School fees help!!!

[squirrel35]

Hi all
My son has been awarded a music scholarship and with that and what we can afford we can cover 80% of the fees. Any ideas if there is a anyine else I can apply to? My son is so desperate to go and he would gain so much musically from it but I just cannot afford the extra 20%
I have spoken to the school but they can not offer anymore as they already gave us a bursary as well
Anyone have experience if this??

i used to work for a small, local, privately owned company. We (and others in the town obvs) were approached by a kid who'd been offered a place at a prestigious theatre school. She wrote and hand delivered a compelling letter and the business owner agreed to support her - worth a shot

what instrument(s) does he play? I know of a few HNW individuals who like to sponsor young players but you need to be brutally honest - is he an exceptional musical prodigy or a kid whose got grade 5 and a scholarship because he'll help the orchestra who are in need of euphonium players?

And is the school truly worth it? I've known some dire music departments in private (as well as state) schools.

There is a large directory of charities - I remember going through this to help get funding for my postgrad (in music perf). There are charities who all have small pots of money that you can apply to. I must have written about 50 letters, and some of them came through. Maybe try your local rotary or lions club- if your ds is obviously musical, they might contribute a bit in exchange for some concerts etc. That’s the sort of places you might have to think about. Good luck. What instrument is it, as their instrumental teacher may be able to access instrument specific education grants?

@RupertStJohnPoo that is a very unusual school!
our games kit was about £150 new and will fit for at least 2 years, some longer. Blazer was £60, but on its second year and will do another. jumpers £20, again on its second year and going strong.
extra costs per year: around £20, waaaaay less than state school.
Similar experiences from all my friends with kids in private schools
Your experience is very unusual.

Look at this op: www.premiumcredit.com/products/school-fee-plan-1-parent

Can you put him in at 13? Or maybe next year? Save like mad in the meantime, put the fees away as if you were paying them and then you should have a bit of a pot to draw from.

I work in a library where the grant-giving guides are in pretty frequent use.

Having helped customers to use them I would say most people don't realise that relatively few charities offer grants to individuals. And most would not find helping with private school fees to be a high priority. If you needed help to pay for individual music lessons or buying an instrument that might be different, but I wouldn't have great hopes going down this route.

It's discouraging but that's the reality. If your local school is poor then presumably all the children there would benefit from being in a better school.From a charity point of view there's no more reason to help your son "escape" from it than any other child, especially as he clearly has a loving and supportive family.

OP I have no advice for you re grants etc but I know exactly where you are coming from! We have accepted a fee paying place for DD at an independent school for September and I have taken extra work to go towards funding it as when we received the offer I knew I had to move heaven and earth to make this happen for her! (We applied for a bursary but didnt get it) Could you not save the £2500 between now and September? As you have said you have the spare money to pay 80% of what isn't covered by bursary that must still be surplus in your budget now so if you put it away for the next 6 months won't that cover it?

Good luck, nothing is impossible and I do see why you want to do this!

The big hitter schools like Eton and Harrow have much much bigger bursary pots and do offer up to 100% bursaries. It’s about applying for the right scholarships in the first place, the ones at the schools with the money to help kids like yours, however inevitably these are more competitive.

Op, with a shortfall like that you are very nearly there. In reply to some of those talking about extras, I kitted my private school child out from the 2nd hand uniform for about £100 for everything whereas my child starting at state grammar had no decent 2nd hand provision and it was nearer £500! Plus plenty of expensive trips at the grammar (ski trip for £1200 for instance which he isn't going on). Lunches are included in the private fees, not the state etc so doesn't have to be huge amount extra.

Have you thought about earning a bit extra (I know your both full time work already) but try The Money Shed website, lots of good ideas. Matched betting might be an option if there are no gambling problems or possibly surveys (I've found the only ones worth doing to be the prolific academic all others you only earn pennies).

Also look at things like tax returns. Not sure if you do one but even if you are PAYE some professions you can claim stuff back. I'm a nurse and can claim my professional registration fee (£150) plus journals, RCN, training etc.

Good luck. I think for that amount you can probably do it.

Can you push harder for a place at the excellent state school where you are 4th on the WL? That might be a better route...
I would be really careful starting private independent if you can barely afford it. At my ds's school the extras are quite controllable and generally truly optional, but the fee increase each year has been hefty.

A number of children have left over the 4 years he has been there because of finances. It isn't unusual. It isn't the case that once they're in the school will help (which i think many believe). Maybe for a term or so, or maybe in GCSE/A level year if extreme change of circumstance, but otherwise no.

How would you push harder for a place at a state school? Places are allocated according to the over subscription criteria and nothing you can do will move you up the list.

The extras bill at my dd's school is around £250 a term (more in autumn, less in winter) but includes shirts and ties

Take in lodgers, extra cleaning job, deliveroo ? Have a really good look at your expenditure to see if any cuts can be made. Cutting out a daily coffee shop coffee could save you £500 a year +, watch live well for less to see if there are any cuts you could make.

Working on the assumption that it's just DS and you will not need to do this for any siblings...

Look at cashback sites, shopping apps and anything that can make you extra money off your existing expenditure. Look again at your bills using Money Saving Expert - they are brilliant at identifying budget holes. You can usually save money off utilities, insurance, phone bills and even TV packages, if you are creative enough.

Next, look at ways to generate more income. £3k a year is £250 a month. Consider taking in a lodger, renting out your parking space or looking for some extra work at the weekend. If you are willing to sacrifice a Saturday or Sunday for a minimum shift, you can make up the shortfall, even on a NMW job.

Alternatively, look at doing social media ads (apply to Appen), matched betting or hiring out your skills online.

Good luck.

If you can show the state school meets his specific needs (in this case musical talent) it can move you up the waiting list.

Waiting lists and appeals are a separate issue, I think. By appealing you have to show that the benefit to the child outweighs the detriment to the school of having extra pupils. So the child is admitted regardless of the waiting list. The waiting list is managed according to the over subscription criteria (distance etc etc). I'm no expert, so someone please correct me if I've misunderstood.

You are about £50 a week short in the first year. Are you sure you can't find that by budgeting?