So these Bursaries how do they work ?

[Sorrento]

We have three children, I have savings that would fund one child's education from 11 to 18 assuming I don't work, which I plan to, but lets say worse case I don't.
Obviously I want to do the right thing by all three so is there a book or a magic formula to winning scholarships ?
DD1 (age 8, 9 in Aug) is bright, not exceptionally but very artistic, seriously gifted I fully expect her to give Stella McCartney a run for her money in years to come.
We can move anywhere I guess, don't want her to board really, where to begin ?
DD2 is extremely bright and DD3 is a mathematical genius at 4 (seriously so I have great exceptions of her)

It's rare that a scholarship will cover 100% of the fees, the normal is about 25%. Bursaries are normally allocated once a child has a place. They will look into everything though, parents income, equity in house, other property. The cut off point varies between schools, the amount of discount varies as to a parents income. The schools will remove all assistance if a child does not do well/misbehaves although I have not known this done. Be caredul, the school I've just removed ds from has bursaries, it says in their prospectus and on their web site. Ds was offere a place, I accepted and payed the deposit, then I asked about a bursary to be told they are only eligible once they are in year 7 and above. Sneeky!

Forgot to mention, a bursary amount may change from year to year depending on how many people apply, there may be someone alot worse off so they may not give you a discount. You may still be expected to pay for lunches/uniforms etc if you are eligible for 100% bursary. Don't forget transport costs, this added 1K to the bill for one term for us (the school bus was £250 a term, it was unsupervised though and ds was not mature enough to travel without supervision, I had to rely on taxi's and the bus)

We'd be fine on income basis we're on income support at the moment lol
I will be checking the busary before we even show DD any schools.

They normally request that you've looked at every other way of funding first (equity release etc). Where abouts are you?

North West, Liverpool ish, the schools in our immediate locality I wouldn't pay for and I appreciate I'll end up paying for at least one full set of fees.
Equity release would result in a hollow laugh at the moment, I know we sound a right case but I've thrown all spare cash into a managed fund expecting this scenario for DD1 to be the case.

The level of bursaries varies hugely amongst schools, and if you are looking for assistance with fees then these are your best bet. Whereabouts in the country are you? Here are the details of the Whitgift Foundation bursaries in South London, and these are generally on the generous side with income of up to £70k getting some level of remission.

Scholarships tend to be lower amounts these days. Generally higher amounts are awarded to all-rounder candidates, but music, art or sport scholarships are usually in the 10-15% range, 25% for exceptional giftedness.

If you are considering moving then with 3 children it may be more financially sensible to relocate to the area of a grammar school. Private schools will have an awful lot of unsubsided voluntary extras.

You don't have to explain yourself. I've just moved ds back into the state system, private schools offer alot but the delivery isn't always there. There's little or no funding availiable for the under 11's. The first school ds went to was not too expensive, I was tempted by the second school and their 'bursaries' though. He's a very bright boy but this didn't really matter at the end of the end of the day.

Could you not do the local schools and seek out a grammar school?

Curious as to how you manage to be on IS if you have a managed fund with the equivalent of 7 years worth of senior school fees in it?!

We're in a grammar school area so I'd be turning my nose up at that, daft as I know that sounds.
I'm just not convinced that they will get the best out of DD1, DD2 and DD3 will be fine where ever they go DD1 is already a bit of a tortured artist and she could spend 7 years gazing out of the window given half a chance.

Sorry it's JSA to give it the proper title and it's contribution based, 18 years of contributions = £60 a week, not very exciting, thank god for the savings.

I thought that, I've changed my opinion, it really does depend on the school. The school ds attends works the same as the private school he attended, they have the same opportunities, the same after school clubs and the teaching is very innovative (sp?), I'm pleased he's moved as now we have the extra money for holidays. He can be rounded in more areas other then academic. I'm not sure of the secondary school yet.
Is it not easier for you to move? Private schools are a huge committment, it's not just the fees, ds's uniform was about £500, you have 3 of these. There's trips etc on top of this.

I know, we started off in the private sector and I picked a right lemon, very fluffy and not academic at all.
Sounds like I'm barking mad, but when DH is working he does very well for himself and DD1 gets a very decent amount from her father, maintenance but I put it away for things like this.
I just keep thinking as I say she's very easily over looked and indeed is at her current state school, I'd say she's above average will pass the 11+ but whether she'd have an enjoyable experience or be focused enough to do well is another matter altogether.
Plus if I'm honest we aren't the pushiest of parents, the children doing brilliantly at the state primary are the ones who are really quite over the top about homework and projects and I have no interest at all in doing it for the DD's.

Sorry but if you are not a pushy parent then how are they supposto survive in a private school????? Not all are the same, I have known parents to do work for their children though, I have known them to request extra homework at the weekend/holidays. If she's not focused then a private school isn't the best idea. They are academic but they expect the child and the family to do their bit.

You're right mousehole. It may be the supevised homework hour in the evening that contributes to this though

I see your point. At ds's old school I used to get moaned at if ds didn't do his homework or if he didn't do it well enough, it puts the onus on the parents. I'll make sure he does it but I'm not responsible for the effort he puts into it, especially as he finds it all easy. I can see and have known parents to take over so they don't get moaned at.
Some schools make it necessary for the children to board, the Saturday classes, late evenings, there's little home life. I don't like this idea.

I'm off to bed. Night.

Night thanks for your input, do appreciate it.

Sorrento,

As you have three girls, have a look at this helpful site: www.mydaughter.co.uk

Thank you for that, very interesting and confrms some of my thoughts with regards to their education.
NOw how to fund it