Has anyone received a bursary for Merchant Taylor's?

[sherry_d]

Have tried speaking to the school several times but they are a bit cagey about the facts

I think most school do that and only give a rough guideline which is that if you earn over £45K you'll not be eligible.

The KEHS is the most generous bursary I have seen so dont use that as a gauge of what you likely get. As a rough guide under £16K it tends to be full and then its incremental up to a maximum of around £45K. This is for most of the schools I have looked down here. I have also heard if they really want your child they can bend backwards and you can negotiate with them so thats probably why they are a bit cagey about the amounts.

Do you just want MT Coolmum because you could perhaps consider a second indie that offers bursary too as a backup?

[CoolMum5]

Do you just want MT Coolmum because you could perhaps consider a second indie that offers bursary too as a backup?

I think MTs would be our first choice but we might go for Habs as well.

[Gypsypony]

Hi, we applied for a bursary at a indie in Cheltenham. My income is below £16,000 pa, and we had what is called special circumstances (death of a parent). They did what they could, and had several extra funding meetings to see if they could offer a full bursary. But, because DD was offered a GS place was turned down for funding. Their reasoning was that she would get an excellent education, and the money would be offered to a less able child who would rightly benefit.
So, I wouldn't bank on a bright child being what the school necessarily wants more than a gifted musician, artist or sporting legend in the making!

Good luck with your application, it's always worth trying. (I will try again for DS when the time comes)

PS. Do look into what is covered, bus, uniform and extremely expensive trips, and insurances tend not to be, be totally up front about what you can and can't afford.

[stressedmumof3]

I would just like to add that its worth applying even if you think you are near or over the limit for the school. I applied for dd's school last October but was turned down and told I was just over the limit of £50k. However after we received notification of the increase in fees for the next academic year I wrote complainaing and asking how it could be justified in these difficult times. I was then asked to apply again which I did submitting another detailed form and was pleased to be offered a 25% bursary. There does seem to be a lot of discretion. The school in question said that I now qualified as they had agreed a slight increase to the 50k threashold for the next year. It was never exactly clear what they took as the net income figure and whether they took into account savings, whether you could remortgage etc. I think they keep it vague deliberately. However it is a great relief that I was entitled after all.

Good luck

ps. I have posted on this site quite a few times before but wanted to keep the name of the school secret as my dd often looks at this site and knows my log in details and I want her to start senior school not knowing that we are getting some assistance.

[CoolMum5]

I think they keep it vague deliberately. However it is a great relief that I was entitled after all.

Good luck

ps. I have posted on this site quite a few times before but wanted to keep the name of the school secret as my dd often looks at this site and knows my log in details and I want her to start senior school not knowing that we are getting some assistance.

Well - I promise not to tell!
Thank you to you and everyone else for your kind words of encouragement and advice and good luck to all your children...
Please could anyone tell me what evidence we will have to provide with our bursary application? Again, we don't seem to be getting much info from the schools involved.

[richmond]

I would imagine it differs depending on the school, but usually, confirmation of salary, P60, any other income ie child tax credits etc, bank account statements for 3 months, most recent mortgage statement, evidence of savings, a statement setting out your monthly regular outgoings eg council tax and utilities, details of other siblings school fees and whether bursary obtained for them, details of other debts, details of other assistance from, for example, grandp's, and what steps you have taken to seek assistance elsewhere.

Hope that helps.