Scholarships at St Dunstans: how much of a reduction off the fees?

[sydenhamhiller]

Just doing a bit of procrastinating investigating. I have always assumed private school fees were beyond us.

I have had a look at St Dunstan's website, and there are no figures for academic scholarships.

Everywhere else I look, it seems to be 10-20 % of fees. I had a look at another local indie, Sydenham High, and they are also shy about figures.

They state that art/music/drama scholarships are 'usually worth around 10% of fees'. However, when it comes to information on the academic scholarship 'the value of scholarships vary, but most scholarships are small and are more about the honour of the award than the amount'.

What's going on here? Could the playground rumour of a 90% reduction for a maths-whiz be true? (Disclaimer: am not assuming DC2 will be eligible for any scholarship, I am just curious.)

could be true - or could be that an academic scholarship was increased with a generous bursary? 90% scholarships would be pretty rare - although their website does mention 100% scholarships at sixth form level so who knows?

I know of one offer of 100% at year 7. Only one, and that was a few years ago. Some of the children have combined scholarships and bursaries. The bursary is worth trying for.

Get in touch with the schools directly and ask them. Maybe you could arrange for a meeting with the bursar or admissions manager. Yes, some schools do offer generous scholarships and/or bursaries (means-tested bursaries more common these days). For most schools these are the exception, not the rule. It is definitely worth enquiring directly.

Any financial assistance usually comes with a non-disclosure clause. Schools don't want to be dealing with parents comparing awards with other parents and feeling hard done by. For this reason, what you hear on the playground or even on these boards should be taken with a pinch of salt. It's not that people lie so much as that others make assumptions.

If you're just nosing around for schools in your area who might be more generous than others, try searching for information on the charities commision website. Schools with more money might reasonably be expected to be more generous than others.

As some other posters have mentioned, there are also bursaries. Just to clarify, scholarships are often (but not always) smaller non-means tested awards often of nominal values like 10%. They may be for excellence in sport, music, etc. They may be for defined periods eg years 7-9 only etc. Bursaries are usually for potentially larger amounts and can range in value. They often require academic rigour and low income. I've just filled out a bursary application form for one independent in Kent and the level of scrutiny into your financial life is enormous, but not unexpected considering I am asking for the equivalent of £150k in fees over the course of DD's education. Their guidelines are that if you have an income of £40k and no assets to sell the you might expect a 100% bursary subject to availability. A conversation with the Bursar, even informally will often tell you a lot and from experience they are nearly always very helpful and informative. Good luck.