School Fees

Berni_04

I'm wondering if anyone can help. My daughter has been accepted into an independent school, however we were unsuccessful in our means-tested application due to limited availability. I'm a single mum, work full time and earn under £22k. Does anyone know of any alternative sources of funding that I apply to/for?

I have tried Turn2us and a few other organisations but joy.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Savvy_Sue

Possibly worth asking the school, you won't be the first in this situation. Also they'll be aware of anything school specific, e.g. the one I attended had some 'town in Berkshire scholars' who had extra help, and some armed services support.

Are you in a line of work which might have a benevolent fund? For example, there's a Licensed Victuallers association.

Not prying, but if you're a widow (I'm guessing not or you'd have said) your daughter's father's occupation might be relevant. And is he in a position to help?

theoretica

Have you seen this list? https://educational-grants.org/find-charity/

Do you have a local library?  Back, pre internet, some used to be surprisingly good at knowing about local grants, and they might still be worth a try. 

Berni_04

Hi Theoretica thank you for the link! Great tip about the library. Will definitely give them a try. Thanks for taking the time to answer.

Berni_04

@Savvy_Sue I did try the school. They could not help. I then asked my daughter's present school and they have offered to write a letter in support of me asking them to reconsider their decision about a bursary which I am going to do. I will look to see if there is a benevolent fund in my line of work  The father is not an option. 

Thank you for your help. 

Ibrahim5

Is it really worth causing financial hardship for? Are there not any reasonable state schools? At the end of the day it's still a teacher and a group of children. Does it really matter whether you pay the teacher or the taxpayer pays the teacher?

pinkshoes

Ibrahim5 said:

Is it really worth causing financial hardship for? Are there not any reasonable state schools? At the end of the day it's still a teacher and a group of children. Does it really matter whether you pay the teacher or the taxpayer pays the teacher?

It depends what is important to the parent.

As a teacher, there are some shocking state schools out there. You only have to look on the county admissions data pages (public domain) to see which schools have 4 kids applying for each 1 place, and others which have very few pupils putting it down as first choice. If I was a parent in catchment for rubbish schools, I would do what I could to secure a good school.

Most independent schools offer bursaries, some as much as 100%, but these are based on SATS results, or an admissions test, or a child being gifted at something e.g. a music scholarship is often offered for an 11 year old if they have already achieved grade 3 on an instrument. 

But ultimately, the biggest contributor to how well a child does at school and in their GCSES isn't the school, but actually the parents and the support they offer the child at home!

Ibrahim5

There are some shocking independent schools.

Spendless

I put mine into an oversubscribed outstanding state Secondary that I am an ex pupil of and my family have lived in the catchment area of (and so have I on and off) since the late 1970s. What could go wrong? The head changed and cut the pastoral budget. A blind eye was turned to the bullying that went on and my daughter not telling us what was happening started experiencing suicidal thoughts. At almost 19 she still suffers from PTSD, anxiety and depression caused by school trauma. If I could turn back the clock I would put her in a lot smaller school, either state or private and wouldn't have had my head turned by a school's reputation that can so easily change. OP - I would look at your options if you unable to secure the funding for this preferred school and don't dismiss anything.

Ibrahim5

You have to remember that children are in school for about 10% of their time. If you are on a low income you risk reducing all their other activities like school trips, holidays, sport, music, cinema, theatre etc just so you can pay their teachers. Let the state pay the teachers and then you can afford to pay for activities in the 90% of time that they are not in school.

Jenna_Appleseed

Maybe this would do better in Parent moneysaving instead of Random Acts Of Kindness?