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Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:05 pm
by souverian
Hello everyone - new to this forum so please be gentle with me! :)

Not at the stage of applying yet but weighing up options. Ds is currently at state primary but, for a variety of reasons, I am giving some consideration to indie secondaries. Very, very tempted by Whitgift and Trinity (both my brother and I went to Whitgift Foundation schools many years ago and have very happy memories), particularly W. I feel that ds would really fly at W - he is confident, creative, loves his sport, and I think he would fairly easily manage the entrance exams when the time comes.

But... I am a single parent, rent my flat, work part-time in the NHS, so not exactly a high-earner. I do have some savings but nothing that could ever come anywhere close to funding an indie education, even for a year! I'm hoping, obviously, that ds would be eligible for some level of bursary but am not exactly sure what the criteria are. Would they take xh's income into account even though we are divorced? Does the level of bursary depend entirely on income or do they take exam performance etc into account too?

I guess what I'm asking is - is the idea of someone like me sending a child to W or T completely out of the question? I wouldn't want to put ds through the stress of entrance exams etc if it turns out that I would still be asked to pay out thousands in fees every year - that's completely out of my reach. Please don't think I'm asking for something for nothing :oops: - I just want to be realistic before I embark on this whole journey to secondary!

I'd really appreciate any experiences or advice - many thanks :)

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:16 pm
by KS10
You are wise to find out what is available out there and this is exactly what this forum is for, so please don't worry about asking the question. I don't know the answer myself but others will. Good luck!

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:29 pm
by hermanmunster
Hi Souverian

Definitely a good idea to get the info before you start on all the exams! In most schools the busaries are given to those who reach a specific standard in the exams ie not just pass. Not sure about the schools you are looking at - need to find out.

Also again I don't know the specific schools but bursaries always tend to feel that they should be more generous than they are for a particular income. KEHS/KES in Birmingham is known as one of the most generous http://www.kehs.org.uk/UserFiles/File/T ... INGHAM.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Not sure which income is included ...

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:35 pm
by mitasol
Welcome to the forum.

I've no personal experience either but this may be the place to start. http://www.whitgiftfoundation.co.uk/sch ... -fees.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 10:40 pm
by hermanmunster
mitasol wrote:Welcome to the forum.

I've no personal experience either but this may be the place to start. http://www.whitgiftfoundation.co.uk/sch ... -fees.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
ah yes very useful - table and all. also states income of both parents is counted

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:02 pm
by souverian
Thanks - that's a very handy table (can't believe I've not found it before :oops: )

Although...

"What happens in the case of divorce?

Provided that the divorce has been settled before the child sits the entrance examination, the parental contribution will normally be assessed on the relevant income of the parent who has custody of the child, plus the income of his/her partner/spouse. Maintenance is included in relevant income and the Foundation reserves the right to ask for income details of both parents if necessary."

I read that as it would be assessed on my income - I don't have a partner or spouse. Assuming they mean 'new' partner or spouse, that is - I'm terminally single :D

Maintenance - hahaha, what's that, then? :evil:

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:07 pm
by souverian
Gosh, just looked at the KEH table - that's very generous isn't it?!

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:42 pm
by mims
lots of boys at W come from single parent families, some of ds' friends live in mansions but others are in council flats

one of his friends pays a few hundred pounds a year - he has a scholarship (and they can be very generous, up to 50% although 10%-20% is more common) which is topped up by a bursary

obviously it helps if your ds has something else to offer the school, so sport, music, art, drama etc all help enormously (as well as passing the exam ... but for a child in top groups at primary it shouldn't be hard)

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2011 11:59 pm
by souverian
Mims, thank you, that's quite cheering! Ds is sporty (although whether sporty enough, I don't know) and loves the drama/performance side of things too, so I think he'd probably get loads out of W.

But atm it all feels a bit like diving into a swimming pool with all the lights out, iyswim... ****** terrifying and god knows where you're going to end up!

Re: Bursary q - Whitgift Foundation

Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2011 11:53 am
by Ed's mum
Hi there, and welcome.
There are plenty of us out there with extremely generous bursaries from indie schools! Just beware though as, in my experience, there seems to come a point where if you salary increases the level of how much you are asked to pay seems to become much more difficult to achieve...
I understand that if a school is funding your children through, as ours is, then the recipients should not really be living comfortably and affording foreign holidays etc. I accept that. But it has become quite a struggle recently and I need you to be aware of that.
Despite everything, I don't think I would change our school choice.