Scholarships & bursaries

judygarland

I am wondering what my chances are of getting my DD into a fee paying school and how to go about it.

She seems to be doing ok (year 8 and on mainly 6a, 6b although in English she is a 5a) but she has struggled to settle in and has had issues with bullying. There are some very difficult pupils in some of her classes and the teachers spend a lot of time sorting these children out which she finds very unsettling and struggles to concentrate.

I went to a private school for the first two years of senior school and then my parents moved me to a comprehensive which "had a good name" and boy was that a culture shock. I spent the whole of year 9 (as it would be nowadays) going over exactly what I had worked on in year 8 and the difference was very evident.

Every school she has been to have commented on her art and her current teacher has selected her for a "gifted and tallented" programme so I am wondering whether this might stand her in good stead. Her English is average for her age though and she has not made much progress in this area so I would not be too sure whether she would pass an English entrance exam.

I could afford to pay about 40% of the average fees but I could not find £11,000 per year which is what they seem to cost.

I'm thinking that it won't hurt to make enquiries. I really feel that she is not achieving her potential in her current school and the general apathetic attitude of her peers is starting to rub off. A lot of them have no interest whatsoever, are constantly getting detentions, messing about and generally disrupting lessons.

Are there any forum readers that have managed to get their child into a private school with either reduced fees or 100% funded?

claire16c

I know two children who go to a private school on scholarships but they only count for around 10% of the fees. The costs aren't just the fees though. Their parents give money towards things at the school and very expensive school trips. So you really need to be able to afford over & above. Bullying & bad behaviour can still go on too. Just like any school really they are all different whether they are private or not.

Their school gives them some brilliant opportunities. But so many of those are extras both in & then also out of school -music lessons, dance lessons, drama costumes, sports equipment, uniform etc.

I guess if you could get 100% paid then you could use your 40% towards stuff like that.

Spendless

If you discover that it is not going to be affordable and you are concerned about her grades, have you considered getting a private tutor for a boost? I have done this twice now for my eldest (different subjects) and am amazed at the results in a few sessions.

Erinnire

there are state boarding schools where you only pay for the boarding instead of the education. http://www.sbsa.org.uk/index.php but I am unsure as to day boarding schools.

emsywoo123

DD is in year 5 and her senior school fees would be in the region of £6-7K per term. Scholarships account for approx 20% and an exhibition is about 10%. Bursaries are considered a short term solution if a parent were to find themselves in temporary financial difficulty (a term or 2 at most)

DD will be sitting her 11+ with a view to grammar school however!!

londonsurrey

I have a friend whose son has gone down the scholarship and bursary route for a top school.

The school was not stupid, and they haven't existed for a few hundred years, building up their portfolio, by giving money away.
Her finances were subjected to a thorough audit, and they went into everything that might be used to pay for fees, including querying about her wine collection (Although a total value of £10 for this was probably not quite the figure they're used to. Lol)

And even when a bursary is granted, there is the continuous thing of being invited to pay back into the fund, forevermore. It's all very elegantly and effectively done.

The thing to bear in mind is that they deliberately don't make it painless. Your commitment to how much you're willing to give up is part of the interview, to show your commitment to your child's education that you're asking them to part fund.

.

Frith

It was suggested that my son apply for the nearest big private school with the view to getting all of the fees paid by them.

The amount of bursaries was TINY. Really - in single figures! Son and I decided that a private school wasn't for him and he did not sit the entrance exam.

The competition would have been enormous. He got level 5s in year 6 (and was put in for level 6) and was put on the G and T register in year 2 for literacy but you can bet that there were several such children in every primary school across the county who were working at a similar level.

My sister at 11 also managed to get bursaries offered from 2 different schools but only at 50% of the fees being paid which wasn't enough so she couldn't go.

Would be interested to hear if anyone's child has ever managed!

ETA - one child I babysat for got a scholarship for the private school he already attended! As far as I recall he got all of the fees paid. It can't have been based on his parents income as they are incredibly wealthy.

judygarland

Thanks for all of the replies. DD is just desperate to move schools and start afresh and after a bit of reading up on the internet, I'm not so sure that private schooling is the answer. I'm definitely thinking of getting an English Tutor as I am not at all happy with what her school are currently doing. She is at the same level she was at in year 6. We have a parents evening coming up and so I will be having a chat about the standard of her English. I look through her books to find uncorrected spelling mistakes. In my day, your work would come back covered in red pen.

I'm glad of a two week rest from all the trauma of going to school.

londonsurrey

My sympathies. My ex-SIL qualified as a teacher a few years ago, with English as her specialist subject. She was all agog at being "important" as she was now a teacher in a primary school.

When her incorrect use of apostrophes was gently pointed out, she gaily declared "It doesn't matter, they're only little".

Personally, I think that people like that should be sacked, and have their salaries reclaimed. IMHO, it's nothing short of fraud, to pretend to offer a service like that.

People detest cowboy builders and drag them to court, but it doesn't seem the societal norm to be able to even complain about the equivalent in white collar fraud.

emsywoo123

londonsurrey wrote: »

When her incorrect use of apostrophes was gently pointed out, she gaily declared "It doesn't matter, they're only little".

This makes me want to cry a little!

liubeliu

judygarland wrote: »

I am wondering what my chances are of getting my DD into a fee paying school and how to go about it.

She seems to be doing ok (year 8 and on mainly 6a, 6b although in English she is a 5a) but she has struggled to settle in and has had issues with bullying. There are some very difficult pupils in some of her classes and the teachers spend a lot of time sorting these children out which she finds very unsettling and struggles to concentrate.

I went to a private school for the first two years of senior school and then my parents moved me to a comprehensive which "had a good name" and boy was that a culture shock. I spent the whole of year 9 (as it would be nowadays) going over exactly what I had worked on in year 8 and the difference was very evident.

Every school she has been to have commented on her art and her current teacher has selected her for a "gifted and tallented" programme so I am wondering whether this might stand her in good stead. Her English is average for her age though and she has not made much progress in this area so I would not be too sure whether she would pass an English entrance exam.

I could afford to pay about 40% of the average fees but I could not find £11,000 per year which is what they seem to cost.

I'm thinking that it won't hurt to make enquiries. I really feel that she is not achieving her potential in her current school and the general apathetic attitude of her peers is starting to rub off. A lot of them have no interest whatsoever, are constantly getting detentions, messing about and generally disrupting lessons.

Are there any forum readers that have managed to get their child into a private school with either reduced fees or 100% funded?

Scholarships and Bursaries are very different things. The first is a reward for excellance whether academic, music, sports or music. The other is to enable those that would benefit from an education where finances is a barrier but as others have said is means tested. It is not unheard of to be in receipt of both.

Scholarships are usually awared at 11+ and 13+ entry stages and require the candidate to be in the top batch of students in the English, Maths and VR entrance exam and also often requires an interview with the School Head.

Usually Indie Schools give bursaries to those that would do well at GCSE and A Level (those who show potential for straight A*) to improve their stats or would bring added value to the sports teams or school orchestra/choir. There is very strong competition between the Private sector on exam marks, sports results and having best orchestra/choir. This is their way of buying success.

When applying for a bursary you need to highlight all your daughter's strengths and what she will bring to the school. Is she sporty, musical etc?