11 Plus Exams Forum

I apologise in advance for yet another bursary question but I'm new to this and have received this in the post to fill out for dd' s application to St Edmunds.And the detail required is frightening! My question is how thoroughly do these need to be filled out? I mean do the schools verify ALL the information that's put down? I mean how would they know that what is on the form is all there is.. Or do they just rely on individuals honesty. I had naively thought all that would be required would be a p60!

I really don't know how closely they go through these things - they certainly will ask a lot - p60 is a fairly small part as many people are self employed or have inherited wealth - they may own property (or properties) outright that means they have lower outgoings or indeed an income from it.

Some schools do count capital assets others don't ... what sort of things are they asking here ?

I'm not familiar with St Edmunds, but if you are serious about applying for a bursary, I would provide everything the school asks for (If you are not applying for a bursary, but just for admission, you won't need to fill those forms in).

Remember it is the Bursar's job to allocate funds as fairly as possible to those who most need it - funds are in most schools fairly limited (and paid for by parents paying full fees, many/most of whom are themselves very stretched). It is also quite common for the school to carry out a home visit as part of their assesment.

Best of Luck

Hi
I have got the same detailed forms to complete for different schools and I must admit, I took one look at it and put it away for another day....must dig it out and make a start

I wish my granddaughter's school was this thorough! I help to pay her fees & thereby the bursaries, and I'm incensed almost daily by the fact that girls with bursaries come from families where the dad makes three times what my son does. My GD tells me that these girls have the latest Sony VAIO laptops, ipads and Galaxy phones; I grit my teeth & mutter inwardly 'Of course they do - they don't pay any fees!'

It seems to me that parents who are accountants are able to fiddle the figures - I can't explain it otherwise, except to say that of the four girls I know to have large bursaries, three have accountant fathers. Oh, and one has an accountant father and a doctor mother. How do they convince the Bursar that they 'only' make under £35,000? Beats me.

I have no objection at all, nor does my son - to helping to pay fees for any very poor but bright girls who deserve this education, but I very much resent having to contribute to the bursaries of girls whose dads are bringing home in excess of £90,000!

huntlie wrote: It seems to me that parents who are accountants are able to fiddle the figures - I can't explain it otherwise, except to say that of the four girls I know to have large bursaries, three have accountant fathers. Oh, and one has an accountant father and a doctor mother. How do they convince the Bursar that they 'only' make under £35,000? Beats me.

I have no objection at all, nor does my son - to helping to pay fees for any very poor but bright girls who deserve this education, but I very much resent having to contribute to the bursaries of girls whose dads are bringing home in excess of £90,000!

I think you've answered your own question there Huntlie - what is it that accountants do? And schools very often accept tax returns as evidence of income - very unwise on their part. Do these people actually admit to having scammed these large bursaries, or is the school bursar as indiscreet as he/she is gullible?

Ideally bursaries are supposed to be in place to help bright children, who would truly benefit from a place at the school and whose parents do not have the finacial means to support them.

Unfortunately you will get some people who could make greater contributions but don't- Which I find sad,as they're depriving a "real" child from taking a space, but it's up to the school to decide its bursary students. Some schools however might also have higher thresholds than others eg the limit may be £60,000 per year, which could result in what your describing Huntlie.

Does this mean that such people whose incomes are presented as being below £35000 are in receipt of 100% bursary awards???

SAA-It depends on the school-they set their own levels.The parents income determines the contribution the parents would be required to make.If it was a boarding school the disposable income may be higher.For example:

Disposable Income (£) Academic or City Bursary Value (%) Parental Contribution (%)
20,000 100 0
25,000 90 10
30,000 80 20
35,000 70 30
40,000 60 40
45,000 50 50
50,000 25 75

Sorry about the table- it's not coming out correctly.

TBTS - Thank you as i never knew how these funds were allocated. This however appears to me as though a person earning below £20,000 or on benefits would not be considered is that right???