Means testing by independant school ?

cjj_2

Hi
We have been approached by an independant school re dd attending due to being exceptionally talented at sport. We have been invited to look round and then we have appointment with the head to talk about a bursarie. Does anyone know what to expect with this as I have no knowledge of these matters. I presume its means tested.Are both earnings and savings taken into account. Any advice greatly appreciated. TIA x

fluffnutter

This entry from wiki might help. I expect the head will tell you all you need to know when you meet. Congratulations on having a clearly talented daughter

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bursary

Lunar_Eclipse

Bursaries are means tested. They generally take all income, assets, savings etc into account. It all needs to be verified with paperwork (I know of fraudulently completed paperwork resulting in the child being excluded from the school some time later.) The amount of bursary offered will be dependent on all of this, usually on a sliding scale so that once household income is around 50k, no bursary assistance will be offered. They really are intended for people who absolutely cannot afford the school fees and often stipulate that both parents need to be working (in two parent families), before offering bursary assistance.

At most schools, your daughter would firstly be offered a (sports) scholarship, which are not usually means tested. At some schools these can go as high as 100% of fees and can then be supplemented with a bursary if necessary and applicable.

Fyi: it's normal for bursaries to be reviewed on an annual basis, so assuming they offer your daughter a place at this school, that would be the time to negotiate hard if you are also interested in the school.

ETA: the school Bursar may also join your meeting in which a bursary is discussed. Ask about scholarship first, it should be best for you (not for the school.)

LEJC

do you know how much the bursary is likely to fund as there isnt a set amount and its determined by each individual independant school...

My son was offered a bursary to a secondary school and we were means tested via a financial assessment form that we needed to complete....eventually being offered a bursary in the region of a 20% discount on the published fees

in our case the forms were quite long and at points quite intrusive into your financial and social affairs....I remember one question being about the holidays that you had taken in the last 3 years...we had actually taken an expensive holiday during that time,and it did IMO seem to me that they were trying to pick through your life and I felt a need to justify how we accounted for every penny...a personal view,but not easy when you are asked to detail the amount you spend on your weekly shop!

The award was based on financial ability and would be reviewed periodically,so potentially if our situation improved we could have had the bursary cut...but im unsure if our situation became worse if that would have automatically increased the funding available.

When we looked into it,the particular school offered a set amount of bursaries each year to a specific budget that they had available and as such to obtain a discount of 20% for us would have represented a significant bursary....
however you also have to take into account that whilst you have a discount you still need to pay the remainder.....

Eventually we opted for another independant school with slightly lower fees,but it was a school that offered a scholarship based on our sons ability rather than a bursary based on our ability as parents to fund it...

the scholarship in our opinion whilst was 10% acknowledged talented ability more than the 20% bursary that was as I said based upon our ability to pay.

Whilst I have seen quite a few scholarship awards...I must confess that realistically to obtain anything greater than 30% reduction would be exceptional....I would imagine that a 100% scholarship or indeed bursary would be very few and far between...

hth

cjj_2

Thankyou so much fluffnutter and Lunar Eclipse. Very useful info from you both. I have no idea about this type of thing and its come totally out of the blue. We are going for a look round and I think this is when they think we will fall in love with the school. Thing is dd does not really fancy it at all, is very happy at local comp school and doing well. Older siblings did amazing at local comp too. I mentioned to head of sport that we are not in a position to pay anything so didnt want to waste time looking if any payment would be required. Apparently that is a private conversation between us and the head teacher. I would prefer to know up front whether its worth us looking or whether were wasting everyones time. Appointment with head has been booked for after the look round IYSWIM. Thanks again x

cjj_2

Thanks LEJC im really confused about this. Like I say I would rather know about finance before we go look. They approached us and its not something we feel is neccesarily beneficial, but im a little bit interested in what they are going to offer. Thanks again x

londonsurrey

They take a really good look at your finances, and they try to give enough to make it possible, but it will still hurt. They want you to prove your commitment to his education, and are watching to see if you are willing to give up things for it.

My friend's son got a bursary for a top end independent school. There was a thorough vetting, although they are obviously used to a different class of living, e.g. she had to put down "£10" as the value of her wine collection.

MandM90

Also bear in mind that independent schools can get quite expensive even without taking fees into account. Our DD's fees are 'all inclusive', so to speak, but when we were considering moving to Warwickshire we looked at a school which on close inspection charged lunches, milk, certain sports activities and a few other rather bizarre things on top of the basic fees.

DDs kit/uniform is quite extensive, they are quite heavy on fundraising (obviously not compulsory but it would be cruel to opt out of certain things if it meant DD was left out) and of course fees rise as she gets older and may rise in general.

I'm sure you've thought of most of this anyway, but don't be afraid to ask questions and make sure the school is worth pulling your DD out of her school and paying for this one; some independent schools have lovely swimming pools but shoddy teaching.

A mother in my class says the Independent School Council (http://www.isc.co.uk/) is a wealth of information but I haven't used it myself.

Anyway, you must be very proud that she has been 'headhunted' (she must be a mini Paula Radcliffe) I hope all goes well at the meeting

FBaby

Have you looked on their website? Most independent school will mention how much they offer in scholarships/bursaries.

I was really hoping that my daughter could go to the local excellent independent school where my partner went, but whereas at the time he received a full bursary, things have changed a lot. My daughter would more than likely be entitled to a scholarship, but the best you can get is....10% reduction...bursaries are 20% reduction maximum.... meaning that the cheapest fees could be is £2000 a term....mmmmm, considering DD is not that keen either, the decision was easy to make!!!

Very few independent schools in my area offer scholarships/bursaries up to 50% of fees, let alone full scholarships/bursaries.

jackyann

Just to say: although many are, not all bursaries are means-tested. Some might be, for example: cost of uniform, or sports kit.
You must be very proud of your daughter, but do look at this very clearly. I would also consider:
What will be expected of her? Presumably to represent the school, but what will happen if her future performance doesn't meet her current expectations? Not being negative - it often happens in the teens.
Is a certain level of academic performance also expected?

What can the school offer in the way of coaching and putting into competition that a good club can't? Do your sums on this!

Does it feel like a good school with pleasant kids where she will feel happy?

Consider what might happen (I am unsure of her age) what might happen if she did have to leave the school.You might then get less choice of a secondary school.

Good luck

cjj_2

Good advice thanks.
Age is 14 years, school intially thought she was 16 and were talking 6th form, due to level of sport played. Thanks again x