I apologise as I now realise that I did apply to WinColl for a bursary before any test and it was provisional and surprisingly generous. Eton wouldn't get into discussions until he had passed the pre-test.

I do think it is harder for schools now though as parents who wouldn't have normally applied are and funds are really tight so they have to put some sort of "unspoken" criteria which is normally academic ability or a talent in another area.

you don't have to go to Chets! Maybe I live in/have always lived in places where a really top class musical education is available without private school, if that's unusual I wasn't aware of it

I think collager is right not only are there more people with less money there are also more people aware that bursary schemes exist. When we first got a bursary 6 years ago most people I spoke to didn't even know it was possible.
I'm also not that sure if the criteria for a bursary is that unspoken most school websites make it pretty clear that they are looking for academic/music/sporting ability which is why I think that a bursary is in many cases another word for scholarship. I am unsure that the charities commission will except that this is widening the access. Other talk about offering bursaries to children who will make a positve contribution to the school, God knows what that means, or benefiting from what the school has to offer these are all rather vague terms and of course open to interpretation.
For the very academic schools they must work on the basis that if you've been offered a place you're obviously very clever so its a number crunching exercise - how much money you will need versus how much money they've got in the bursary pot this year.

Sugartongue, what is your musical background/experiences?

My experiences of state primary music is laughable (triangles, maraccas) and dire at state secondary.

My experience of independent schools ranges from dire to phenomenal with children from Y4 composing and studying grade 5 theory.

But to say that you can get as good a musical education at a normal school than a music conservatoire is nonsense. How many Young Musicians of The Year are not from conservatoires? Music, including practice is studied for up to five hours per day at a conservatoire and the perfomance experience is second to none - music conservatoire students perform in the most prestigious venues all over the world.

FWIW I am not pro such specialisation at an early age although we may consider it for one of our children who is rather "quirky".

My experience of DS from state tells me that tthere is continuity issue. Music lessons were outsourced which didn't last more than two terms, depending on the number of pupils who are interested in the same instrument.

Btw, I was told it's not recommended cross examining bursaries, especially between WinCol and Eton. How was it possible to get bursary offers from those? They seems to expect royalty from nominees regardless the financial support they offer.

TheMead,if that is hearsay then please only listen to those who have done it!

Both schools were quite happy to do this and plenty of other parents do it. In fact it often comes down to which school is chosen and Eton seems to be the most generous but not by substantial amounts.

TheMead please dont start the Eton WinCol royalty debate (no British royalty has been to WinCol in recent times if ever) or any other debate about them as this posting will be taken over with hundreds of hysterical and increasingly bitchy postings; very boring. Perhaps MN needs to devote a whole section to the lovers and detractors of Eton Harrow WinCol and for some reason Canford and sling in boarding and Steiner ed. for good measure.

Really, a decent classical music education in a state school. Have you tried it? State schools cater for average musically talented children, try having an exceptionally musical child in the state school system. They get teased for being musically gifted and not conforming to the norm. A lot of teachers and children do not like children that strand out. My other child is very happy and suited to the state school system.
Yes 50% scholarships are still around, my child got one and starts in September.

It`s definately worth trying for a bursary as there is absolutely nothing to lose.
Apply early and keep your fingers crosses.As colleger did he applied for yr 6 (before 11+) and managed .I too!

ratherfedup you mention the educational grants directory -is that something I can look up on the internet -is there an organisation or directory that lists bursaries at the different schools?

Hi Londonkids
You can buy the Grants Directory but it is quite expensive. The easiest way is to go to the library. I warn you it is a time consuming process searching through them.
From what I can gather bursary's are set by the school according to individual circumstances and how much they want your child. Its best to speak to the bursar of the school your interested in. When looking at schools, I've always been very upfront about finances from the start. Some schools just have bigger bursary funds than others. Don't forget to also allow for the extra's on your school bill, again the school should be able to advise you how much this is likely to be. Good luck

I am in the process of completing the bursary application for this year. As a single mother on a low income it has been indicated to me that my daughter would be eligible for the full fees however, i have discussed with the bursar that my circumstances may change over the next year (moving in with my partner) and was informed that my partners income will then be taken into consideration. He has no financial responsibility for my daughter and would not be in a position to help with fees (also has his own children from a previous relationship) Although sympathetic the bursar said his income becomes the household income thus pushing me over the threshold. Does anyone think it is worth trying to get the first years schooling free if i subsequently have to change schools when no longer eligible for a bursary or should i place her in a state school where she can stay for the duration of her education.