GDST bursary Sutton high school

[Losingthewill01]

Hi, we have accepted an offer at Sutton high school for year 7 in September. We are not a wealthy family and will involve a lot of sacrifice to pay the school fees. But it is doable if our job prospects remain the same!
We have set clear budgets to forecast future payments along with fees increases etc and are confident we are able to fulfill all fees.
With covid still very much in the mix still I am slightly concerned as to what would happen if in a few years time for example our financial situation changes??. We didn’t want to apply for a bursary to start with as didn’t think it fair as we are able to pay fees with our income at present.
My question I guess is to hear from others who may have been in a similar situation where financial circumstances change over time?. Does the GDST offer bursary’s other than in year 7 or year 12?. Or what happens if you can’t afford the full fees once at the school already??.

Not sure if the link will work but the GDST have a ‘hardship fund’. The info primarily relates to covid at the moment but will be available in non covid times as well.
www.gdst.net/about-us/fees-and-bursaries/#hardship-funding

yes, they have a hardship fund and you will be able to apply for it in any year, subject to available funds and your financial circumstances suggesting that you qualify. You could also call the GDST fees department to ask them and they will be able to give you more details.

We are at a gdst school and had to apply for a bursary a couple of years later. We were denied one even though my child is in the top sets as we owned a property. A few girls have had to leave for financial reasons this year. Please please check the gdst policy before you commit. Thankfully we have family that helped us out but if we didn’t, it would have been difficult to get a space in our local over subscribed state schools. The schools are more likely to help if your child is in the middle of their GCSEs or a levels. Generally the hardship fund is there to help until the end of the academic year.

@Happyfour thanks for your reply. Thank goodness you had family that could help you out. Fingers crossed all will remain ok on the job front for us. But it’s good to know that there are options to apply for a bursary mid way through a year.
@sanam2019 thanks. I will look into this just for info.
I’m hoping it won’t ever come to this but wanting to find out what would happen in the worst case scenario.