Independent school

[Notsandwiches]

My daughter has been bullied out of her secondary school and I'm looking at a local independent school. I can only afford to do this if she gets a bursary or scholarship. She's currently in year 9 and most of her subjects she's achieving level 8. Can anyone share any advice about the process, entrance exams, what she should wear for the interview please?

First of all you need to ring the bursar and have an honest chat about whether scholarships and/or bursaries are offered at this entry point (is it an occasional place you are seeking?).

Then you need to ask admissions what their admissions process is. It will vary from school to school. For what it’s worth, my DD got an occasional place in Y8 by sitting an entrance test alongside other applicants and then attending a short interview for which she wore a plain grey crewneck jumper with her school uniform skirt.

Do they have occasional places available? Each school will vary in assessment process so best speak to the Admissions office as a starting point and the Bursar regarding funding. In many schools scholarships are only assessed on entry to year 7 or 9 or sixth form and bursary funding may be allocated for September.

Depending on the day of the interview, uniform or smart casual is normally fine.

All independent schools have different entry criteria, but they all have entrance exams which take place in the spring, for September entry.

You would need to ask if your daughter can be considered outside of this time frame.

As you are looking for an assisted place, you would need to check that bursaries and scholarships are available, and how much financial assistance can be offered.

Regarding scholarships - one of my relatives has a scholarship in a top school, but it's more the honour of it, than much financial benefit. I believe it's worth about £20 a term, which doesn't make much difference when the fees are almost £20,000 a year.

There will of course be schools which offer more valuable scholarships but in reality you will be looking for a decent bursary.

To get an interview, a decent mark in the entrance exams is obligatory, and as long as your daughter is neatly dressed, the actual clothes won't make much difference.

Good luck with the process and I hope your daughter can get a place.

As well as working out if the school actually has a place, you'll need to ask about specific GCSE options if your DD has particular subjects she really wants to study. You may well find at this point in Year 9, she might have to compromise.