Sports/drama Scholarships

[MargoReadbetter]

I was wondering what level of performance would be expected to gain a drama or sports scholarship for entry to year 7? Lead roles, gold medals, competitions?

Will bump for you, but not sure, sorry.

Could guess at some of the LAMDA exams being beneficial but not sure which tbh.

You might find it helpful to look at this recent thread: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2321467-Sports-Scholarships

Schools vary on how much importance they attach to club references and county (or higher) performance, and which sports they are interested in. How far have you got with visits to possible schools?

Thank you. Sorry I haven't seen that thread, I didn't look back far enough. Off to read it now.

We have only visited one school last year and planning a couple more this year. The scholarship is a bit of an afterthought as that'd be the only way to make a private school almost affordable.

In which case, you need to check to value of the scholarship (what percentage do you need to make a difference? which of their awards are that much?) and then work out if things like (far flung) sports tours are going to be affordable. They're optional, but usually 'expected' of scholars.

DS was offered a sports scholarship , at a school that asks for county level in one sport and first team in at least one other the school offer. It wasn't for us, as although it is advertised as up to 100% of fees, it is means tested and in reality for us would be 10% off, which would be unaffordable for us.

The other consideration for us was the commitment required to the school, which wouldn't have worked with his outside commitments.

Thanks again. I've read the other thread too and, overall, it doesn't sound so rosy. Good point as well about all the competitions. She might be better off continuing at a club. I'll bear all in mind. Thank you for replying.

Sorry if this comes across as harsh, but I think it's important to state quite plainly that affordability shouldn't be an afterthought. It's a key issue. And school fees inflation is higher than other indices, and you need to factor that in too (another thread was reporting rises of up to 6.9% this year).

But, awards are there to be used by those who qualify for them. Scholarships have become (generally) less valuable over recent years, and you also need to check whether/when they are re-awarded and on what terms (achievement? effort? conduct?)

Will you be applying for a bursary too? Because scholarship-level performance is very likely to help with that, either with excellence in one area or as strong all-rounder in more than one (including academic strength).

My DD has a Drama scholarship.

It is worth precisely £300 per annum

High value scholarships are not common any more

Drama is usually by audition, often in combination with music, dance etc. Sports they are looking for potential - good hand/eye coordination, fitness and evidence of excellence in several sports including one team sport ie. teams or competitive pb times. Candidates are usually invited for a trial day where they are observed in many activities, mixed up into teams, and some will be invited back for another day for a specific sport/s. There is often a large time commitment attached to sports scholarships as representing the school is key, at local and county level, training squads etc and this may be demanded at the expense of out of school clubs.

Academic scholarships can be worth more in certain schools, MTS offers a couple at 50% reduction, and City of London boys has quite a few bursaries and scholarships that can certainly reduce the fees significantly. There are generally less strings attached to academic scholarships than to sports/music etc, which can be very demanding on top of the academic work.

Ours did the City of London Boys sport scholarship day. He loved it but was absolutely shattered by the day (he does tire easy!).

He didn't get it, along with over 100 others.

I think they are looking for boys that represent their county (or even country?) at a sport - usually football.

DS gets 20% for his sports scholarship. Lots of schools offer 10% nowadays with a bursary if available.

AnotherNewt - of course affordability is of the essence, which is why until now we haven't given it serious thought. I said with a scholarship it might just about be affordable and was wondering whether to look into that. Not if it's 10% only, though, and with the prospect of spending a good amount on equipment and other compulsory things. She wouldn't qualify for a bursary, I don't think, as those are means tested.
Thanks for all the replies. We'll stick to trying for the state grammars. She's y5.

My dd has both sport and drama as part of an All Rounder together with Academic. At the end of year 6 she played county level sport and was grade 5 in drama to give you an idea of level at this school anyhow. Her award was 30% and went on to end of sixth form. I do think there is a bit of flexibility especially concerning the sport you are offering.

Thanks, perry court. That's far more encouraging.

My DDs academic scholarship was 0%. The Drama, Sport and Music scholars actually got more, as their coaching, music/drama lessons and sports kit was paid for. Not that this came to huge amounts and was all "extras"; not a percentage off fees. That was all bursary awards for the les well off or the people that had good accountants.

Was that a typo? The 0%?

It's probably not a typo. More and more scholarships are purely a titular honour.

Of those that remain, the value is ever decreasing. 25% is generous these days, more and more are at 10%. Though you can still find some with higher %ages.

What sort of fee reduction do you think you need? Do your candidate schools offer scholarships of that value?

The few schools I've looked at are quite cagey about what % the scholarships are.

My Ds was awarded a Sports Scholarship and Assisted Place at a private school last year. His sport is Rugby- the 'package' we were offered was very generous - we pay a very small amount to it per month.

take into account though 'extras' such as travel to and from school, school trips etc.

For us its working really well- there is an expectation that he plays for the school but equally they appreciate his County and Academy Commitments.